HALF A COW RECORDS EP REVIEW
the Wells, …and now we can die happy

Originally from Lismore, this Brisbane five-piece have released a seven track cd that you could say falls into a category we are going to call 'adult-folk-pop'. Other purveyors of this sub-cult include Jack Johnson, Bernard Fanning, Gomez and Ben Harper. So you can sort of see where the Wells are coming from. And it's a solid collection of well-written and performed tunes.

The opening track 'Tell Her' is the one to get the ladies in, and if the band could suddenly get national radio coverage with this one, it would be a sure-fire hit. It's got the lyrics about lost love, a great sing-a-long melody and the right sort of acoustic guitar that seems to get the girls going these days. Well, it worked on my wife as she commented "this is a lovely song, darling", walking past the office door, "another cup of tea?" Thanks guys!

'Ohio' has a catchy chorus and a cute story about a boy and girl hooking up after many years and the boy forgetting they used to know each other and then..."we fell in love anyway and we bought an old car and we ended up with two kids on her father's old farm in Ohio". This song wouldn't be out of place on a Ryan Adams album (one of the country-pop ones).

The Wells are brothers Ben Eckersley (vocals) and Josh Eckersley (drums) with Gavin Henderson (guitar), Karl Sawczynski (piano) and Joel Dierselhuis (bass). The bio mentions 'this crazy period of hiring and firing band members' so it looks like there was one or more previous bass players involved in the recording. The very-well-put-together-I-might-add press kit continues with a quote from an interview: 'we are fair and decent young gentlemen who play laid-back pop music with great big dirty smears of blues and country'. Couldn't have said it better myself. - ND

Hi Guys. The Wells spent some time in the studio recently and have finally posted some of the photo's. We are about to get our mastered songs back and they will also be posted on our site once we find the time.

         So whilst we wait for that, have a look at some of the photo's, leave some comments on just how handsome you think Karl is, and carry on living your lives in a manner that allows us to thoroughly live ours at the same time (although we inhabit The Wells Universe and are mostly impenetrable to all Earthly things, such as flu, karma and malaise, just to name a few).

    But please don't let that turn you off the idea of coming to our next gig. We promise to feign an illness just to show how accepting we are of new things. Although it could spell certain doom for us and all our loved ones... You wouldn't want that would you? I mean, it's quite drastic, considering we are only here to romance this world and to smear love like peanut-butter on your soul. I don't know why anyone would wish any harm on me and my kin... I just wanted to bang my drums and sing pretty songs... shit, I just realised I missed the anniversary of Kurt Vonnegut's death. I have a bird called Vonnegut at home. He shall get an extra cracker tonight...

Love The Wells...

Greetings friends and wells-wishers. Ben Wells here to tell you that we have just finished recording 3 hot new tracks with the amazing New York producer TIDY KID. He is a talented man and is currently polishing the little gems as we speak. These tracks will be available on this site as of next Tuesday and we would love for you beautiful humans to have a listen and let us know what you think. They will be released later this year on our next record but for now we thought we would let you all have a sneak-preview, free of charge, just because we care… We truly do. How have you been recently? Good? I didn't see you at our last gig so I was a bit worried. I called your mother, she said you are just going thru one of those phases… not sure who you are… struggling to find a truly defining haircut and pair of slacks… still trying to be the coolest girl in this ghost-town… It's o.k, we are all struggling to find ourselves, it's the human condition. Why do you think I put on this tough-guy façade? Because I'm scared…
Ummm, anyway… please have a listen and let us know how you rate our new stuff. We have already come to the conclusion that it's probably the best music since John Denver died in that nasty plane crash into the Rocky Mountains. Actually, I think he crashed into the sea but that's not nearly as humorous is it? Anyways, his career had already run out of fuel long before his plane did… ummm, that comment may get me in trouble. I know my parents were big fans. They also like Neil Diamond, who isn't too bad at all but he is a funny looking fellow I must admit… ummm, ok. That will just about do it I think. See you on Tuesday… Love The Wells. (sorry about that John Denver thing. To make it up to all the fans I may have offended, please follow this link to a classic Denver moment that will live forever in my heart… enjoy.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=tdYMexHq3FM&NR=1

The Wells, The Alley Bar, 10pm Wed 10^th Jan

Being one of the more melody orientated rock bands in Brisbane, most shows by the Wells should be impressive.  They opened with four solid songs including "Tell Her" (a personal favourite) and "Coming Home".  These more well known songs got the crowd interested and they kept the good tunes coming throughout the set. 

