Tom Iansek has been featured on holaOLA before, but as half of the award-winning Australian duo Big Scary. Now, the Melbourne songwriter is back, further proving his excellent musicianship, songwriting, and vocal skills as the force behind #1 Dads, his solo project, which recently released the beautiful record About Face on Pieater Records.
Formed as a way to keep busy creating new material between recording sessions and touring with his more established music project, #1 Dads first made its mark back in May 2011 (as Dads) with the debut release, Man of Leisure. The only real sonic connection that can be made between the two projects is that they both feature Iansek's passionate vocals and experimental pop sensibilities. Comparing #1 Dads' new record with Big Scary's recent genre-defying Not Art LP, Iansek not only mellows down his vocals a bit (albeit without sacrificing any of the soul), but he tones down the music too, favoring subdued piano arrangements and acoustic guitars to punchy keys and percussion. The presence of guest vocalists (Tom Snowdon of Lowlakes, Ainslie Wills, and Airling) on select tracks of About Face also adds a new dynamic to his minimal indie rock, making for an engrossing listening experience that's just as diverse as the list of genres tagged to his previous music.
Stream/purchase the entire album below and hop on over to #1 Dads' BandCamp page to stream and/or buy 2011's Man of Leisure.
