Premiere: Adelaide Band Blue Lucy Set To Unveil New Single “Last Year in Amsterdam” (LYIA)
Get ready for a sonic explosion as Adelaide's very own 5-piece public freakout machine, Blue Lucy, prepares to release their latest single, "Last Year in Amsterdam" (LYIA), on November 17th. With their unique blend of psych rock and punk vibrations, Blue Lucy is on a mission to bring nothing but a good time to music enthusiasts around the world.
Blue Lucy is not your typical band; they've been fancied as a mobile and versatile live experience, described as an ankle-breaking, hip-shaking pop-up boiler room. This high-energy group is dedicated to moving bodies across Australia and beyond with their freshly brewed musical concoction. Their recipe includes everything from rarely playing songs at band practice to spontaneous Missy Higgins sing-alongs and even allowing fans to take merchandise on a 'pay if you feel like' basis. Blue Lucy is a live act that you simply can't miss, and they're set to electrify stages across Australia with their upcoming tour featuring their energetic new EP.
"Last Year in Amsterdam" (LYIA) is a mesmerizing journey through the complexities of love. It delves into the yearning for a past love and the realization that it may never have been right. The song encapsulates the feeling of reminiscing about the good parts of a relationship that was filled with challenges.
LYIA's lyrics were crafted in familiar places, as the songwriter longed for the safety of what once was while exploring the canals of Amsterdam. The track's dynamic shifts in sound complement its lyrical dance before culminating in a memorable hook that leaves a lasting impression.
James Catford, the creative force behind Blue Lucy’s LYIA, reflects on the song's evolution: "This track began its journey as a slippery little riff with the tempo about half as fast as the track ended up coming out."
We caught up with James Catford to find out more about Blue Lucy and talk about the creative process behind Last Year in Amsterdam.
Hey Lads, how are you today?
Very pleasant thank you, how are you doing?
Tell our readers a little more about Blue Lucy? Where does the name come from?
The name actually came from, as all good things do, a drunken chat to a stranger outside Adelaide’s infamous venue, Jive. I think the plan was to be called Sally Blue Day and mid chat with this lad who played in a Led Zeppelin cover band we were told very adamantly that the name sucked and we should just be called Blue Lucy, and it stuck. Nice guy, never saw him again.
How did you put together the new single 'Last Night In Amsterdam (LYIA)', and where does your inspiration come from with writing and recording new songs?
LYIA is actually came together across a very long period, not really the way we usually do it at all. It was born out of the main riff which I doodled about with for a while but it was way slower and was absolutely drenched in reverbs, delays and random modulations. When I brought it to the band I think they were sick of playing my ballads and turned the tempo up about 50 clicks. We jammed it and cut it up a bit and it took form. The chorus lyrics were the first thing I wrote and came easily as they stood out to me as something I’d been pondering on from a recent past relationship. The rest of the lyrics I struggled with and avoided writing for a long time and it wasn’t until I went to Amsterdam for a bit of a headspace trip that the bridge lyrics came to me as I was aimlessly riding around the canals. Once I had these it made the rest of the song make a lot more sense and we could finally bring it all together with the band.
Like I said, this really isn’t how we generally write songs at all, I think if a song took this long these days we’d probably just let it go, but I’m glad we followed through with this one.
These days it’s a lot more of a jam aspect to our writing. Matt our bass player writes a lot of riffs and while I setup the jam space he and Dukey (drums) create a lot of our stuff.
I get inspired by listening to new bands and watching music documentaries and tend to write more or less full songs and then bring them to the band at the next practice and we spend time playing them in different forms and listening to them back to find the best outfit for every song, it’s developing our song writing ability a lot, it’s pretty handy jamming in the same space I record most of our records.
What is 'Last Year in Amsterdam about?
Simply put, its about looking back at a past relationship and longing for what could have been despite all the facets that you know were wrong, and weren’t going to create a happy future.
What are your go-to records for listening at home?
My girlfriend just found The Sex Pistols ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ on the side of the road, so that’s been getting a mean spin lately. Otherwise anything Beatles, particularly Sgt Peoper and Magical Mystery Tour. Parquet Courts ‘Human Performance’, Turnstile’s ‘Glow On’ Mac Miller ‘Avian’ and all the early Mac Demarco’s particularly ‘Rock and Roll Nightclub’ which might be my favorite record.
What are some of the best underground / underrated artists in your community?
Apollo Lane bring the heat for punk vibes along with Jayne doe. The Kavs are doing some awesome stuff and will definitely be one to watch in Adelaide win the next couple of years. Champ are the most underrated band in Adelaide along with Rat Ta’ Mango, and Purée are a big up and comer who we will probably jump on an east coast tour with next year. Adelaide has a massively underrated and fast growing music scene, Sycamore have big things ahead of them, The Empty Threats go extremely hard live although they aren’t really underground anymore, they are really popping off and making some waves. I could go on and on, last mentions King Jeff And The How Are Yous and Shadow Ministers both just put out great albums this year.
Do you have any gigs coming up to promote the new single?
December 2nd at The Cranker Hotel, we’ve got The Kavs and Ded Wesz on the line up so it should really pump.
What are you most excited about for this release coming out into the world?
Honestly it’s been a long time coming so we’re just excited to have it out and in the world and to see what comes of it. We’ve got a massive live show that we love to do so we’re excited to bring this one to the stage and hopefully take the next step in playing some bigger festivals and venues
What is in store for Blue Lucy in 2024?
More music. We want to release 2 EP’s next year, the second is already written and scheduled to record in January for a September release with a launch in Bali. Want to play live as much as we can, we’re a better live band than recorded band and pride ourselves of forcing people to have fun so we’re keen to get to every city, a couple times if we can next year. Also looking to do a new Merch range mid year with the release of our 3rd EP which is going to be a punk concept EP branded Snack Bar. Chicko Rolls for all!
Make sure to follow Blue Lucy for behind-the-scenes content, updates and more!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluelucyband/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueLucySmile
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bluelucy3004
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bluelucyband