Following on from the frenetic burst of The Daily Grind, Apartmentality is the timely new single from Blue Mountains troubadour Gavin Bowles.
Driven by a chilled groove (courtesy of shit-hot backing band The Distractions) and flaunting a slinky guitar riff, Apartmentality paints a picture of the boredom and frustrations of being stuck in a small space with little to do - sound familiar?
Written while living in a one bedroom apartment in North Melbourne and trying not to annoy the neighbours with the perceived infernal racket, Bowles found himself between rock and a hard place. With lyrics like "We put up with the neighbours, and they put up with us / We can't make too much noise and I just don't want the fuss", it's no wonder he retreated back to his home studio in the Blue Mountains to record Apartmentality.
Gavin Bowles has made a name for himself over the past decade as an accomplished songwriter and performer thanks to several national tours, considerable community radio play, a number of residencies and also as frontman for Sydney rock trio, Picture Perfect, among various other projects.
More recently Bowles has established an exciting solo career. 2018 saw the release of his debut solo EP King of Nothing, described by Haze Mag as "...seamlessly walking into strut-worthy blues guitars / his lyrics convey the sophistication of a modern day hybrid of Paul Kelly and Elvis Costello". 2019 saw the release of single and video Slave - flaunting a rockabilly swagger, but rooted in indie-rock and pop sensibilities.
Over the past three years Bowles has moved between Melbourne, Sydney and the Blue Mountains - soaking up the atmospheres, sights, smells and sounds of differing urban and suburban living and music scenes.
With new single Apartmentality now doing the rounds, an extreme thirst to hit the stage post-Covid and an album in the works, 2020 will continue to see Gavin Bowles take his solo output to a whole new level.