Bluebottle Kiss

Bluebottle Kiss, sometimes seen as BBK, were an Australian guitar-based, indie rock band formed in 1993 by mainstay, Jamie Hutchings, on guitar and vocals. They have issued six albums, Higher Up the Firetrails (1995), Fear of Girls (1996), Patient (1999), Revenge Is Slow (2002), Come Across (2003) and Doubt Seeds (2006).

Bluebottle Kiss
Performing at Annandale Hotel, Sydney, February 2006
Background information
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Years active1993 (1993)–2009 (2009)
Labels
Websitebluebottlekiss.com
Members
Past members
  • Ben Fletcher
  • Peter Noble
  • Richard Coneliano
  • Simon Fuhrer

History

Bluebottle Kiss were formed in Sydney in 1993 as a grunge trio by Ben Fletcher on bass guitar and vocals, Jamie Hutchings on lead guitar and lead vocals, and Peter Noble on drums.[1] Their influences are from the late 1980s United States indie scene, which include Sonic Youth and the Afghan Whigs, singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Neil Young and Van Morrison, as well as the Australian independent scene with the Church and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The band were signed to Murmur, an imprint of Sony Music Australia.[1]

Their debut studio album, Higher Up the Firetrails, was issued in April 1995.[1] It was recorded at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre with Wayne Connolly producing (Underground Lovers, You Am I).[1] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt they did not use a regular studio setting "in order to capture a certain ambience. The album ran the gamut of sounds from quiet dirge to chaotic noise."[1] They supported shows by Beck, JSBX, Crow and Silverchair.[2]

For the group's second album, Fear of Girls (August 1996), they used US producer, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Mudhoney, Afghan Whigs).[1][3] McFarlane opined "[it] covered a lot of ground, from tough, noisy art-rock to bleak ballads."[1] Late in 1997 Noble was replaced on drums by Richard Coneliano.[2]

Although dropped from Murmur after the release of Somnambulist Homesick Blues in 1997, Bluebottle Kiss continued to make records on their own with various indie imprints. In 1998, Tap Dancing on the Titanic was issued on the now-dormant Troy Horse label.[4] In 1999, Patient was released on Citadel Records, whose catalogue includes New Christs, Died Pretty, The Stems and more recently Knievel.[5]

The band briefly moved to the US after this before regrouping as revamped four piece in 2001.

In 2002, a long-time music fan, Nick Carr - inspired by labels such as Citadel - started his own label, Nonzero Records, in order to release Bluebottle Kiss' Revenge is Slow album.[6] The album was also released in the US on the In Music We Trust label.[7] In November of that year, Triple J's Richard Kingsmill presented a music special, "Bluebottle Kiss", for their J Files series to showcase the band's output.[8]

The relationship between Bluebottle Kiss and Nonzero Records has endured, with the band's sixth studio album - the 2 CD Doubt Seeds - being their third album, among numerous singles and EPs, on the label. Doubt Seeds was produced by Jamie Hutchings at Linear Recording studio in Sydney.

Members
  • Ben Fletcher – vocals, guitar, bass guitar (1993–2004)
  • Jamie Hutchings – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1993–2009)
  • Peter Noble – drums (1993–97)
  • Richard Coneliano – drums, piano (1997–2002)
  • Ben Grounds – bass guitar, guitar (2001–09)
  • Simon Fuhrer – drums (2003–04)
  • Ross Dickie – bass guitar (2004–09)
  • Jared Harrison – drums (2004–09)

Discography

Albums
  • Higher Up the Firetrails (April 1995) – Murmur/Sony Music Australia (MATTCD006)[9]
  • Fear of Girls (1996) [10]
  • Patient (1999)
  • Revenge Is Slow (2002)
  • Come Across (2003)
  • Doubt Seeds (2006)

Extended plays
  • Double Yellow Tarred (1995)
  • Somnambulist Homesick Blues (1997)
  • Tap Dancing on the Titanic (1998)
  • Girl Genius (1999)
  • Gangsterland (2001)
  • Last Playboy in Town (2004)
  • A Little Bit of Light (2005)
  • The Women Are an Army (2006)
  • Slight Return + Out Seeds (2007)

Singles
  • "Rust and the Time" (1996)
  • "Autumn Comes Too Soon" (1996)
  • "Helping You Hate Me" (1996)
  • "Return to the City of Folded Arms" (1999)
  • "Ounce of Your Cruelty" (2001)
  • "Father's Hands" (2002)
  • "Everything Begins and Ends at Exactly the Right Time" (2003)

Demos
  • Sonic Elevator Music for the Masses (1994)

References
  1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Bluebottle Kiss'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 19 April 2004.
  2. "Bluebottle Kiss". Oz Music Project – Australian Music Resource and Webzine. Archived from the original on 7 August 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. "Jack Endino". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  4. Australian Music Online :: Labels :: Troy Horse/MDS Archived 10 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Australian Music Online :: Labels :: Citadel Records Archived 9 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Australian Music Online :: Interviews :: Nick Carr - Nonzero Records". Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
  7. In Music We Trust Records
  8. Kingsmill, Richard (7 November 2002). "Music Specials: Bluebottle Kiss". J Files. Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  9. Bluebottle Kiss (1995), Higher up the Firetrails, Sony Music Productions, retrieved 14 August 2017
  10. Bluebottle Kiss (1996), Fear of Girls, Murmur Records : Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) [Distributor], retrieved 14 August 2017
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