Tobias Cummings and the Long Way Home

One of my favourite nights of last year, for various reasons, included seeing Tobias Cummings and the Long Way Home in Melbourne for the second time. I'd loved them the time before but as I was heavily medicated that first time, thanks to an unlikely sports-related injury (that, I'm quite certain, won't be repeated), I was in greater awe the second time around.

The easy facility this band has with country-inflected pop brings home warm memories of when Wilco really mattered - Summerteeth, you remember - and the almost effortless ability to switch from brooding intensity to upbeat pop marks them out for greatness.

I got talking to the band in the bar after that second gig and, as it turned out, Tobias asked me to write his biography. I did, but then he needed a press release instead, which, after consultations and revisions with Tobias and his label boss, turned out to what you see below. If you haven't had a chance to hear any of the music, go straight to www.myspace.com/tobiascummings and listen to Sunny Disposition. It's got handclaps. Handclaps are always a good thing.

click to enlarge