Billy Gardner & Friends - Last of the Natural Light

This week’s PBS Feature Album is Last of the Natural Light, the debut release and collaboration
project from Billy Gardner & Friends.

Recorded sporadically over the past five years, the project began as an attempt to finish a
collection of half-written songs, before evolving into a standalone body of work with its own distinct style, sound and creative process. Billy Gardner has played in a spread of bands over the past 15+ years, growing up in Djilang/Geelong and now residing in Northcote. The “Friends” aspect of the project brings together an array of local collaborators, including vocal contributions from Paris Rebel Richens, Violetta Del Conte-Race, Miles Jansen, Carolyn Hawkins, Sam Hill & Rowena Lloyd. Instrumentally, there’s a chunk of additions from long-time collaborator Mitch Campleman, alongside Jake Robertson, Zak Olsen, Nick Van Bakel, Alannah Sawyer, Zane Gardner, Jamie Harmer, Austin Haire and Jack Crook.

The result is a multi-instrumental symphony of collected sounds that often drift through experimental soundscapes, while having one foot remain firmly rooted in the soil of Billy’s long-standing rock n roll
sensibilities. The record balances atmosphere and melody with an instinctive warmth, expanding beyond traditional rock music, without ever abandoning it. 

Built on carefully layered instruments that often sit beneath the surface, the album unfolds with ethereal vocal melodies and arrangements that evoke the fading light of an Australian dusk. Somewhere between the suburban stillness of the Merri Creek and the open road of Country Victoria. Each arrangement sits neatly alongside the other instruments with a deliberate sense of space and restraint. In a way, Billy approaches sound like Marie Kondo treats a room - holding on to the textures and melodies that spark joy, and leaving unnecessary clutter behind. The result is a record that is original and feels expansive without ever becoming overwhelming. 

There is a distinct influence from the Baroque Pop arrangements of Lee Hazlewood, folk rock earworms of Neil Young, the glitter stomp or of T-Rex, the atmospheric soundtracks of Morricone and Moroder or early Eno, but these influences feel less like reference points and more like building blocks. Subtle nods absorbed into something entirely its own. More than anything Last of the Natural Light sounds like the product of decades spent obsessively listening to records and jamming with friends - some of which contribute to this album, collecting fragments of sound over time and finally placing the puzzle pieces together as a record that feels both personal, familiar and timeless, without ever sounding nostalgic.

Tune in all this week to hear tracks from Last of the Natural Light. PBS Members have the chance to win a digital download of the album - simply email your name and membership number to  before midnight Sunday July 26.

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TOP TRACKS WE'RE LOVING THIS WEEK

Audrey Powne - 'Swollen'

Shock Corridor - 'Ambulance!'

Blood Lotus - 'Nightfall' feat. Heart Armour 

Batu & Donato Dozzy - 'Spiral'

Eden Burns - 'Razor'

Hermanos Gutiérrez - 'Los Ojos Del Cóndor'

Julia Jacklin - 'I Wish' feat. The Maes

Candice Lorrae - 'Calling Me'

crank - 'machines'

CLAMM - 'Rats'