ALBUM LAUNCH DATE: 28 SEPTEMBER 2023
Weather Being is the new and first album release by Stowmarries, formerly Johnny Stowmarries of legendary Brisbane 80s/90s duo The Goths.
Featuring ten songs, originally written by Johnny and mostly performed by The Goths, with tracks that have been remixed and remastered to enhance the overall sound and present what were essential classics in ways that weren’t possible when first recorded.
To original fans of The Goths, there is new content amongst the remastered tracks.
The album opens with ‘Tree’ which was the last song written by Johnny whilst in The Goths. The rest of the tracks feature in more or less reverse order, right back to ‘Wilderness’ which was the first song he wrote for The Goths back in the ‘80s. Along the way are several beauties including ‘Smashed’, ‘Midnight’ and ‘Put It On’.
During the past few years, digital media has enabled The Goths music to reach new international audiences, with recording interest and publishing deals coming from Germany, the UK, USA, Mexico and Brazil.
This inspired Stowmarries to curate and release this ten-track album so that new audiences can enjoy these tracks and get a taste of things to come.
In what became a hallmark of The Goths distinct song inspiration, the album title is reference to another literary trope (check out the lyrics to Midnight for example). This time it is Hamlet, who of course famously contemplates being … or not being. In returning to the musical fold after an extended absence, so much has changed, Stowmarries included. The whether / weather pun is a play on the ageing process, himself being slightly more weather beaten than in The Goths’ heyday, when many of the album tracks were regularly performed live at Brisbane’s The Bohemian, where they were the resident act from 1989 to 1993.
Having weathered the noughties and beyond, and everything that came since, Johnny is inspired to resume the recording process by making new music that resumes the journey that the tracks featuring on Weather Being started.
“These are troubled times, but to me they aren’t just about crisis. My inspiration now is focussed on not giving-up, more about staying committed, supporting one another, surviving … and thriving“ adds Johnny.
Weather Being is released for digital streaming and download on Bandcamp.