The Bank Holidays

The Bank Holidays were an Australian indie pop band from Perth, which formed in 2003 as Tunnelball by Nat Carson (guitar, piano, vocals), James Crombie (bass guitar, vocals), Wibekke (Bekk) Reczek (guitar, vocals) and Ian (Stafford) Chater (drums). Late in 2007 Chater was replaced by Stuart Leach. They have issued two studio albums, As a Film (15 October 2007) and Sail Becomes a Kite (17 July 2010). By late 2012 they had effectively disbanded.

The Bank Holidays
Also known asTunnelball
OriginPerth, Western Australia, Australia
GenresIndie Pop
Years active2003 (2003)–2012 (2012)
Labels
Websitethebankholidays.com
Past members
  • Nat Carson
  • James Crombie
  • Wibekke Reczek
  • Ian (Stafford) Chater
  • Stuart Leach

History

The Bank Holidays were conceived by James (Jim) Crombie (bass guitar, vocals) and Wibekke (Bekk) Reczek (guitar, vocals) whilst holidaying in Norway (on Bekk's grandparents' farm), who several weeks later in London enlisted old school friend Nat Carson (guitar, piano, vocals) to form the band. On their return to Perth in 2003 they recruited drummer, Ian "Stafford" Chater. Late in 2007 Chater was replaced on drums by Stuart Leach. They played their first gig at The Swan Basement in Fremantle under the name Tunnelball, a suggestion from Darren Hanlon. They changed it to the Bank Holidays before their next gig at Perth's Hyde Park Hotel.

In September 2004 the band released their debut recording, a five-track extended play, Good Looks to Camera on Lost & Lonesome Recording Co. Sabian Wilde described the band as "Firmly entrenched in the realm of '60s pop, without any of that caustic tongue-in-cheek bitterness that sometimes afflicts revivalists" and that the EP is "a gem of a debut... that is self-assured, breezy and very, very catchy. Despite being a little too indie for those of the rawk persuasion, consistent rotation should wear those boundaries down like a smile melting a bad mood."[1] Its lead track, "Tread Easy", won a WAMi Award in 2004 in the Indie Rock / Punk Category for Crombie and the group.[2]

In February 2005 the group co-headlined with the Panics on a national tour, with the Bank Holidays releasing their second five-track EP, Day for Night, later that year. Its second track, "Like a Piano", was nominated at the WAMi Awards in that year for the Love category for Crombie, Reczek and the group; and its final track, "Not so Long Ago", was nominated for the Rock category for Crombie and the group.[3] The Bank Holidays have also played with fellow Australian bands the Lucksmiths, Little Birdy, Youth Group, the Panda Band and Augie March, and have supported international acts, Belle and Sebastian and Peter, Bjorn and John.

At the 2007 WAMi Awards The Bank Holidays walked away with their first WAMington for 'Best Indie Pop Act'. The group completed recording of their debut album, As a Film, at the rural Victorian home studio of their producer, J Walker a.k.a. Machine Translations. It was released on 13 October 2007.

Crombie and Reczek had married by 2010.[4] On 17 July the Bank Holidays released their second album, Sail Becomes a Kite. Jennifer Peters of the AU Review opined, "A surprising left turn for the delightful quartet, whose previous output has been exemplified by a giddy exuberance and sense of joyousness, Sail Becomes a Kite is an extraordinarily reflective and weighty indie-pop release... the outfit is more than capable of crafting unabashedly graceful and poignant tracks, fleshing out the production canvas along with the ever-growing gusto of their entrancing three-part harmonies."[5] By 2012 the group's official website declared "The band is currently split between Perth and Melbourne, so a show is rare and exciting thing for us. Behold then, our appearance at Perth's This Is Nowhere festival!"[6] They were scheduled to appear in October 2012. The Bank Holidays had effectively disbanded after that time. Meanwhile, Carson and Leach had formed another indie pop group, Captain Coach, in Melbourne which issued a single, "Done and Gone", in August 2013.

Band members

Current
  • Bekk Reczek (guitar, vocals)
  • Nat Carson (guitar, piano, vocals)
  • James Crombie (bass guitar, vocals)
  • Stuart Leach (drums)

Former
  • Ian (Stafford) Chater (drums)

Discography

Studio albums
  1. "The Voice I Hear When I'm Alone"
  2. "Oh Daylight"
  3. "This Elated Height"
  4. "Cheating, Cheating"
  5. "Folded in Half"
  6. "Consolation Prize"
  7. "First Things First"
  8. "Like a Piano"
  9. "Teaching Pupils"
  10. "Pits & Gravel"
  11. "Tread Easy"
  12. "There Is a Room on Hold"
  • Sail Becomes a Kite second studio album, released via Lost & Lonesome Records in July 2010.
  1. "Tripping Up to Fall in Love"
  2. "Save Silence"
  3. "Thereabouts"
  4. "The Motif"
  5. "His Majesty's Voice"
  6. "Particles"
  7. "Sail Becomes a Kite"
  8. "Oxford Street"
  9. "Without It"
  10. "Through the Trees"
  11. "In the Desert"
  12. "Gravity's Playthings"

Extended plays
  1. "Tread Easy" – 3:16
  2. "Folded in Half" – 3:18
  3. "Along with the Sun" – 3:44
  4. "The City Is Too Small" – 4:25
  5. "The Greatest Game" – 3:40
  • Day for Night released via Lost & Lonesome Records in September 2005. It was produced by Steve Bond and recorded at Cazfair House.
  1. "She's not into Love" (Carson, The Bank Holidays) – 3:17
  2. "Like a Piano" (Crombie, Reczek, The Bank Holidays) – 3:27
  3. "Can't Be Beat" (Crombie, Chater, Carson, Reczek) – 2:48
  4. "Leave It Out" (Carson, The Bank Holidays) – 2:52
  5. "Not so Long Ago" (Crombie, The Bank Holidays) – 3:21

Singles
Cover of "Bird", May 2006
  1. "Bird" (The Bank Holidays)
  2. "City Walls and Empires" (Institut Polaire)

Other appearances
  • Kiss My WAMi '06 DVD inclusion: "Like a Piano"

References
  1. "WAM Reviews" for West Australian Music Industry Awards:
  2. "WAM Song of the Year 2004". West Australian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. "WAM Song of the Year 2005". West Australian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. Reynolds, Sam (1 September 2010). "The Bank Holidays – Sail Becomes a Kite". Faster Louder. Junkee Media. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. Peters, Jennifer (19 July 2010). "The Bank Holidays – Sail Becomes a Kite". the AU Review. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  6. "News and Weather". The Bank Holidays Official Website. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  7. Bank Holidays (2007), As a Film, The Lost & Lonesome Recording Co, retrieved 7 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia
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