Search For Delta 9 – Before Somewhere

Search For Delta 9 – Before Somewhere
HighB – 2001
Stoner
Waardering: ****

One of the few sentences to be found about Search For Delta 9 is the following: “Delta 9 fit all the criteria's for the quintessential stoner rock outfit.” And this sentence is absolutely true and absolutely right. The Australian three-piece based out of the seaside in Sydney did not last long and only recorded one two song single back in 2001 called Before Somewhere. It’s desert rock and fuzzy stoner at it’s finest. Unfortunately the band stopped playing shortly after due to the fact to quote singer/guitarist Mat McHugh “Where we grew up around here on the beaches, every guy was in a band like that, maybe not stoner but either that or punk or metal – all distorted guitars and screaming”, he recalls. “I got to the point where I was just done with that. I mean, I live on the beach, I’m not really that angry... It was a lot of fun, but I knew there was some other side to me than just that... The whole thing was, calling the band The Beautiful Girls and playing really mellow acoustic music – at the time it wasn’t in any way fashionable. This was before the whole surf movement or whatever happened, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do this style of music and I’m gonna call the band The Beautiful Girls and I’m gonna piss all the other guys in the rehearsal studio off!’ At the time that seemed like the most punk rock thing we could have done, after what we’d come from.” So that’s where Mat went; to form roots, pop, rock band The Beautiful Girls. Taking the other two guys with him for a while. But bassplayer Clay MacDonald went of on his own little journey; after playing with The Beautiful Girls first. Later on he toured with Angus and Julia Stone and he’s now doing something with the strange reggae, laid-back rock Orange Bird outfit. Drummer Mitch Connelly had a similar story. Starting with Beautiful Girls, moving to London to play with Angus and Julia Stone; and dating her at the time inviting Clay down and he is now still playing with Julia. The search for Search For Delta 9 is over...

We now know what happened…