25 September 2023 - 0 Comments

With their debut album, Signal Hill, Dunedin mainstays The Mentalist Collective are expanding the lush sonic palette they showcased in their 2018 EP, Mandala. It's a wide-ranging, indie folk- flavoured exploration of the quintuplet's songwriting abilities. Featuring the group's highly-acclaimed vocal harmonies, lyrical explorations both fictional and personal, and members that regularly swap instruments, Signal Hill is an album that reveals itself the more you listen.

The first single, Running Through Long Grass, is a breakneck folk shuffle featuring Brendan Christie on lead vocals and a chorus that will live in your head. Life-affirming choruses, dark explorations of the soul, and the occasional wolf are to be found within the album. The Mentalist Collective's songs highlight the growth and change that has come for the members as they have matured; five friends who are thrilled to play each other's songs.

Christie reflects: “As a kid I grew up with regular visits to Lake Hawea, long before much of the development had gone up beyond the waterfront. We’d camp in an old caravan and hut on a small section about ten minutes walk from the lakeside. Behind us were acres and acres of empty plains and farmland, covered in golden grass which had grown up to my knees, sometimes even higher. This song tries to embody how it felt to run through these fields, often alone, and how exciting and freeing it felt when I was young.”

Running Through Long Grass has long held a cherished place in the band’s setlist as a dance-floor-filler and an epic anthem that commands attention and often has audience members singing along.

Listen to Running Through Long Grass here

To celebrate the release of their album, The Mentalist Collective will perform alongside Lara Rose and her band at the Port Chalmers Town Hall on October 21.

Lara Rose is a Dunedin-based singer-songwriter. She has established her style of indie-folk, using writing to reflect on aspects of her own experiences. Recently, she toured the nation as one half of the folk duo, Tall Folk. In January 2022 they released their debut album Wiser, recorded at Port Chalmer’s Chick’s Hotel and brought to life by Dunedin’s most talented musicians.

Lara will be supported by an epic line up consisting of Craig Monk (violin and guitar), John Egenes (pedal steel and mandolin), John Dodd (bass) and Ryan Finnie (drums and percussion). Collectively, Lara Rose will perform both her writings from this album as well as new works.

Signal Hill will be available on all major streaming services from 13 October, 2023.

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