Limited Edition Compact Disc.
Comes shrink wrapped with a gatefold card case.
 
GB3 is the side project for Underground Lovers co-founder Glenn Bennie, and today he has released his latest album, Sakura Flower. Glenn has teamed up again with Steve Kilbey of The Church, who has added the lyrics and vocals to these beautifully crafted pop songs infused with sparkling rivulets of electronica. This is their second album together, following on from 2010’s Damaged/Controlled.
The album was recorded over a period of five years, between Sydney and Melbourne. It began in Glenn’s home studio, as he started to collate his ideas together: He describes the process: “The first stage of this album was in isolation (pre-lockdown)…experimenting with sounds, riffs and melodies. I was getting to know my new recording equipment and naively piecing together ideas. Through a process of editing and refining, and then through the contribution of Steve (and others), the songs took on new structures and meaning as each layer was added…I always wanted this album to have the feel and simplicity of a home recording. Every component was created in someone’s bedroom or spare room…from recording, to mixing, to mastering…it’s the way of the world now with recording I suppose but the similarities to my early development in recording to cassette tapes was a nice parallel that I used as inspiration. Steve’s own early solo recordings (especially Earthed) were a big influence on me too, with their DIY aesthetic’. “
Once the tracks started to take shape, Glenn brought in collaborators, with Maurice Argiro on bass (Underground Lovers), Lisa Gibbs (User) added the swirling synthesiser overdubs and Rowan Smith (MacGuffins) on drums.
The tracks were sent to Sydney in 2019, where Steve added his vocals, and Russell Kilbey engineered and added backing vocals.
Describing the album, Steve says “It sounds like Kraftwerk, colliding with The Church, colliding with Underground Lovers, colliding with New Order.”
There’s no doubt that this album is one of beauty. It’s an amalgam of two of Australia’s finest musicians, anyone who has witnessed the intensity and artistry of Glenn on guitar in Underground Lovers can testify to his bonafide status. Likewise, for fans of the Church and Steve’s many other side projects, his lyrics and vocals have a poignancy and warmth to them that touch the soul.
Sakura Flower is emotive and engrossing. Varied and captivating. From the dramatic and operatic “La Musica” to the instrumental “Synesthesia Reprise”, it’s an album to be savoured.  THE AU REVIEW