As the excitement around indie music reached fever pitch in the mid-90s, Bluebottle Kiss, led by a 21-year-old Jamie Hutchings, joined newly signed bands silverchair and Something for Kate on the prestigious indie imprint (murmur) of a major label (Sony). While comparisons and expectations were inevitable, it soon became clear that Jamie’s relentless musical exploration and experimentation fell well outside even the indie boundaries of music.
A nearly conventional first album suggested Bluebottle Kiss was simply warming up for the mainstream. But eyebrows lifted when the second album opened with a pure Fugazi scream and climaxed an hour later with an epic, Van Morrison-inspired, white-boy gospel song terminated by several minutes of feedback.
When the next release, a 46-minute EP lurched from Robert Fripp soundscapes to explosive, atonal guitar rock, the conclusion of the major label relationship was as predictable as it was understandable. Without flinching, Bluebottle Kiss self-funded a third album, Patient (1999). With Jamie taking the role of producer, the album was recorded in four days and released on legendary Australian indie label Citadel. A testament to Jamie’s musical integrity, Patient delivered some of the most ferocious and most tender Bluebottle Kiss moments to date.
Two subsequent albums, Revenge is Slow (2002) and Come Across (2004) followed, accompanied by overseas releases and multiple tours of the U.S. and Europe. However, it was the 2004 addition of ace rhythm section Ross Dickie (bass) and Jared Harrison (drums) – joining Jamie and long-time member Ben Grounds – that laid the foundations for Doubt Seeds.
While Bluebottle Kiss had continually appealed to critics and a loyal core of fans, the sprawling musical range often seemed to confound audiences. Reinvigorated by the new line up and conscious that some of the past musical exploration had been at the expense of engaging with listeners, Jamie set to work on a concerted effort to provide insight into the Bluebottle Kiss sound.
Growing up in a musical family (his father was a professional jazz musician), Jamie’s voracious appetite for music of all genres has provided a unique foundation for Bluebottle Kiss. Doubt Seeds ably documents the artists and sounds that influenced Jamie (see liner essay).
A double CD treat for music enthusiasts, Doubt Seeds provides an index to quality music made between 1950 and 2006. It also explains the inspiration for earlier Bluebottle Kiss albums and illustrates what happens when an adventurous and talented music fan has a fascination for using the past as a palette, rather than as a paint-by-numbers instruction set.
A version of Bluebottle Kiss appeared in '93, and in '94 a four-piece line-up released a cassette called 'Sonic Elevator Music For the Masses'. Though it wasn't until '95 when they were signed to Murmur records that they released their first album. At this stage, the band was songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Jamie Hutchings, bassist and vocalist Ben Fletcher and drummer Peter Noble.
There were three releases from this line-up:
By '97 the band had recruited new drummer Richard Coneliano. They recorded one more release for Murmur – 'Somnambulist Homesick Blues' which, for the first time, saw them receive intensive radio play for the leading track 'Generic Teen'. National radio station jjj later judged this track to be one of the top 20 best Australian songs of all time.
The band recorded another ep in '98 for Troy Horse records – 'Tap Dancing on the Titanic' a more angular stripped back release. and saved enough money to fund their third album 'Patient'. This was released on Citadel records as well as an e.p 'Girl Genius' in '99. It was a sparse, heavy release perfectly capturing the band at their live peak as a three piece and again receiving plenty of airplay as well as solidifying the bands growing live fanbase.
Bluebottle Kiss were then picked up by US internet record label, Spin Records who provided the band with a lengthy US tour where they slugged it out for months. Spin later went broke, making the band label-less again, but the band spent late 2000 recording the "Revenge Is Slow" album, which saw a more melodic, baroque psychedelic pop feel to the band's sound. 2001 saw bassist Ben Fletcher move to guitar, and new bassist Ben Grounds join Bluebottle Kiss from his Wollongong band Lariat, expanding the band to a four piece.
'Revenge Is Slow' was eventually released on Nick Carr's new Nonzero label in '02 . The first single "Ounce Of Your Cruelty" was released both locally and the UK by the Sugarshack label. The album also saw a US release on 'In Music We Trust' records and 'Laughing Outlaw' in the u.k.
2001 saw bassist Ben Fletcher focus on his side project The Devoted Few, which also featured drummer Richard Coneliano. Fletcher and Hutchings did a two week tour of the England and Scotland as a duo in late 2002. Shortly afterwards drummer Richard Coneliano left Bluebottle Kiss and was replaced by Simon Fuhrer.
In 2003, the band returned to the studio to record their fifth full length 'Come Across'which was a more swinging, narrative driven album. It was released late in '03 and was followed by a sold-out Australian tour in early '04.
Fuhrer left shortly after due to family commitments and was replaced by long-term fan, Jared Harrison. In late '04 Fletcher announced he was leaving to focus more on his outfit The Devoted Few.
With the impending release of 'Come Across' on their US label, there was a shuffle in the lineup with bassist Ben Grounds moving to his first instrument, guitar, and the recruitment of a new bassist, Ross Dickie. Bluebottle Kiss then returned to the US and UK for a 25 date tour.
Upon returning to Australia in early '05, the band began pre-production for their sixth album, Doubt Seeds.
© Bluebottle Kiss