Gareth Leach’s debut album Death & Taxes launched him out of the relatively unknown and into the Australian country and alt-country music scene as a heart-on-your-sleeve, introspective and honest singer-songwriter.
2020 sees the return of Gareth Leach through his brand-new AA side, featuring the singles ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ and ‘Old Crow Feather’ taken from his forthcoming sophomore album.
Dealing with personal struggles, social fears and anxieties, the two songs are a sneak peak into some of the themes of the new album.
Gareth Leach on Down The Rabbit Hole:
“As schoolteacher and father I have seen and increasingly concerned with the mental health of our kids. Growing up in an age where technology is so deeply integrated in to every life, especially through social media, the aftermath being a generation of people growing up with addictions to their devices and without really strong connections to their community and people in the real world causing a scary rise in childhood depression and anxiety.
At first, I was angry with these kids and couldn’t understand why they were so obsessed with their devices and technology. Then I began to look around, I realised that there is so much bad modeling of behavior to these kids from their parents – US!
We grew up with very little education about such things and as a result you see parents and adults with their heads buried in their phones or devices all the time. We’re too busy scrolling through newsfeeds and comparing their lives with everyone around them and their projection of “perfect”, “successful” and “happy”, that we are not fully present at our kids footy games, school concerts, dance recitals, the list goes on. And we’re nearly all guilty of it.
This song is a reminder of this scary reality of us as a society getting so far lost “Down The Rabbit Hole” that we are neglecting to emotionally foster our future – the kids. Musically set to upbeat yet dark bluegrassy instrumentation, the purpose of this song is to slap the listener in the face and say, “Hey, listen up. We need to have a talk!”
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE // OLD CROW FEATHER single tour dates:
FEB 7 – The Taproom, Castlemaine VIC
FEB 8 – Merri Creek Taven (Full Band – Single Launch Show), Northcote VIC
MAR 7 – Mornington Country Music Festival w. Lee Kernaghan, Sunny Cowgirls, Hurricane Fall and Andrew Swift, Mornington VIC