Track Of The Day ANTHONY ROCHESTER
Hailing from the secluded Hobart, Tasmania, Anthony Rochester has been an exquisite and idiosyncratic purveyor of finely arranged, playful, and suave guitar pop ditties for three decades, with the uncanny knack of handling stylistic nuances with simplicity and disenchantment.
Lighthearted yet thoughtful homespun songs rich in harmony and fragility, with a springtime aftertaste, riffing on surreal realms of melodious wonders that thread Beach Boys, The Beatles, Bacharach, Donald Fagen, Louis Philippe, Prefab Sprout, Stereolab, High Llamas, and, more recently, Jens Lekman, to name a few.
Initially, what was meant to be a 2-track 7″ single (“He’s Taken Up Walking” / “Dinner Time”) was thus arranged with organic horn and brass parts, performed notably by fellow local musicians Jode Brewster and Thomas Geale. With the addition of “Let’s Make Love Happen” and “Nail on the Head”, the project eventually grew into a four-track EP, “He’s Taken Up Walking,” to be relesed via the Brest-based, French independent label Too Good To Be True, marking Anthony’s long-awaited return since his last 2020 album “Space Music For Horses”.
Introduced by subtly chiming carillion notes, the first excerpt, “Nail on the Head”, plunges headlong into vibrant, sharp jangly guitar riffs fueled by warm pulsating bass lines and tight rhythms, layering with nostalgic and cinematic enveloping keyboard strings and fluttering chilly flourishings, while regretful, anxious male vocals, cocooned by enticing wistful trumpet thrills, brood about not listening to good advice.
Eleventh Ltd. 3″ CD from the Too Good To Be True 2025 EP series, Anthony Rochester‘s upcoming” He’s Taken Up Walking” EP will be released on November 14, 2025.
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