Deborah – Single Review
The Gadflys were formed by brothers Mick and Phil Moriarty and began as a punk rock outfit in the early 80s. In the late 90s, they got the job of house band for popular ABC TV show Good News Week, giving the group weekly nationwide exposure.
After over fifteen years of touring, four albums and two EPs the legendary Australian band is back with a superb track Deborah, the first single to be released from their forthcoming album Love & Despair.Deborah contains many of the band’s stylistic sensibilities, with measured doses of rock, pop, country and folk throughout.
The song begins with an intro that calls to mind the rhythmic flourishes of blues-influenced early rock and roll, setting the song’s driving pulse. Michael Moriarty’s voice is in fine form, the low-toned nuances and inflections of his voice carrying the melodies’ power with flair, ease and control to haunting effect.
The instrumentation, including the country-tinged solo guitar floating between the verses, provides a fitting foundation for the song’s wistful feel, allowing the cyclic arrangement of the melody to soar and drop. The song is a rumination; an exploration of memory and yearning filled with finely spun romanticism that’s set against the ceaseless motion of rock rhythms and the timeless attributes of great pop. The song is a tribute to punk icon Deborah Harry, viewed through the lens of the past yet with a note of optimism threading through it.
Deborah is the kind of song that defies genres, echoing the past yet imbued with a striking layer of contemporariness. With the infectious organic groove providing a strong counterweight to the plaintive mood, the track effortlessly seduces and engages, while maintaining a radio-friendly resonance. There’s no doubt Deborah will help remind music audiences just why The Gadflys have had such a long and illustrious career.