Reviews for debut album "Alarm Clock Radiation" (2006):
"Putting his deft touch to every sound bar drums, every one of the dozen tunes oozes charm and tells a tale - some tongue in cheek others simply beautiful - in what signals his arrival as one of our finest songsmiths. There are nods to several influences, namely Neil Young, The Eels, Beck and Bowie, and Wixted dares to experiment successfully. This is arguably the Australian album of the year (****)" - Scott Podmore, Melbourne Herald Sun
"The title track will ensure fans take a synth rather than a guitar to the campfire. Best of all, you could strip away the bells and whistles and the haunting beauty of the songs would still shine through. Sydney has soul after all (****)" - Rebecca Barry, NZ Herald
"Alarm Clock Radiation isn't diminished by repeated play. The Model School has a genuine charm, but is never content to be merely affable." - Craig Mathieson, The Age
"Indie Album of The Week ... School's In!! (****) - Brag
"One of the most gorgeous albums I've heard in a long time...The Model School have their own bloody good thing happening on Alarm Clock Radiation. Definitely one for the collection." - thedwarf.com.au
"The Model School offers a fascinating conglomeration of styles which are applied to a diverse range of subjects, often resulting in music which sounds like it should be from another world. However rather than creating something unattainable, they have a genuine ability to take this uniqueness and translate it into something beautiful, something honest, and something real." - quietpaws.com
BIOGRAPHY
The Model School opened in 2004, with a lo-fi EP I recorded on an outdated 4-track tape machine. To say that tape machine was essential to my existence would be an understatement as I used it almost everyday for the five years prior to releasing my EP.
I did think about recording my EP in a proper studio. I even thought about going to Iceland to record in Sigur Ros' studio - a converted swimming pool, surely that'd look impressive in the CD liner notes!". Well, after finding out how much things cost in Iceland that didn't happen. I did go to Iceland though, and while I was there, I decided it was time to reveal my home recordings once I got back to Australia.
In late 2004, I self-released these home recordings on an EP called Demonstration Disk. It got more attention than I had expected considering it was so lo-fi, and I don't mean intentionally lo-fi like the laptop brigade. This sounded a little like I had used an old Commodore 16. People seemed to get the songs though and I was really pleased about that.
After Demonstration Disk was released, I played a few acoustic solo shows. It was a baptism of fire, because I'd never sung in public before. Well, maybe happy birthday once at a sibling's birthday party or a few woo-hoos on backing vocals in one of the bands I'd played in, but never out front on my own.
It quickly became obvious to me that I needed a live band to help realize the varied sounds that were in my recordings - sampler, melodica, lapsteel, synthesizer and harmonica were all been added to the fray. As 2004 turned into 2005, the band I assembled played around Sydney and got better as each day passed. It seemed like a good time to start recording my debut album.
I had written heaps of songs but I wasn't sure how I was going to record them. I liked the space and feel of my home-recorded stuff so I didn't want to lose that, but I definitely wanted the album to be more sonically improved than my EP. With this weighing on my mind, I made the leap to Protools and got a computer to record at home. The key was to record it all in my own way, but just run all the recordings through some fancy gear for mixing!
I spent a week at Damien Gerrard Studios putting down drums with live drummer Frosty, and I played as many other instruments as I could manage. It was a fantastic opportunity to record the songs as I heard them in my head. Once I got the tracks home, I went about adding more home recorded elements to keep the sound my own. By 2006, Alarm Clock Radiation was complete.
To me, the album has a few nods to my influences - including the Eels, Sparklehorse and Neil Young - but I also think it sounds like me more than anybody else. That was always my intention, and part of the reason why I wanted to play all the instruments, and produce and mix the album myself.
People keep asking me where the songs on Alarm Clock Radiation come from but I can never give them a decent answer. I think the songs contain the answers - there are words, ideas and feelings bouncing around, and I was simply there to absorb and express them in my own way. Whether my songs come from half finished dreams or conversations makes no difference to me - I just have to be ready when they do come.
Happy listening,
Brendan
The Model School
June 2006
