If you’ve ever wandered down Coogee Bay Road just as the sun is setting – where ocean mist mingles with the scent of salt and chips – you might’ve felt a certain magic in the air. It’s this exact essence that the Coogee Bay Road Band has managed to bottle up and serve in their debut album, The Chronicles Of Coogee Bay Road. Released on Halloween 2024 (yes, a bit spooky-chic), this eight-track EP is like a scrapbook of stories, stitched together with blues, rock, and a wink of Eastern European spice.
These are not just songs. They’re vignettes. Each track feels like a pub tale, shared over schooners, with someone pounding the table for emphasis, and another yelling ‘that’s SO true!’ from across the room.
John, Joe, Sax and Sal are a tight group that deliver GREAT music. Let’s go deeper…
A Walk Through the Tracks
Let’s start with the title track, ‘Coogee Bay Road’. It’s the album’s banner song and rightly so. The lyrics – ‘Where city meets surf and the nature’s grace’ – are basically a mission statement. There’s something infectious about the guitar work here, upbeat but never rushed, like a stroll with nowhere to be. You can almost see the lapping waves and hear a busker playing nearby.
Then there’s ‘The Call’. It starts slow and introspective, a bit of a heart-squeezer, to be honest. There’s a touch of melancholy in the vocals, and the lyrics edge into poetry. But before there’s ‘Engaged’, which flips the emotional script with a tongue-in-cheek romp about commitment and cold feet. It’s like the musical equivalent of a best man’s speech – funny, honest, and just sentimental enough to hit you right in the feels.
‘Coogee Minnows’ brings the nostalgia in droves. It’s a love letter to childhood summers – chlorine hair, sand in your sandwich, and endless days that seemed to stretch forever. It’s warm and familiar, a bit like flipping through an old photo album with someone you used to be.
‘You Always Make My Day’ feels like the emotional centrepiece of the album. It’s tender, stripped back, and sincerely sweet without ever dipping into sappy territory. There’s genuine heart here, and you get the feeling this one came from a very real place.
And then, ‘Facepalm’. It’s witty, a bit self-deprecating, and the kind of track you want to dance to while laughing at your own awkward missteps. It’s the perfect finale – leaving listeners smiling, nodding, and probably hitting “repeat.”
Track Listing:
- Coogee Bay Road
- You Always Make My Day
- See You Around
- Engaged
- Coogee Minnows
- Facepalm
- The Call
- Unreasonable
An Album That Feels Like Home
What makes The Chronicles Of Coogee Bay Road so special is how rooted it feels. The Coogee Bay Road Band isn’t trying to be anyone else – they’re not chasing trends or chart positions. Instead, they’re telling their stories, their way. This album sounds like people who play music because they have to – because there’s too much life not to.
Musically, they’ve drawn from a broad palette – bit of blues here, some rock there, even touches of folk and gypsy-jazz flair. But the threads that run through it all are authenticity, humor, and heart. And let’s not forget the vocals – raw, lived-in, and expressive. These aren’t polished pop vocals – they’re real voices, the kind that know how to carry a story.
Worth a Listen (or Several)
Whether you live down the road or across the globe, The Chronicles Of Coogee Bay Road offers a little holiday for the ears and the heart. It’s funny, it’s moving, and above all, it’s human. You can find the album on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.
So grab your headphones, pour yourself something cold, and let Coogee Bay Road Band walk you through their neighbourhood, one song at a time.
I love the album, it’s a VIBE!
