The Rescue Ships

Brian Campeau is a jumbling mass of contradictions: a writer of experimental folk who is also an avowed metalhead; a sublimely generous soul (Campeau insisted on purchasing this starving writer lunch.  Score.  If you see him, buy the bloke a beer) who genuinely believes in the rightness of the writings of Ayn Rand; a singer of rare levity who enjoys deploying a similarly punchy bluntness of tongue in casual conversation.  Indeed at first sight, it seems he gets off on giving the impression of being a total jerk.

Thank goodness then for the tempering influence of Elana Stone, jazz songstress, lover of slip 'n slide and awful cheese-related jokes ("what did the cheese say to itself when it saw itself in the mirror?  Hallo Me."  Shudder).  Highly respected soloists in their own right, together they are The Rescue Ships, one of the most exciting pop acts to emerge from the warehouses of Sydney's underground in the last ever.

Named after their song of the same name ("like Iron Maiden" Campeau helpfully clarifies), the two halves of The Rescue Ships originally met through Stone's brother Jake (sometime Brag contributor and Blue Juice mastermind), first contact provoking "hot chemistry - musically and otherwise" (although "the otherwise is not so much anymore") and resulting in numerous instances of both sitting in on each other's solo projects before songs slowly began to be written in tandem.

"For ages we just played each other's songs," says Campeau.  "And then we decided to go to New Zealand, as a writing trip specifically ... During the day we'd go sightseeing and do whatever, during the night we'd just write.  We finished with seven or eight songs probably, of which we've kept three or four ... Since then it's been more of an idea like, one of us will have a snippet of an idea and bring it, talk about it, work on it together, rather than bring a finished song ... Elana's been really focussed on getting a good song together, whereas I've been really focussed on getting really good arty production.  I think we have that common interest in making it as arty as it is songwritery."

"It was quite hard," continues Stone, "us both being lead singers - not [that we have] classic lead singer personalit[ies] or anything - but we were both just set in our ways of doing things.  And we both have very clear ideas of what should happen and sometimes they didn't meet up, so it was at times difficult and someone would have to capitulate.  And a lot of the time that would be Brian ... I've never made an album that was consistent before, and this one is consistent.  I mean, we're not like great radio songwriters together.  We don't really write hits.  We just write things that we think are really beautiful and hopefully quite different from everything else."

Cooperation is clearly paying dividends though, the pair's live sound, set to grace ears at this year's Peat's Ridge Festival, being a vivid blend of the catchy and the oddball, Campeau's frenetically precise acoustic playing being gracefully complemented by Stone's accordion, the instrumentals being topped by the luscious harmonies of two of the city's best live vocalists.

In between seeking further avenues for musical employment (including taking on the Musical Directorship of Underbelly) and making ends meet juggling half a dozen side-projects each (engineering gigs for Campeau, work with Tripod, Blue Juice and even the odd wedding for Stone), the process of polishing the final mix of their upcoming self-titled debut has become a somewhat extended one.  With the end in sight however, Stone is keen to move on to the next stage: "I just want to play really, play as much as possible.  And hopefully to see people enjoying that."


First published in The Brag