Peter Bibby Releases New Single 'Terracotta Brick'

Perth songsmith Peter Bibby has shared new single "Terracotta Brick" from his forthcoming album Drama King, out May 31st on Spinning Top Records. 

"Terracotta Brick" follows on from previous single "Fun Guy", an in-your-face up-tempo rocker. "Terracotta Brick" brings it down a few notches and is a tender lament for an honest tradesperson, further solidifying Bibby's reputation as a mouthpiece for the Australian working class.

Bibby explains, "I came up with this little ditty while I was working as a brickie’s labourer. I took a direct quote or two from the boss, he was full of great lines. He was also full of piss on a regular basis, and it got me thinking about the connection between the building industry and flat out, celebrated alcoholism."

Given Bibby's recent switch to an alcohol-free lifestyle, "celebrated alcoholism" has been something he's regularly contemplated in recent songwriting. "I tried to make a beautiful, sad song about the whole topic and I for one think I succeeded. Dan (Luscombe) didn’t like my guitar solo, but he also never worked on a construction site, so he obviously didn’t understand the guitar technique I was using, a little technique I like to call ‘tradie’s tears’.”

Drama King was produced by first-time collaborator Dan Luscombe, whose work with fellow Aussie breakouts The Drones and Amyl and the Sniffers convinced Bibby he’d be in safe hands. Bibby later traveled to Los Angeles to mix the album with White Denim’s Josh Block, a frequent collaborator with Leon Bridges.

And while the material on Drama King may have come together without major incident, its lyrics reflect Bibby’s evolution from hard-partying prankster to a more enlightened, responsible human who now knows when enough is really enough.

That said, the daily challenges of life remain - a truism Bibby nods to with his choice of album name. “Everyone uses the term ‘drama queen,’ even regardless of gender,” he says. “I was thinking it’s a bit unfair to the queens to always be called ‘drama queens.’” He adds with a big smile, “I consider Drama King to be a woke title.”

More on Peter Bibby:

An artist who has been celebrated as inherently working-class and wholeheartedly independent, Bibby comes by this caution honestly, having cut his teeth in the rough-and-tumble underground rock scene centered around Perth’s Hyde Park Hotel. “I’d pay five bucks to go see punk bands every weekend, and that really fired me up,” he says. “I'd already been making music, but that made me want to perform, and that's where I met people who I did my first recordings with.”

Bibby’s affable personality has gotten him plenty of mileage as a live act. He’s toured the U.S. with Pond and performed at the infamous open mic night at Pappy and Harriet’s in the California desert. He’s also taken the stage at international festivals such as Laneway, Falls, All Points East, South by Southwest and South Africa’s Rocking the Daisies while notching his fair share of rowdy headlining shows.

Drama King Tracklisting

1. The Arsehole
2. Fun Guy
3. Bin Boy
4. The One
5. Bruno
6. Baby Squid
7. Terracotta Brick
8. Turtle in the Sand
9. Feels
10. The Pricks
11. Old DC
12. Companion Pony

FREO RESIDENCY DATES

Thu 02 May - Buffalo Club – Fremantle/Walyalup, WA with Dennis Commeti 

Thu 09 May - Buffalo Club – Fremantle/Walyalup, WA with Chris Davis & Scrambled Eggs 

Thu 23 May - Buffalo Club - Fremantle /Walyalup, WA with Royston Vasie 

Thu 30 May - Buffalo Club - Fremantle /Walyalup, WA with Love Shovel

PETER BIBBY DRAMA KING AUSTRALIAN TOUR

*With special guest Georgia Knight 

Thu 20 Jun – The Valley Loft – Brisbane/Meanjin, QLD* 

Fri 21 Jun – Mary's Underground – Sydney/Eora, NSW* + Dominic Breen 

Sat 22 Jun – Howler, Melbourne/Naarm – VIC* 

Sat 29 Jun – Jive – Adelaide/Tarndanya, SA*

Photo credit: Tim Barretto

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