Somewhere between moody guitar pop, post-punk and chaotic rock, Peabody has never been an easy band to define. Always distilling its diverse influences into a sound all its own and after a period of revitalisation, Peabody’s third album Prospero, captures this distinctive band on a creative high.

After two albums, five EP’s and countless gigs, Jared Harrison (drums) and Tristan Courtney-Prior (guitars, backing vocals) joined founding members Bruno Brayovic (vocals, guitar) and Ben Chamie (bass, vocals) in 2007.

As Chamie recalls, “The line-up changes meant I could bring songs like ‘Closing In On You’ and ‘Where Are You Coming From?’ to the band, while in the past these songs would have been lost amongst my 4-track tapes”. Bruno adds “When Jared and Tristan joined the band we had the opportunity to try something new and tackle some different songs as well as add an extra layer to our sound. We’re noisier, faster and better looking, we’re like the Six-Million-Dollar-Band!”

Picture Courtney-Prior lunging at his amp extracting squalls of white noise and feedback while Harrison drums with the hypnotic menace of an indie-rock zealot. Bruno spits out lyrics with trademark vitriol and together they bring to life Chamie’s crafted songs of beauty and rage. Together, they form Peabody. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, ‘til… death. Peabody has always been and always will be the kind of band that breaks your heart and dares you to dream something bigger. They were playing in the corner when you fell in love and they’ll be there when it has all fallen apart. They are your secret band and Prospero is their album.

Songs such as Egon, inspired by the life of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele and Big Sur which borrows its title from the Jack Kerouac novel, contribute to the album’s vivid imagery and themes of flawed humanity. Writers, cult heroes, poets and punks of the past and present are all fodder for Chamie’s songwriting on Prospero. Like the central character in If The Accident Will inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse 5, the songs wear their heart on their sleeve as they celebrate art, love, hatred and our place in this god-forsaken world. This lyrical approach is married to a de-tuned guitar drone and shoegazing feedback on songs such as Egon and Sweet Oblivion; while jagged guitars and a driving urgency provide a counterweight to the down hearted sentiments of The Devil For Sympathy and Something To Someone.

Prospero’s lyrical and musical depth has benefited from the band’s forced hiatus from the record-release-tour treadmill of the Australian music scene. It’s an example of playing with the cards you’ve been dealt and winning, with the stakes being creative freedom, inspiration and a bottle of bubbly. So please, raise a glass and drink a toast to…

‘PROSPERO’ OUT SAT 23 AUGUST 08