Right from the get-go it’s obvious that this is a set of recordings that move well and truly beyond the stereotypical genre usually associated with Newcastle. It wears its pop heritage on its sleeve, with a sound that plunders the warmth of all those mid-sixties chart toppers and mixes it up with more modern indie bangers. It joins the dots between the 60’s and the late 80s and early 90s while remaining as contemporary as all get out right through to the last track. To emphasise where it’s come from and where it’s heading, the album opens with the crackling sound of a needle being placed on vinyl. The magical mystery tour begins with the single, ‘Mr Sunshine’, kicking off proceedings with a sitar sound sitting atop the twelve string guitars and phased outro. Then it’s on to ‘Distracted’, the only track on the album written by Dave Carter, which is reminiscent of ‘Taxman’ era Beatles, and showcases a melange of soul stylings. The vocal harmonies are spectacular on this track. ‘Mesmerise’ deploys a rip roaring McCartney-esque bass, so much so that this song could fit neatly anywhere on ‘Egypt Station’ or ‘New’ with its rich chorus and surprising middle eight. ‘Undone’ suits Dave Carter’s sublime singing voice so well. The guitars are recorded really well and are played exuberantly with 80’s and 90’s precision. Overall think early period Crowded House, late period Tom Petty, with a dash of Bourgeoisie Tagg, The Byrds and The Church tossed in for good measure. Oh, and a little bit of The Pretenders too. The guitar interlude on ‘Sink or Swim’ is magical. Once we get to ‘When it is Tomorrow’ the piano and acoustic guitar are welcome sounds at this point in the album’s song selection, as is the addition of strings and handclaps. There are flashes of instrumental magic here, not least in the returning outros that probably won’t make it past the full album version. The drum rolls in ‘Train’ are to die for. It is startling and showcases Ross Peter’s chops when he lets loose. In fact, every player on this album is disciplined enough to let their expertise, which I know from seeing them live, is considerable, serve the song and not their egos. Thank goodness.

And that’s not surprising, since The Autumn Hearts are a group of highly experienced musicians from the Newcastle music scene. Dave Carter, the band’s main vocalist and one of the principle guitar players, has been gigging in the valley, across the country and internationally, for a while. His voice, the perfect one for these songs, is definitely showcased well here. As one example among many, check out ‘Over It’. Michael Punch plays his Danelectro 12 string, and many other cool guitars, with a remarkable finesse borne of years of gigging, with the occasional recording session thrown in. He is a rival for Elliot Easton and his short and sweet guitar solos. Ross Peters is the drummer. He is as solid as Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts, exhibiting a subtle and appealing swing necessary for the songs on this album. His four-piece Gretsch kit is tuned pitch perfectly. Ed Peters, in turn, wields his Fender Precision bass as the bottom end fixture he has always been, and it is he who has written the bulk of the brilliant songs on this album. All of the band sing multi-layered harmonies, both live and in the studio, and add other necessary instruments to their bow as they’re called for, as this remarkable album attests.

All of the basic tracks for the album, that is the drums and most of the bass guitar, were recorded at Robbie Long's Funky Lizard studio in Kotara, with Dave Carter engineering using the studio’s world-class, boutique-grade equipment. The band then took the files back to Dave’s own On the Edge studio and spent some time adding all the guitar tracks as well as overdubbing strings and horns and other colour instruments that appear across the album. A few of the tracks were also overdubbed at Ed Peters' home studio in Maitland (there’s always been something musically magical about Maitland). The single, however, was produced and engineered by the legendary Mark Tinson at Terry Latham’s Impromptu Studio in Tighes Hill, the funkiest down-home studio many musos from these parts like to call their home away from home. The overdubs on the single, ‘Mr Sunshine’, including the sitar hook which Tinno played, all went down at Tinno’s own Steelville Studios in Kotara.

So buckle in, get your earbuds tuned up and be ready for an aural feast. And don’t forget, The Autumn Hearts' new album, ‘Mr Sunshine’, is available for sale at their upcoming gigs or via email contact with the band (theautumnheartspop@gmail.com). Mr Sunshine is also available for download on all the usual streaming platforms. And look out for the secret track on the CD version!