28 July 2023 | 10:58 am | Mary Varvaris
Have you ever wondered what No Aphrodisiac would sound like as a country/folk song? Probably not, to be honest; it’s pretty much perfect and entirely memorable as it is as a piano ballad.
But what if some banjos could make it even better?
That’s what The Whitlams Black Stump have done. Starring The Whitlams vocalist Tim Freedman and drummer Terepai Richmond, the band also welcomes Rod McCormack and Matt Fell, two CMAA Producers of the Year, on banjo and bass, and Ollie Thorpe on electric and pedal steel guitar.
Suddenly, No Aphrodisiac has become a three-minute banjo-fied instant classic. Would this version of No Aphrodisiac have won the triple j Hottest 100 and the ARIA Award for Song Of The Year in 1998? You tell us.
The fresh take on The Whitlams’ biggest hit arrives as The Whitlams Black Stump take to the Deni Ute Muster main stage in September, but that’s after the group headline Darwin Festival in August. You can check out the music video – filmed at Brisbane’s Princess Theatre in honour of the venue – below.
According to a press release, The Whitlams Black Stump have been working on their debut album since mid-2021 and are looking to release the record in February 2024.
The Whitlams Black Stump launched their country/folk project in August 2021 by re-recording the original band’s 50 Again. In April 2022, they arrived with a take on Perry Keyes’ The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw, which Freedman described as “the greatest song ever written about rugby league, but it is so much more.”
In an interview with Countrytown, Freedman called the impending release of the new No Aphrodisiac a “campfire version” and said about their single, Man About A Dog, landing on country radio, per NME: “I must admit it was a surprise to be played on Kix Country and Triple-A Murri Country, but it was very cool. I have to get out of the city more.”
Earlier this year, The Whitlams Black Stump’s version of Blow Up The Pokies, initially released in 2000, climbed up the Countrytown radio airplay charts as The Whitlams once again threw their support behind an anti-pokies campaign.