Where the Dogs Go to Die broods with a quiet intensity; like a series of impending storms, foreboding in their dark tone, sticky humidity clinging stubbornly in the air. But also their aftermath – of taking stock and licking wounds.

The debut album from Mpwartne/Alice Springs outfit Charlie Ivan Band uses ballads as a vehicle for such back-porch contemplations. Frontperson Charlie Ivan first wrote the songs on Where the Dogs Go to Die alone; his unembellished but emotionally impactful piano playing giving the record its tragic, longing mood. That, and his coarse, Leonard-Cohen in-a-room-with-blinds-pulled-tight shut voice, heavy with burden, regret and confusion.

Charlie Ivan Band recall another band in name – Snowy Band from Melbourne (Snowy himself mastering Where the Dogs Go to Die). The former have a darker bent than the latter – but like them, a broader rhythm section adds colour to their frontperson’s initial ruminations. Sam Sargent on drums and Ned Gaynor on bass add a subtly reliable, always-in the pocket weight to the album, giving the ballads their waltz, or, when needed, the subtlest of bursts (such as on the In Rainbows-esque ‘I Feel and it Rained’).

It’s a debut record both focused but expansive – there’s a near ten minute track on here, after all. And a ten person choir, too; a chorus of voices that float in and out as demonstrative punctuation. Charlie Ivan Band may be the songs of its founder; but many hands give the group its life. And perhaps, the ability to then process, and push through.

Words by Lindsay Riley

Contact the host of Charlie Ivan Band + The Morning Star (duo) at Franks Wild Years