Australian indie-rock royalty British India share their first new music in eight years in ‘The Gospel of Luke’ and announce an extensive, 14 date Australian Tour for September and October.
The blistering new song also marks the band’s first release since the departure of founding member and original guitarist, Nic Wilson. It came about after a sudden burst of inspiration to vocalist Declan Melia, who admits his desire to write disappeared after Wilson left.
Recorded at British India’s ancestral home of Sing Sing Studios with long-time producer Glenn Goldsmith and engineer Aaron Dobos, ‘The Gospel of Luke’ features the studio debut of the band’s new guitarist Jack Tosi.
A bitumen-coloured meditation on the closeness of mortality and a musical reflection on those moments when we are forced to confront what really matters in life, ‘The Gospel of Luke’ is a powerful return to form for the band. By reference to religious reverence, the song expands from solemn indie-acoustic confessional to redemptional shout with a chorus to match Oasis at their arrogant zenith. A late-night drive alone brings bear to the miracle of love.
British India emerged from Melbourne’s underground scene in 2007 with their critically acclaimed debut album Guillotine, which spawned triple j favourites ‘Black & White Radio’, ‘Tie Up My Hands’, and ‘Run the Red Light’. The band earned the AIR Award for Best New Independent Artist that same year. Their 2008 follow-up Thieves debuted at #5 on the ARIA Album Chart, led by the single ‘I Said I’m Sorry’, and received two ARIA Award nominations for Best Independent Release and Best Producer. In 2010, ‘Vanilla’ paved the way for Avalanche, their second ARIA Top 5 album.
A new chapter began in 2013 when British India signed with Liberation Records and Mushroom Music. Their fourth album Controller (2014) delivered their most successful single to date, ‘I Can Make You Love Me’, which achieved ARIA Gold and Platinum certification. Momentum continued with the release of their fifth studio album Nothing Touches Me, featuring the ARIA Gold-certified singles ‘Wrong Direction’ and ‘Suddenly’. This was followed by the single ’Precious’ and their most recent studio album Forgetting the Future in 2016.
With well over 50 million streams to their name, over 1500 headline shows and a list of performances that includes every major festival in Australia, British India are one of the country’s most popular and stalwart indie-rock acts. Now, after weathering the pandemic and recharging, the band return with renewed purpose.
