The historic coalmining village of Bulli, now considered a northern suburb of Wollongong, was once a proud working class area and heart of the Black Diamond coal district. Today there’s probably more cappuccino than coal but local band Solid Effort named their debut cassette the Ballad of Bulli in honour of the area and the fact that they started out playing in guitarist and vocalist Patrick Walker’s mothers Bulli garage.Now split between Sydney and Wollongong, the four-piece call their brand of indie rock 'leisure-punk’ and song themes touch on geographical and emotional isolation. They claim their sound is a cross between The Go Betweens, Minutemen, Transformer-era Lou Reed & Leonard Cohen. Big aspirations but after listening to the tape, you understand where they are coming from.Stream the EP below and read some words from Patrick.Noisey: What is the Black Diamond Bakery like?
Patrick Walker: Black Diamond is a real nice place, we’ve been going there since the early days. We used to get pies and caramel slices there on the way home from school. Other approved hangout spots include the Beanstalk and KCC, except they’re in Thirroul.What about Nan Tien, the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere?
Yeah we’ve been there. It’s very beautiful.Why the move from Wollongong to Sydney?
Not all of us have moved to Sydney. Nick still lives in Thirroul. Phanos has always lived in the big city. Pat moved up there for university and Harry works a job up there. Sydney is a lot different to Wollongong - there are a lot more opportunities for making band music things happen there. In Wollongong you can play the same venue a dozen times to the same fifty people, and then it’s hard to see where to go from there. Still, everyone there is real supportive, and they gave a band like us a fair go. People in Wollongong really care about every little thing that is happening there, whereas a lot of things seem to slip thru the cracks in Sydney. The Record Crate is the only venue in Sydney that seems to me to have that sort of relaxed Wollongong feeling. I’ve heard Black Wire is similar but I’ve never been.You reference Back to the Future in “Wrong Answer McFly”. Would you really like to travel back to 1985?
No, but we are real excited to get to Mars one day and drink some of that salty Mars water. Also, there are huge valleys and craters on Mars where there used to be lakes and rivers millions and billions of years ago, and I reckon there could’ve even been a couple sick left handers there once upon a time.
Oct 8 – Sydney at Oxford Arts Factory
Oct 10 – Canberrra at ANU School of the Arts
Oct 11 - Wollongong at Music Farmers‘The Ballad Of Bulli’ is available now through No Safe Place and Le Boogie Records
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Patrick Walker: Black Diamond is a real nice place, we’ve been going there since the early days. We used to get pies and caramel slices there on the way home from school. Other approved hangout spots include the Beanstalk and KCC, except they’re in Thirroul.What about Nan Tien, the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere?
Yeah we’ve been there. It’s very beautiful.Why the move from Wollongong to Sydney?
Not all of us have moved to Sydney. Nick still lives in Thirroul. Phanos has always lived in the big city. Pat moved up there for university and Harry works a job up there. Sydney is a lot different to Wollongong - there are a lot more opportunities for making band music things happen there. In Wollongong you can play the same venue a dozen times to the same fifty people, and then it’s hard to see where to go from there. Still, everyone there is real supportive, and they gave a band like us a fair go. People in Wollongong really care about every little thing that is happening there, whereas a lot of things seem to slip thru the cracks in Sydney. The Record Crate is the only venue in Sydney that seems to me to have that sort of relaxed Wollongong feeling. I’ve heard Black Wire is similar but I’ve never been.You reference Back to the Future in “Wrong Answer McFly”. Would you really like to travel back to 1985?
No, but we are real excited to get to Mars one day and drink some of that salty Mars water. Also, there are huge valleys and craters on Mars where there used to be lakes and rivers millions and billions of years ago, and I reckon there could’ve even been a couple sick left handers there once upon a time.
Sold Effort EP launch shows:
Oct 8 – Sydney at Oxford Arts Factory
Oct 10 – Canberrra at ANU School of the Arts
Oct 11 - Wollongong at Music Farmers‘The Ballad Of Bulli’ is available now through No Safe Place and Le Boogie Records