Track by Track: Anthony Atkinson & The Running Mates

ANTHONY ATKINSON’s first album in eight years pairs writerly lyrics and folky melodies with robust full-band backing.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

‘I Lost My Way, I Found a Friend’

This is one of the last songs penned for the album and within the band we consider it to probably be the biggest pop song on the record. Lyrically there’s a stream of lines that revolve around fairly well-known metaphors for trying your luck or taking risks. Perhaps the subject pushed their luck just enough but somehow — or with someone — found a form of redemption. The first of many political metaphors used in the chorus: “The brave backbencher when faced with censure will learn to realign.”

‘Calm & Collected’

This is a song essentially from the point of view of a nosy neighbour with a vested interest in the disintegration of a relationship. The second verse and outro was from a discarded song and the chorus had been sitting around on its own for a long time, so it was a happy discovery when they fitted together. My favourite part lyrically is probably the line “He made you laugh in between sparks.” I gather something that many of us can relate to is the frustration of seeing someone in a relationship with a complete douchebag.

‘It Radiates’

In the tradition of folk songs with lists, ‘It Radiates’ builds in momentum as the band colours in the arrangement and the affirmation of the title is repeated in the chorus. There’s obvious socio-political point-scoring going on and as a public school teacher, I’m particularly fond of the lyric “The small home truths in the polling booths of the public schools with the most to lose.” Marty [Donald], the bass player and an established songwriter in his own right (The Lucksmiths and Last Leaves), suggested the chorus needed more than just the title repeated. In the end I settled on a short turnaround line “like a flame through sugar cane,” which reminded me of the cane fields of Broadwater in Northern NSW, near where I grew up.

‘The Lake’

Jokingly referred to by the band as the Rod Stewart vocal performance, ‘The Lake’ has one chord progression throughout but goes up the octave in verse two and then has a key change for verse three. I love Louis Richter’s guitar lines between the verses, and the intensity of the song has made people notice it live. The idea of a destination known for its romantic escapism becoming a type of dark and solitary burial ground for the relationships it facilitated is appealing.

‘Her Place’

A young women returns to her hometown in the north of England at the end of a promising relationship. There’s a mention of public art in this song which refers to The Angel of the North situated near Sunderland, where the song is set. The subject also hides her eyes under a hooded jacket to avoid locals and must listen to the dramas of younger mothers raising children for her brothers. Sonically there’s a nod to something that could be on 4AD. The sentiment is a little bit twee, but I like how the Running Mates treatment has made it much more substantial and affecting than that.

‘Some Border Town’

A duet! My old bandmate and dear friend Kimba [Mitchell] from The Mabels makes many appearances on the album, but this one is the most prominent. There’s some weary banter going on between the two characters in the song. I always imagined that it’s a conversation that took place during a shift break that just got more and more whimsical and ludicrous. Chris Baker’s banjo playing on this track is a joy.

‘Into Night Again’

The most straight-up country-pop song on the album, this one started off with a more skittish rhythm but settled into a bankable front-bar tune. Since its reworking I’ve always partitioned it in my brain with a favourite Billy Bragg/Wilco song that they adapted from Woody Guthrie, ‘California Stars’.

‘Trade Winds’

The most notable feature of this song is the dual pedal steel/lead guitar parts at the start of each chorus that has always led it dangerously toward the sound of the [US] West Coast and, if that wasn’t enough, the group vocal in the outro would do America (the band) proud. As is the case with a lot of these songs, the protagonist is an escapee of some sort.

‘Labour Day’

A tribute to a public holiday told through the experience of a youngish disempowered employee who is smart enough to be both aware of and overcome by the irony of working on Labour Day. As this song was being written, I had the clip in my head and I imagined the subject (a female) dancing around an empty office surrounded by helium balloons with stationery tied to it and paper dolls made from pay slips hanging from the work station partitions. At the end she ties the office keys to a huge balloon and chucks them out the window. Maybe one day I’ll get my stuff together and make it.

‘Broken Folks’

A short a cappella song to finish things off, serving the dual purpose of thematic closure and acting as the all-important 10th song.

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‘Broken Folks’ comes out this Friday (Oct 17) on CD and digital through Lost & Lonesome. The album launches this Saturday (Oct 18) at The Gasometer in Melbourne with Machine Translations, Duke Batavia and Amarillo; tickets here.