Amid the never ending gush of horrible Tariff news comes some kind of relief in the form of the announcement of another tour by beloved Melbourne band The Fauves, further spruiking their fabulous new album Tropical Strength. The post-election tour will happen in July and for added (non-taxable) value will also feature Fauves’ gig buddies The Stress of Leisure. The Fauves’ Tropical Strength was recorded in Bali, Indonesia in 2023 and released in late 2024. The stacked jury has since returned their verdict and it seems we’re all guilty of loving it.
Today we received this missive from Fauves HQ, which attempts to explain the significance of this tour in their native tongue, Fauvespeak. Rather than try to unpack these budget-size reams of information ourselves and transcribe into manageable soundbites, let’s just leave this here for all to ponder…
THE FAUVES return to the well-worn stages of your life.
After demand issues sullied their supply capabilities they have embraced the Toyota Just-in-Time efficiency ethos as an audience broadening approach for the one-off month of July. Take this highly favoured opportunity to subscribe to their valued way of life and never look back again. in recognition of support NO TARIFFS will be applied on this tour.
Current disclaimers aside – Australia’s most trusted B(R)AND, are now also available in Tropical Strength.
Back by shareholder demand, The Fauves play their award-winning* 2024 album Tropical Strength this July at the Annual General Meeting. It’s a bull market and the share price is sky-high after the TGA approved the use of Tropical Strength in Australia** as a cure for all four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and (in a world first) phlegmatic! With pared back recording costs, the album’s ROI is over 10%, EBITDA is nudging 25% and ARIA is building an extra wing on the Hall of Fame. Fully subscribed and paid up shareholders CAN send a proxy and the Board will be playing all the hits***.
All shows in full colour (half-yearly results pending; show defaults to sepia tone in the event of a Standard and Poors credit downgrade).
Tropical Strength, 11 songs to get addicted to, overdose on and check yourself into rehab for. Available now as part of any sensible investment portfolio. Adding to the value in various sectors will be fellow advisers from Brisbane THE STRESS OF LEISURE.
Visit www.what_do_the_asterisks_mean.com to find out what the asterisks mean.
Visit www.thefauves.com to find out what an asterisk is.
THE FAUVES now available in full spectrum Tropical Strength
sign on for Live Product demonstrations tour for the limited time of JULY 2025
FRI 11 JULY – Sydney CROWBAR
plus THE STRESS OF LEISURE and NO CAKE
Doors 7.30pm. Tickets now from oztix
SAT 12 JULY – Brisbane CROWBAR
plus THE STRESS OF LEISURE and Ben Ely’s MUNGO FUNGO BAND
Doors 7.30pm. Tickets now from oztix
FRI 18 JULY – Belgrave SOOKI LOUNGE
plus THE STRESS OF LEISURE
Doors 7.00pm. Tickets now from oztix
SAT 19 JULY – Melbourne NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
plus THE STRESS OF LEISURE and MOUSSE CANNON
Doors 8pm. Tickets now from oztix
FRI 25 JULY perth LYRICS UNDERGROUND
plus THE COMMUNITY CHEST and SLIEM FOX
Doors 7.30pm. Tickets now from oztix
SAT 26 JULY adelaide UNIBAR
plus THE TRAFALGARS, LAZARO’S DOG and JULIETTE SEIZURE & THE TREMOR-DOLLS
Doors 7pm. Tickets now from moshtix
THE FAUVES – TROPICAL STRENGTH leached in the culture environment by Valve/MGM
DIGITAL https://ffm.to/tropicalstrength
VINYL & CD via retail thru MGM and VALVE ONLINE STORE https://www.valverecords.com.au/shop/
EVEN MORE VITAL INFORMATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FAUVES PROPOGANDA
THE FAUVES – BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Fauves lengthy tenure (36 years) has resulted in them outlasting several generations of bands. Long have they posed like big game hunters on the African savannah with their feet astride the lifeless neck of the music industry. Many readers may require some biographical information on the Fauves.
