He’s already one of the most respected singers and songwriters on the Aussie music scene, but as Bob Evans shares his latest track, it’s clear he’s about to pen an exciting new chapter in his career.
It goes without saying that Kevin Mitchell is an icon of the Aussie music scene these days. Whether it be with his work as the frontman of Jebediah since its formation back in 1994, or with his solo project Bob Evans, he’s penned one or two anthemic numbers in his time.
Recently though, Kevin Mitchell has been more focused on his Bob Evans moniker, having shared new single ‘Born Yesterday’ back in November. Now, a few months later, he’s returned with the clip for new single ‘Concrete Heart’, which premieres today.
Featuring backing vocals from Stella Donnelly and production from Steven Schram (Paul Kelly, Kate Miller-Heidke), the upbeat single feels more in line with the striped sunlight sound of The Go-Betweens as Bob Evans spouts passionate lyrics which he claims were partially inspired by a conversation on social media.
“I have been accused of being a ‘bleeding heart’ a few times when putting forward my opinion on a political or social issue, which I think is a hilarious put-down, because it’s basically criticising someone for caring too much!” Mitchell explains. “What is so wrong with that?
“So it got me thinking about owning that label, like, ‘yep, I am a bleeding heart’ because what is the alternative? A cold heart made out of concrete? No thanks. That is not me and I don’t ever want it to be. The music to this one is kind of upbeat and fun sounding though, so I tried to come at this whole idea with a bit of tongue in cheek, like I’m poking fun at the whole thing in a way.”
The track also comes alongside a film clip filmed, directed, produced and edited by long time Bob Evans and Jebediah collaborator, Arlo Cook, as it shows Mitchell and his band performing in a country Australian pub, albeit to an audience who seem more interested in their next drink than a new song.
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“I came up with the idea of my band playing in a front bar of a pub to a virtually empty room and a disinterested audience,” Mitchell says of the video’s inspiration. “I just thought it was a really simple and funny way to address the message of the song.
“Arlo made the clip for ‘Born Yesterday’ with me and we wanted to try and carry over some of that same feeling and aesthetic to this clip, which wasn’t really a straightforward thing to do as they are quite different songs; Concrete Heart is quite upbeat. We decided to really lean in to the Australiana vibe and make it look like it could have been filmed any time between now and 30 years ago.”
While ‘Concrete Heart’ is set to officially be released tomorrow, Bob Evans also notes that he’s got another announcement up his sleeve to coincide with it. Could it be more live shows? A new album? Something else? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, check out the song and video clip below.
Bob Evans’ ‘Concrete Heart’ is released on February 18th,.
Check out ‘Concrete Heart’ by Bob Evans:
