MURPHNICK Releases New Expanded Digital Edition Of 2023’s Acclaimed Album ‘Strange Ride’
MURPHNICK – AKA NICK MURPHY – RELEASES NEW EXPANDED DIGITAL EDITION OF 2023’S ACCLAIMED ALBUM ‘STRANGE RIDE’
THE NEW EDITION OF THE ALBUM WILL BE LAUNCHED SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3 AT THE MERRI CREEK TAVERN
NEW SINGLE FROM STRANGE RIDE, THE GORGEOUSLY JANGLING “CRY TEARS”, OUT NOW
BELOVED MELBOURNE MUSICIAN AND FORMER CO-SINGER/SONGWRITER FOR ’90S DARLING THE ANYONES, NICK MURPHY WAS FORCED TO CHANGE HIS PROFESSIONAL NAME FOR REASONS HINTED AT IN THE ALBUM’S FIRST SINGLE “FAKIN IT”
Murphnick – aka Nick Murphy, former co-singer/songwriter with ’90s Melbourne darlings The Anyones – has today released an expanded digital edition of his wonderful 2023 album Strange Ride.
The new digital edition of the album includes an additional 10 tracks, including album outtakes and live and demo versions of some of the album’s finest tracks. It provides additional insight into the creative processes surrounding the album, including live arrangements, and of course gives the listener almost twice as much great music.
To coincide with the release, the gorgeous album opener “Cry Tears” has been released as the album’s new single.
Murphnick will launch the new edition of Strange Ride Saturday Feb 3 at the Merri Creek Tavern in Northcote.
Strange Ride | Murphnick (bandcamp.com)
“Nick Murphy is a talented man. He has recorded an album of stunning harmonic depth, divine orchestration and a gentle humanity.” – Toby Martin, Youth Group
“Such great singing and writing and playing. Shit, that’s not easy to do. Of course, it is easy for people to record and so many do but not many have Nick’s talents.” – Dave Graney
“(Murphy) has the melodic and instrumental gifts to match his transistor radio dreams and a voice that is pure enough to sing multiple rings around them” – The Age
Strange Ride is the first album Nick has released under his new name. The name change wasn’t something Nick wanted to undertake; it was something he was ultimately forced to do after the artist formerly known as Chet Baker, in 2016, reverted to his birth name, which also happens to be Nick Murphy.
Says our Nick of the name change: “(The other Nick Murphy) originally became Chet because of me. Friends and fans of his were attending my shows, seeing the wrong Nick. His transition back to being NM came with a big publicity push, online and on the street. He was everywhere. Images of him were next to my songs online, and before I knew it, I had been removed from a famous online music platform. My legal options were limited. I was lost to the determinations of dominant search engines, no one could find me.”
Hence, Nick Murphy became Murphnick.
Before beginning his solo career, Nick Murphy had firmly established his reputation as a key founding member and songwriter for The Anyones, who toured the US and Australia with the likes of The Killers, The Vines, Jet, Sloan, Morrissey, The Music, Youth Group, Dallas Crane, You Am I, Even and more on the back of two highly acclaimed and internationally-released albums.
Nick released his debut solo album, Breaking The Light in 2006, and a second record, What’s In Your Mind? in 2011. Both records received wide critical acclaim, received lots of airplay on ABC and community radio as well as TV shows such as Home & Away, Neighbours and Tripping Over. Meanwhile, Nick’s solo bands toured the country with such local heroes as Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, The Gin Club, Even, Ross McLennan and The New World Orchestra, Screamfeeder & 78 Saab.
After releasing the intimate, singer-songwriter album What’s In Your Mind?, Nick Murphy became a bit of a hired gun, helping out various buddies including Chris Altmann, Mia Dyson, Luke Sinclair, Ben Mason, Liz Stringer, Ross McLennan, Davey Lane, Ash Naylor and Suzannah Espie. Musically he found himself straddling the sounds coming from both sides of the Atlantic, both Americana and English rock, and hankering to again record something that sounded like a rock band.
By 2017, and hoping to put aside the trauma of his lost identity, Nick had a big swag of tunes demoed and ready to record. Drifting back to listening to much more Americana music, Nick was writing songs heavily influenced by country rock, folk and soul. A second big batch of songs came from Nick’s love of more European sounds, as well as daydreamy cinematic soundscapes. After culling and selecting the best, the final collection of material was an eclectic group of tunes with a prevailing sound of psychedelia and the early ‘70s. Uniting the new material with everything else he’s ever recorded is a love of melody and vocal harmonies, two elements which would take pride of place on what would become Strange Ride.
Having decided local studio wiz’s Marcel Borrack & Tim Harvey were the best team for the job, Nick was able to utilize some of Melbourne’s finest musicians, with a considerable cast adding cello, violin, piano, alto sax and harmonies. The initial drum sessions were completed in drummer, Al Barden’s basement, engineered by Marcel. Later sessions were recorded at Pow Wow, the studio run by Marcel and Tim.
Whilst stamping his own distinctive sound upon the material, Nick’s tragic obsession with this early ‘70s era can be heard in the many iconic references which are apparent on the album; references to songs such “Draft Morning” and “Wasn’t Born To Follow” by The Byrds, “Moonlight Mile”, “Winter”, “100 Years Ago” and “Shine A Light” by The Stones, “Yer Blues” by The Beatles, “Moonage Daydream” by Bowie, “Everybody’s Talkin’” by Fred Neil, the theme to Rosemary’s Baby, “Should I Take You Home” by Sunny & The Sunliners, “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind” by The Delfonics, “Down By The River” and “Cortez The Killer” by Neil Young as well as later classics including “Marquee Moon” by Television and “Rattled By The Rush” by Pavement.
Nick’s lyrics, not surprisingly, tell stories of loss, abandonment and mistaken identity, and, like so much classic pop, echo the yearning of childhood dreams.
The Expanded Edition of Murphnick’s Strange Ride is out now and available from:
Strange Ride | Murphnick | Cheersquad Records & Tapes (bandcamp.com)
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