* En anglais uniquement
Led by Australian indie pop icon Bart Cummings (Library Records founder and member of the Cat’s Miaow, Hydroplane, Pencil Tin, and the Shapiros) and featuring a revolving-door lineup of similarly beloved collaborators, Bart & Friends is the pop underground supergroup of the land Down Under. The project formed in 1998 in Ballarat, featuring Cummings singing and playing guitar alongside bassist and longtime musical partner Andrew Withycombe; they released 10 Songs About Cars and Girls. Crafting a dreamy sound like Yo La Tengo, bittersweet like the Go-Betweens, and delicate like Felt, the ensemble added Mark Monnone of the Lucksmiths and Lost & Lonesome fame as drummer two years later to play some shows and record the EP I Was Lonely ‘Til I Found You. A creative dry spell and day job obligations found Bart & Friends going on extended hiatus thereafter, reemerging in 2010 with lineup changes -- Monnone took over as bassist; fellow Lucksmiths alums Louis Richter and Stanley Paulzen stepped in on guitar and drums, respectively, and Pam Berry of the legendary Black Tambourine joined Cummings at the microphone -- to record the Make You Blush EP that year. Creatively reinvigorated, the group returned the following summer, this time with Monnone and Richter, plus Scott Stevens (Summer Cats) sharing vocal duties with Cummings and Jeremy Cole (the Zebras) on drums, offering the full-length Stories with the Endings Changed.
© Chrysta Cherrie /TiVo