Sometimes you don’t need much to capture a very large space. All I Can See manages to do that with a lilting, almost haunting feel and an introduction not that far removed from Paul Simon’s Sounds of Silence. In this case that void of endless silence was Australia’s outback and it became the inspiration for the song when Melbourne band Amarillo toured throughout the remote regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
For Amarillo’s songwriters Jac Tonks and Nick O’Mara it was the first time they’d experienced the vastness of the outback and it soon became apparent how foreign your own country can feel. All I Can See is a beautifully understated song that not only taps into the endless expanse of the never never, but also how isolated you can feel in such a place while still being surrounded by others. Jac and Nic say the song is a meditation on the physical and emotional distance between people. When you’re a band travelling those ridiculous distances on the road from one gig to the next there’s no shortage of time for contemplation.
Amarillo was formed in 2014 as a vehicle for Nick and Jac’s song writing, with Trent McKenzie on bass and Alex Rogowski on drums completing the line up. Their debut self titled EP quickly gained attention as they scored support dates with Charlie Parr and Mick Thomas, later followed by gigs as far away as Barcelona and New York.
Their new album Eyes Still Fixed was shaped by the band, along with one of Australia’s finest producers in Shane O’Mara, who just happens to be Nick’s cousin. They’re a talented mob those O’Mara’s. Nick is also a member of the alt country outfit Raised By Eagles, while Shane has had a huge influence as both guitarist and producer on the music of Stephen Cummings, Paul Kelly, Tim Rogers, Lisa Miller, Chris Wilson and countless others.
Eyes Still Fixed will be released on October 1st.
lovely voice. M.