The Casanovas drop a hard-riffing new single "When You Want Something From Me"
As they prepared to take to the stage in the town of Arrasate, in Spanish Basque country, for the first show of their long awaited 2022 European tour, Melbourne's rock'n'roll kings The Casanovas surprised us all by dropping a hard-punching new single. Out this morning here at home, "When You Want Something From Me" is a tantalizing taste of the band's recently finished fifth album, which will be released in the new year.
Mixed by legendary US producer Ron Nevison - a man who made his mark working on an engineer on The Who's Quadrophenia, Bad Company's debut and Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti before going onto produce Thin Lizzy, UFO and Kiss amongst others for chissakes! - "When You Want Something From Me" is 3:35 of classic Casanovas; a pure distillation of the riff-heavy and melodic '70s hard rock that they love, bottled into the aural equivalent of one of those minibar miniatures that always leaves you wanting more.
The new single and forthcoming album follow the band's Covid-afflicted 2020 album Reptilian Overlord, which got the best reviews of the band's career. The new recordings are the first to feature new drummer Brett "Wolfie" Wolfenden who joined in time to tour the last album and who has previously played with The Pictures, legendary Masters Apprentices frontman Jim Keays and Todd Rundgren. Wolfie is helping The Casanovas take their sound to new levels.
The Casanovas' European tour comes nearly 20 years to the month since they first toured Europe with The Datsuns. It takes in 15 shows across Spain, France, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany (a performance on the legendary Rockpalast!) and France. Hopefully we’re not far off seeing the lads back on these shores.
Stay tuned for further tour updates and more news about The Casanovas' new album.
The Casanovas formed in 1999 and got caught up in the early 21st-century rock mania, sharing a bill with a barely known White Stripes early on before touring Europe with The Datsuns. Then came SXSW, Triple J rotation, The Big Day Out, and shows/tours with Motörhead, Mötley Crüe, The Darkness, The Living End, The Black Crowes, Redd Kross, Airbourne and others. They always had deeper roots though; they were as much The Powder Monkeys as AC/DC, and very much a merging of two great local traditions – hard rocking punk and larrikin Oz rock – so they naturally stuck to their guns when rock was no longer in fashion. These days it’s like the early days at the Tote all over, and with new drummer Brett Wolfenden on board (Wolfie is a longtime sideman of You Am I’s Davey Lane and has played with Jim Keays and Todd Rundgren), joining frontman/guitarist Tommy Boyce and longtime bass player Damo Campbell, they are finding an even greater joy in playing.
Released in August 2020, Reptilian Overlord was the Casanovas’ first album in five years and arguably the best-reviewed album of their 20-year career. Produced by iconic Oz Rock engineer/producer Mark Opitz (AC/DC, Angels, Chisel, Divinyls etc.), and featuring singles including “Hollywood Riot” (which was appropriately picked up by legendary LA DJ Rodney Bingenheimer) and “Lost and Lonely Dreams”, the album was described by Melbourne’s own preeminent rock booster James Young (owner of the world famous Cherry Bar) thusly: “It's like they've captured all my favourite rock acts - Cheap Trick, Stones, Kiss, ZZ Top & AC/DC, and crammed them all into their own jar of Vegemite." Indeed, it captured the band’s soulful rock’n’roll groove like never before and drew attention from around the world:
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