Make Sure You Get Around Phil Wolfendale Before He Blows Up

11 November 2017 | 6:10 pm | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

This Melbourne indie rocker is destined for greatness.

This Melbourne indie rocker is destined for greatness.



After some short stints in the synth-mosh/metalcore outfit Acrasia and the Dance Gavin Dance-worshipping locals Who Invited The Wolf?, Phil Wolfendale has pushed off into the solo artist world this year, marked by his glorious, upfront and earnest debut single, 'Lemon'.

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Originally from Adelaide, the Melbourne-based musician - who also quite enjoy's "patting other people's dogs" apparently - isn't doing anything that new in terms of this kind of catchy indie-rock, admittedly; the very kind that you'll find all over triple j Unearthed. However, this up and coming muso doesn't ruin a good thing either. For much like fellow Aussies acts such as Dear Seattle, Ceres, and Tired Lion, it's what he brings to the table in terms of his infectious hooks, his straight-up lyrical content and the pure heart that's found in every inch of his music is what makes him stand out.

According to a recent interview conducted with Born Yesterday, Wolfendale's sweet yet somewhat self-deprecating debut single is actually about a girl he was seeing at the time of writing said song, with him saying:

"I called the track Lemon as a reference to the phrase “buying a lemon” as in buying a faulty car/product, and that’s pretty much what the song is about. She was funny, smart, sensitive, patient, extremely attractive and for some reason unknown to me she was spending her spare time with me. I had no idea why she kept coming back but what I do know was that all the noise in my head stopped the moment she smiled at me and wrapped my fingers around hers."

It's unpretentious, heartfelt lyrics like "Forget about your lecture/And I'll forget I have work /It's not like they can't wait another day/Let's stay in bed and watch It's Always Sunny on repeat" or "We sit around the table drinking/And debate our current state/I slur a plea to share a taxi/And we both accept our fate" that really drive this relationship theme home. It's also this kind of honest lyricism that will also help to separate Wolfendale from the rest of the pack. Well, that, and just writing great songs, which he seems to be very good at too.

Wolfendale's debut single 'Lemon' is but the first cut from a small handful of songs he wrote and recorded last year in "some random dude's shed in Bundoora". While the rest of these songs are yet to see the light of day, this new track is out now and was produced, mixed and mastered by Declan White. No date has been set for when this new material will drop but if it's anything like 'Lemon', whatever comes next is sure to be good!

Stream 'Lemon' below.

[caption id="attachment_1099562" align="alignnone" width="760"]This single cover artwork is amazing. This single cover artwork is amazing.[/caption]