Australia’s greatest and most enduring songwriter, PAUL KELLY, today announces the release of his new album FEVER LONGING STILL via Gawd Aggie / Cooking Vinyl (HERE), which The Guardian calls in their four-star review, “a band-focused, pop rock record that jangles and bustles as much is it sighs and cries.”
To celebrate the release of his 29th studio album, Kelly and his band traveled to Charleston, WV, for a performance at Mountain Stage to play old favorites mixed with soon-to-be new ones, such as “All Those Smiling Faces” and “Taught By Experts.” The performance will begin streaming today HERE.
Kelly will play his first-ever stadium tour supported by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Fanny Lumsden and Reb Fountain in 2025; his recent recording of a live performance for Acoustic Café will air in mid-December. On his recent trip to NYC, Kelly stopped into SiriusXM and chatted with longtime fan and friend David Fricke about the new record on the show “Writer’s Block” which will air on Saturday, November 16th at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. He also sat in on The Beatles Channel, where he discussed his four favorite songs, highlighting the vocals of each Beatle (airdate: TBD).
“There has been a long gap since the last album of new songs,” Kelly says about the six years between his last studio album and Fever Longing Still. “I realize now that this record is a bit like Gossip, an album with a long gestation where the songs are all quite different in style.” Much like Gossip which Kelly released in 1986 and was certified Gold, Fever Longing Still finds him and his band in peak form, delivering songs that Americana Highways likens to “a solid mix between Springsteen-esque everyman character sketches and Elvis Costello-like relatability.”
“Looking back on what we’ve done with these songs, it’s a band record,” Kelly says. “That made me reflect on the band’s longevity, this squad. Peter Luscombe (drums) has been with me for more than 30 years, Bill McDonald (bass) and Dan Kelly (guitar) for 20. Even the newbies Cameron Bruce (keys) and Ash Naylor (guitar) have been with me since 2007. “Our philosophy is eclectic; we want to make each song different from the last. I love that when I bring a new song to them, it can take on a completely new life.”
Highly literary (the album’s title was lifted from one of his inspirations, William Shakespeare), Fever Longing Still is a testament to Kelly’s lifelong devotion to poetry from one of music’s preeminent wordsmiths. Tracks like “All Those Smiling Faces” display an emotional and vivid exploration of recollection, like peering inside the memories in a photo album, as are any of the best-loved songs from Kelly’s pen. On “Heredity,” Kelly describes a poem by revered 19th-century English poet and novelist Thomas Hardy as “the beating heart” of the song.
“There is something unique and powerful about the way Kelly mixes up everyday detail with the big issues of life, death, love and struggle — not a trace of pretense or fakery in there,” lauds Neil Finn of Crowded House. Adds Australian alt-country diva Kasey Chambers, “If I were only allowed to listen to one artist for the rest of my life, I would choose Paul Kelly.”
Fever Longing Still is released today, November 1, 2024 via Gawd Aggie/Cooking Vinyl.