Greenhouse - Centre Of The Universe
***Ltd Edition Numbered Edition Signed By The Band ***
There aren’t many bands who get the opportunity to release their debut album more than 30 years into their career, but then again, there aren’t many bands like Greenhouse.
Hailing from the Victorian port city of Geelong, Greenhouse first formed in 1988, comprising guitarist and vocalist Michael Robinson, guitarist Johnny Helmer, drummer Glenn Galloway, and bassist Dean Linguey. Inspired by the likes of The Church and contemporary melodic English post-punk outfits, Greenhouse issued a handful of EPs and singles over the following years, only to split in 1992 amidst discussions with famed UK label Chrysalis.
Not disheartened by a brush with success, the group’s members would remain musically active over the years, though the lights never quite dimmed on Greenhouse. In early 2020, the flame once again reignited, and the band’s official return was put into motion. Officially reactivating and recording their long-awaited debut album against the backdrop of COVID, the process was one of both tragedy and triumph, but ultimately an opportunity to answer those ‘what if’ questions first posed decades earlier.
“I wouldn't have thought that I'd be capable of doing this kind of thing all these years later, but everyone feels in their mind and soul that they’re still in their 20s,” says Robinson. “It feels like we’ve been defrosted from a cryogenic chamber; we’ve come out, it’s 1991, and we’re devastated that the Punter’s Club isn’t around.”
The record that resulted from this return, Centre Of The Universe, is a majestic piece of work that combines stadium-ready choruses, with both elements of melodic indie-rock and Britpop sensibilities, all filtered through the lens of gritty post-punk swagger. It’s progressive without alienating its listeners, it’s powerful without being overwhelming, but most importantly, it’s Greenhouse through and through.
“With this record, Greenhouse is showing that songs don’t have to be disposable commodities,” notes Robinson. “It’s a dense, yet accessible record, built around hooky, guitar-pop music, but with a few extra layers both lyrically and musically.
“And for us to make this record in isolation, it makes it a very honest representation of Greenhouse.”
Indeed, it’s an album that makes it feel as though no time has passed, with Greenhouse having naturally evolved over the past three decades of silence, only to emerge with a powerful release which should rightly be the soundtrack to countless summers and festival experiences.
Having made their return to the live stage in 2021, the modern version of Greenhouse – which sees Robinson and Helmer rejoined by former guitarist Alex Jarvis (Automatic), alongside bassist Matthew Sigley and drummer Craig Mitchell (both The Earthmen), and keyboardist Lisa Gibbs (USER) on the live stage – is a band performing at their peak, writing some of the best songs of their career, and proving the old adage that good things come to those who wait.
TRACKLISTING
1. Here I Am
2. Slow Girl
3. Overflow
4. Building To Crumble
5. Straight And True
6. Home Again
7. Staring Down The Sun
8. Finally Over
9. God Like
10. Rising Star (For Glen Pairama Galloway)
PRODUCT DETAILS
Artist: Greenhouse
Label: Sound As Ever
Condition: New
Genre: Indie & Alternative
Format: Vinyl LP
Released: 1st September 2023