After meeting at high school, the four friends became a regular fixture on the Melbourne live scene from 1988, issuing three self-funded EPs before signing with Polydor records in 1993. It was the release of their third album, Future Spa, in 1996, that saw the Fauves reach another level of popularity. This was followed by years where they saw more of the country than Australia Post. During this period a film crew followed the band on its travels, and the resulting documentary Fifteen Minutes to Rock aired on national television in late 2000.
“Released” from Polydor Records shortly afterwards, they settled into wilful obscurity, releasing six remarkable but unheralded albums on Shock Records, each less commercially successful than the last. They released their first double album Driveway Heart Attack by themselves in 2019. It can occasionally be found with the aid of a radio telescope. Their 13th album Tropical Strength is due for release on 1 November 2024.
The Fauves’ appeal is difficult to define. Never fitting into any particular genre has afforded them a longevity rare in the music industry, while their extra-curricular talents have seen them involved in everything from hosting youth television programs to appearing on the popular TV quiz show Sale Of The Century.
The band have been likened to a North Queensland cult. For those who have been indoctrinated, membership is a revelatory experience. Others tend to just walk past the large cyclone fence and peer through occasionally.
“Self-promotion is difficult for us. We don’t really inhabit the music industry. Our parents taught us to be friendly but not familiar”.
The Fauves are: T. Cleaver, A. Ian Cox, P. Daniel Leonard, A. Douglas Newey
DISCOGRAPHY
This Mood Has Passed EP – 1990; The Scissors Within EP – 1992; Tight White Ballhugger EP – 1992; Drive Through Charisma – 1993; The Young Need Discipline – 1994; Future Spa – 1996; Lazy Highways – 1998; Thousand Yard Stare – 2000; Footage Missing – 2002; The Fauves – 2004; Nervous Flashlights – 2006; Prefer Others (B-side compilation) – 2007; When Good Times Go Good – 2008; Japanese Engines – 2011; German Engines – 2012; Driveway Heart Attack – 2019; Tropical Strength – 2024.
TROPICAL STRENGTH – BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
It’s generally considered that bands don’t reach their peak until their 13th album, which puts us in the sweet spot for success. Two hundred sales would be about par. Five hundred sounds a bit greedy. Over a thousand and we’re running a scam – change your passwords immediately.
The album was recorded a week in Indonesia in late 2023, strictly during office hours. Later we roamed the Sanur foreshore like shiftless itinerants seeking trouble or some nasi goreng. Next morning we were back at the studio as if nothing had ever happened, which perhaps it hadn’t. Very few Australians have ever been to Bali so we relished the sense of outpost exoticism and a culture completely untouched by Western influence. Here we could work in relative anonymity, far from the complete anonymity that tracks our every move at home. And when we needed some attention, we simply had to say, “We’re the dudes that did that Dog song”. Pretty sure that got us a few discounts, although we had trouble doing the currency conversion.
When only Tropical Strength will do, you need a trusted brand. For all your repellent needs, try The Fauves Tropical Strength, now in convenient 12-inch and CD sizes. Guaranteed to repel all music fans, critics and lecherous industry denizens.
Disclaimers: Fluorocarbon-, microplastic- and hit-free, The Fauves Tropical Strength will not damage you or your family’s hearing so long as you play it at volumes under 5 dB.
AND SOME WORDS ON SUPPORT ACT ‘THE STRESS OF LEISURE’ SO THEY DON’T FEEL LEFT OUT
The Stress of Leisure force feed their special sauce of faux wave through a post-punk grater that shuffles somewhere between outright cynicism and wide-eyed optimism, embrace of the absurd, the thrown away detail, and endless curiosity. True weirdos and better for it.
2024 album – It Goes Away With The Heat is a return to the embrace of the tropics for The Stress of Leisure. The title is also reflective of the age of hyper-politics we’re all living through. It’s somewhat post-punk, somewhat faux-wave, and unsurprisingly dabbles on the edges of weirdo, as you’d expect from this quartet. Recorded at Phaedra Studios in Coburg, Melbourne by John Lee (Mod Con, Blake Scott, Laura Jean), the band opted for a rawer more live sound reminiscent of early Modern Lovers recordings: minimal takes, the right energy throughout. It’s reflective of the rawness in the Brisbane music story, the endless humidity, the sweaty passion, the cross pollination of punk and other influences.
https://thestressofleisure.com/
