not drowning, waving – Another Pond
Not Drowning, Waving (styled as not drowning, waving) was an indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia led by classically trained musicians David Bridie and John Phillips. The group’s name is derived from Stevie Smith’s poem “Not Waving but Drowning”. “Nobody heard him, the dead man, but still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought and not waving but drowning.” Somewhere between indie rock, ambient, and world music, NDW captured the sound of stillness with beautifully minimal textures and brooding, emotionally evocative lyrics often depicting landscapes, people, and the seasons. Just listen to the crushingly beautiful “Another Pond” with it’s slow, heartbeat drum machine groove, acoustic guitar melody, sullen vocals, and cold, wind-swept synthesizers.
Recommended – Full Listen
A1 Making A Desert (And Calling It Peace)
A2 Hunting For Nuggets
A3 Dare Not Say A Word
A4 Frogs
A5 Walk Tired
A6 John Wayne Visits Port Augusta
A7 Hibakusha
A8 Once Like This
B1 Water Drops
B2 Home On My Own
B3 Mr Suharto Man
B4 Storm
B5 Another Pond
B6 Oliver Le Strange
B7 The Cheshire Cat
Acoustic Guitar – Andrew Richardson
Bass – Rowan McKinnon
Cello – Tanya Hardy-Smith
Drums – Russell Bradley*
Engineer – David Bridie, David Cheshire, John Phillips
Graphics – Meredith Thomas, Russell Bradley
Guitar [Guitars] – John Phillips
Lacquer Cut By – DB*
Percussion – Darren Geraghty, Phillip Flinkier
Photography By – John Bicknell
Piano, Keyboards, Lyrics By – David Bridie
Producer – David Bridie, John Phillips, Richard Girven, Tim Cole
Vocals – Bill Tolsen*, Jaqui Rutten*