Out today on Poison City Records the debut album for this Melbourne quartet whose combined histories stretch across decades of Australian and international underground rock.
An unlikely band name and an even more unlikely band, Fancy Weapon brings together Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque, Bleak Squad), Joel Silbersher (GOD, Hoss, Tendrils), Claire Birchall (Smoked Salmon, Paper Planes) and Guy Maddison (Mudhoney, Lubricated Goat, Bloodloss).
Recorded in a single session at Finn Keane’s Head Gap Studios in Preston in late 2024 – before the band had even played a public show and just days before the studio was destroyed in a devastating fire. Thankfully, the recordings survived, and what emerged from the subsequent mixing sessions is a striking collection of minimalist, guitar-driven art-rock that feels both timeless and contemporary.
The album thrives on contrast: Turner’s instantly recognisable guitar lines stab, shimmer and weave through Silbersher’s muscular, layered playing, while the shared vocals of Birchall and Silbersher lend the songs warmth and emotional weight. Beneath it all, Maddison’s bass and Birchall’s drums lock together with the ease that sounds decades old, despite the project’s recent formation.
Fancy Weapon’s debut album is available on limited edition ‘Deep Sea Blue’ colour vinyl (first 100 copies signed by the band!) CD is available now via Poison City and Bandcamp.