Hello,

I am very excited to say that the new Vanderlay record ‘Doubtful Sound’ will be released on June 20, 2024.

This record has been in the works for just over five years now, and the songs on it have kept me company throughout many changes in my life, and indeed the world. From the beginning I wanted to write a record that picked up where our last EP ‘Spiteful Geyser’ left off. A record that was big and ambitious in its scope, but also one that felt personal and intimate. I wanted to write songs that eschewed the structures that came naturally or easily to me, and focus more on the instrumentation of each track, applying the same rigor and fastidiousness to the music as I do the lyric. Most of the song writing was done while living in France, and the relative isolation of that time certainly helped shape the work. Being there throughout 2020 and 2021 afforded me the time to live inside these songs, to build and unpack their dense compositions, and to hone exactly what kind of record I was trying to make.

After three and half years of writing, recording for the album began in the summer of 2022, at The Aviary Recording Studios in Melbourne, with Fraser Montgomery.

Fraser and I have worked together on the last few Vanderlay recordings, and with each one, he manages, in the most gentle way, to push me, and the songs, further than I thought they could go. Fraser is a kind, no nonsense force in the studio; he keeps me in time, and keeps me from overthinking it all. I can’t thank him enough for helping me make this record. As well as engineering and mixing the record, Fraser brought together an incredible group of musicians to play on these songs...

Josh Barber’s drums and percussion were among the first parts we recorded and they went on to set the tone for the record. Josh is an incredibly sympathetic player; I rarely hear drums when I’m writing a song, and yet he has the ability to make a rhythm section feel like it was always meant to be there. His unsolicited playing of the vibraphone was also most welcomed.

Ben Franz and Flora Carbo played double bass and clarinet respectively, and their contributions elevate the whole affair. Piano duties were split between Jean Baptiste Doucet (Assimilate Strangely), Ryan James Brewer (Conditions) and Antonio Beliveau (Disband, Triumph & Disaster, An Outline, Compound), with each of them delivering unique, tactful performances. Over in Berlin, the talented Jonathon Dreyfus and Jean-Louise Parker took my very rudimentary MIDI string parts and breathed life into them. As did the talented Jen Anderson who played a heart-breaking violin part on the song ‘Conditions’.

It wouldn’t be a Vanderlay record without Nick Dudek. In between trips to London and Melbourne, we were able to steal some time to record backing vocals for all of these songs. Nick’s voice and presence on the record reminds me why I enjoy making music so much.

Likewise, with Mikaela Conan-Davis, who after some light cajoling, agreed to lend her voice to the track ‘Conditions’ and her performance, I think, makes the song.

In addition to all the people mentioned above, I owe a great deal of thanks to my grandfather, Peter Band, whose super8 film footage I have used for the accompanying visuals to this album. Thank you to Bonnie Williams for her beautiful illustration work. Thank you also to Ed Acheson at Wild Gift, for helping with the release of this record. Removing some logistical weight from my shoulders has, perhaps for the first time, allowed me to enjoy the process of releasing music.

Finally, thank you to Ilaria, who has lived with these songs for just as long as I have, and has inspired and supported me in more ways than I can count.


I sincerely hope you enjoy listening to this record as much as I enjoyed making it.

Thank you, 
Caspar Conrick