Upbeat, country-tinged rock songs were coming out the wazoo and the crowd was happy to say the least.  In addition to the drums, guitar and bass, the piano helped provide melodies and a harmonica was produced to add some interesting solos.  I even think I remember hearing something about a spoon being on stage – although I'm not if Ben has the mastery of the spoon just yet…

The vocal duties were performed admirably by Ben Eckersley, but the real revelation was the harmonies provided by brother, Josh Eckersley.  Being brother's you would assume they would be fairly in sync – and you would assume correctly.  These harmonies were a pleasure to listen to for the 9 or so songs that they performed.

Many fans and well wishers turned up to support the band and make a great atmosphere for the band to play in.  The crowd was so captivated that there were calls for an encore – which were unfortunately declined.  Brisbane was thanked for its attendance and the Wells played a solid gig.

Grant Grantson

Zombie Elvis: "They took my Job"

Zombie Elvis claims "They took my Job", referring to local Brisbane Band 'The Wells' and their new found love of prescription medicine. "There aren't enough chemists in this town for both of us" says Wells drummer J. Eckersley in a scathing reply as they were named as this years spokesmen for Herron's new Chewable Morphine pills. This latest move has seen Elvis knocked off his golden endorsement throne as The Wells become the new pin up boys of pharmaceutical-rock.

"I'll have my day in the sun now that I've got my chewable morphine", was Ben Eckersley's reply to what onlookers could only describe as "incoherent verbal diarrhoea" from Zombie Elvis as he attempted to gate crash the launch of the new morphine line in Brisbane last night. Police were brought in to prevent the King from attempting his classic "morphine pelvis" dance moves which, although made him a star in the pharmaceutical world as a living spokesman, they have only proved disastrous as a slowly decaying zombie spokesman.

The visibly shaken and strung out zombie King of rock was ejected from the launch party shortly after he attempted to "shaft" a 5-foot rubber mascot morphine pill affectionately named "Mikey Morphine". Local man Jimmy Edmunds who was wearing the mascot suit at the time claims that it is "all part of the job. It's not the first time Elvis has tried to shove me up his a$$ and I doubt it will be the last".

Zombie Elvis was released this morning on bail and will face court early next month.

Confused, cauterized and mentally unstable.  
The Wells trials. Woodford is calling...

Amidst the plethora of more inviting worldly events, The Wells are attempting to burn holes in your esoteric heart. I heard a story about a super massive black hole that is destroying galaxies at a fantastic speed. I heard rumours that your town is filled with ghosts and elderly people applying to become ghosts before the Christmas rush hits us. People are still burning crosses out there and I am not impressed. The Wells are trying to romance this world and possibly the next. Lighten the mood a little. So here we are.

I was singing in L.A (honestly), in a seedy part of the seething city and I met a fellow songsmith with whom I spoke graciously about his struggling art. Given that we were, according to the locals, in the mental illness district I honestly tried to complement the guy by comparing his work to one of my favourites, Daniel Johnston. This was in my opinion, an apt call. His visage didn't reiterate my sentiments. Fuck him then. The next best thing I could offer was to give him a head start before I call the hospital with news of another escapee. You would think he would be happy to receive the compliment (despite his delusions) but most people are too tightly wound. Too fraught with discordant realities to appreciate what little forms of romance still exist in this caustic and fatal world. "This place is killing you son and yet I praise and revel in your constitutional lament". Just don't spit on me mother fucker as I am sure you must be suffering from more than a few diseases. I can smell them on you. Everyone in this room can smell them but we are still here to experience some form of love that will not require credit card payment or receipt for taxation purposes. Sing me something.

I wonder what ever happened to that guy…… Who cares? He wasn't and never will be in this band so fuck it.

The Wells are here for emphatic, worldly romance. Sure, we also enjoy a spot of tea or a well-placed adjective but in the end it's romance. It feels good to have something to talk about outside of life's engrossing malaise. I am happy to be the one guy in this kitchen who has something more interesting to focus on than the broken air-conditioner. I am a catalyst. I broke that fucking air-conditioner so they would close the office down and we could all fuck off to the pub.

I hope to see you all at a gig somewhere……

Josh