''Demon Flower'' is the eighth studio album by

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock, and Aussie rock, has a rich history, rooted in an appreciation of various rock genres originating in the United States and Britain, and to a lesser extent, in continental Europe an ...

band,

Hunters & Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1981. Fronted by founding member, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, the band's other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar and Doug Falconer on drums an ...

and was released on 16 May 1994. It was co-produced by the band with Nick Mainsbridge, reaching No. 2 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

. It also peaked at No. 9 on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Mu ...

Background

''Demon Flower'' was released by

as their eighth studio album on 16 May 1994, which was co-produced by the band with Nick Mainsbridge (

The Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

Ratcat Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney who formed in 1985. The band is fronted by mainstay vocalist and guitarist, Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop song writing and energetic Punk rock, punk-style guitar rock won them fan ...

). The line-up of the group was John Archer on

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, P.A.,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

; Doug Falconer on

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

; Jack Howard on

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, keyboards and backing vocals; Robert Miles on

live sound Live sound mixing is the blending of multiple sound sources by an audio engineer using a mixing console or software. Sounds that are mixed include those from instruments and voices which are picked up by microphones (for drum kit, lead vocals an ...

and

art design Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

; Barry Palmer on

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

;

Mark Seymour Mark Jeremy Seymour (born 26 July 1956) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors from 1981 until 1998. Seymour has carved a solo career, releasing his debut solo alb ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and guitar; Jeremy Smith on

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

, keyboards, guitars and backing vocals; and Michael Waters on keyboards and trombone. Archer told ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' Naomi Mapstone that he felt the album had "less kind of studio stuff. I think it's a lot more adventurous, even though the last one sounded really full-on and dense, it was actually quite a safe record in a lot of ways ... We had a lot more fun with the sounds on this one". Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

noticed that it "featured a stronger emphasis on guitars". It debuted at No. 2 in Australia – their highest charting album – and No. 9 in New Zealand. ''Demon Flower''s lead single "Easy", was issued a month ahead of the album's release and peaked at No. 38 on both countries singles charts. The three subsequent singles however all failed to chart. Seymour describes the band's frustration in the liner notes of ''Natural Selection'', when discussing the fourth single, "The One and Only", "We’d launch into tracks like this one… an absolute live monster, and getting a response would be like trying to raise the dead. The radio recognition factor was crucial. Practically speaking, there wasn’t any radio after Holy Grail. Go figure." The album was remastered and reissued by

Liberation Music Liberation Records, formerly Liberation Music, was an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated business aim is to "find, nurture and then to develop new tal ...

on 11 August 2003.

Reception

Naomi Mapstone of ''The Canberra Times'' reviewed ''Demon Flower'' in June 1994 and noted that " he bandseem to have, taken a deep breath, cleared their heads and, got back in touch with the vitality that was a hallmark of-earlier albums ''Human Frailty'' and ''The Jaws of Life''". In December that year her fellow journalist, Nicole Leedham, rated ''Demon Flower'' as the Best Album of the year.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

Credited to: ;Hunters & Collectors * John Archer –

, P.A.,

* Doug Falconer –

, backing vocals * Jack Howard –

, keyboards, backing vocals * Robert Miles- –

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

* Barry Palmer –

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

* Jeremy Smith –

, guitars, keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals * Michael Waters –

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

, keyboards ;Production details * Producer – Hunters & Collectors, Nick Mainsbridge (Absolute Productions) * Engineer – Nick Mainsbridge ** Assistant engineer – Lawrence Maddy, Anthony Cook * Mastering – Don Bartley * Mixed by – Mark Freegard for 140db ** Assistant mixer –

Kalju Tonuma Kalju Tonuma is an Australian music producer, songwriter, drummer and performer of Estonian descent. He is one half of the production team MEJU (pronounced "me-you") which he founded with Megan Bernard in 2014. He also manages record label Of ...

* Studios – Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne (recording); Studio's 301, Sydney (mastering); Platinum Studios, Melbourne (mixing)

Track-by-track instrument credits

;"Easy" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – keyboards * Palmer – lead guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

* Smith – guitar, backing vocals * Waters – trombone * Mark Freegard – rhythm guitar ;"Panic in the Shade" * Archer – bass guitar * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – lead guitar, noise guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals * Smith – big riff,

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mu ...

, noise guitar, rhythm guitar ;"Back in the Hole" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Palmer – lead guitar, buzz guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Smith – guitar * Waters – keyboards ;"The One and Only You" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – lead guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

* Seymour – lead vocals, guitar * Seymour – lead vocals,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

* Waters – trombone ;"Mr. Bigmouth" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – lead guitar * Seymour – lead vocals * Smith – keyboards * Waters – trombone ;"Courtship of America" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, acoustic guitar * Smith – keyboards,

, string programming, guitar,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

;"Drop in the Ocean" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Palmer – fuzz guitar,

tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume. Tremolos may be either ''measured'' ...

* Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar * Smith – guitar ;"Newborn" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – distorted guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, acoustic guitar * Smith –

, French horn, clean guitar, acoustic guitar,

hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in Sout ...

, backing vocals * Waters – trombone ;"Tender" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – keyboards * Palmer – lead guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar * Smith – guitar ;"Desert Where Her Heart Is" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – guitars * Seymour – lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar * Smith – acoustic guitar, French horn * Waters – trombone ;"Betrayer" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – lead guitar * Seymour – lead vocals * Smith – guitar, French horn * Waters – trombone ;"Ladykiller" * Archer – bass guitar * Falconer – drums, drum programming, percussion * Howard – trumpet * Palmer – electric guitar, slide guitar * Seymour – lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar * Smith – acoustic guitar,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, mandolin, string programming * Nick Mainsbridge- drum programming

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Hunters & Collectors albums Mushroom Records albums