Dark, visceral and drenched in an otherworldly psychedelia only the most affecting art could muster, this is the handwerk of Brett Poliness and Katie Scott.
Growing up on a balanced diet of early Genesis, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and his parents’ towering collection of over 250 seminal LPs, a young Brett Poliness found his creative catalyst resting on the hammers of the family upright piano. His love of art-rock, meditative repetition, and the sombre earthiness instilled in his writing by the old instrument developed into his 20s and beyond.
Known to Australian grunge audiences of the noughties as the drummer for prolific Melbourne-based instrumental outfit, Silver Ray (Cam Butler, Julitha Ryan), Poliness and his associates released a searing four studio albums, joining Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus tour of 2004.
As the drummer for ex-Bad Seeds and The Wreckery member, Hugo Race & The True Spirit, Poliness entered a further five releases into his catalogue, joining the band’s European tour throughout 2016 and ‘17. Poliness has appeared with Mick Harvey, featured on the debut solo release of Brian Henry Hooper (Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Rowland S. Howard), and is a current member of Charlie Marshall and The Body Electric.
Now, Brett Poliness is reborn - this time, alongside chief collaborator and artistic ally, Katie Scott (Howl at the Moon, Pony Face, Ladie Dee, Plague Doctor).
The duo’s debut album, A Chance to Fail, rallies an aesthetic that is equal parts cinematic, spellbinding and nightmarish, inspired by Polish jazz legend and film composer, Krystof Komeda. Scott’s searing vocals pierce a cooly orchestrated sound palette and whip through the heart of the album’s lyricism, as do her many, varied influences - from Portishead (Beth Gibbons), Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan through to Billie Holiday and the crucial legacy of Jeff Buckley’s songwriting. All the while, Poliness’ generative work as a drummer/composer rushes to the fore. Painted by shocks of Cave’s The Skeleton Tree with the dauntless tenacity of early PJ Harvey records also showcased in Poliness’ debut solo record, The Is The Colour Of Black When It Gets Burned (2003), A Chance to Fail embraces what is undoubtedly Poliness and Scott’s drug of choice: their very own brand of rhythmic repetition and musing syncopation.
The result? Nothing short of sublime hallucinations from a whole other plane.
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