'Out of the Ground' is organic, gritty, raw, loud, sometimes mean, sometimes raucous and occasionally placatory. It's the culmination of a five year search by four adventurers for the perfect synthesis of their different whiles and ways.
Nine months after their first gig in March 2003, New Estate - who first rehearsed as Mia Schoen, Larry G and Marc Regueiro-McKelvie - launched their debut album, 'Considering...' . Released in both Australia and the United States, its combination of noise and catchy pop/rock found wide-spread appeal, however lost its legs due to their former bass player, Mindy, leaving the band a few weeks afterwards. Enter Brad Cosier who had been in attendance at Mindy's final gig. Brad introduced an entirely new sound to what's now seen as the classic band line up, including funk, soul and classic rock at its best. He wrote songs as well! With four songwriters in the band with extremely varied influences, a spanner was thrown in the works of the (let's be honest) ultra-conservative "indie" scene and New Estate dropped off the local radar.
For a good three years New Estate composed, recorded and performed like ghosts on speed, gigging at least once week in Melbourne alone (as well as the odd flirt with Sydney and Brisbane) and releasing home recorded singles and EPs to the delight of those who knew better. It was a time of gross under-documentation and lack of recognition, yet massive personal and musical growth for all involved - the band, friends and fans.
Fast forwarding to 2007, New Estate re-emerged with 'Is It Real' - an album that made a bold, albeit nervous introduction as the band they're supposed to be. Recorded by Simon Grounds, it perfectly captured a band that was volatile, scared of their future, however seemingly unable to go down without a fight. Also recorded by Simon Grounds, their new album, 'Out Of The Ground' packs the punches and serves as a statement of intent for all they aspire to be - a band not afraid of the dirt but more than capable of digging themselves out before anyone's noticed.
