Lachlan Denton

Though he's been a driving force in bands like <a href="spotify:artist:2FrbGdBFSc1Jz0FVQ143ft">the Ocean Party</a>, Ciggie Witch, <a href="spotify:artist:6pgS21Vwch7MeKtpcQCDpJ">Partner Look</a>, and others, Australian singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Lachlan Denton's surplus of songs also find their way into a healthy body of solo work. These recordings sometimes show up as a more hushed, acoustic-leaning version of the lively indie pop of Denton's bands but take many other forms as well. In addition to an already impressive list of credits with his other projects, Denton's solo catalog grew to include entries like 2019's sad but beautiful A Brother (a devotional remembrance of his brother and musical collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:2wJV5MfIve8k9z7Ec4n7BU">Zac Denton</a> who died unexpectedly in 2018) and spirited 2023 collection Furnishings.

Denton was active in Melbourne's underground scene as early as the late 2000s with his group <a href="spotify:artist:2FrbGdBFSc1Jz0FVQ143ft">the Ocean Party</a>. The band used the input of multiple songwriters, and they frequently performed, recorded, and released new material throughout the 2010s. While steadily engaged with <a href="spotify:artist:2FrbGdBFSc1Jz0FVQ143ft">the Ocean Party</a> and several other projects, Denton began releasing work under his own name with a self-titled EP in 2017. The songs were still influenced by the dour jangle of bands like <a href="spotify:artist:3BqAAo5E60L15TcFgWI8xH">Felt</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4HCubdy7diarb4KZo8etrq">the Go-Betweens</a>, but stripped-down arrangements allowed Denton's personalized songwriting style to shine through. New songs flooded out, and Denton released fully solo efforts like 2018 album Two Months in Ben Woolley's Room, as well as collaborations with fellow Melbourne songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:1Uk2WvbKqPrA19SbAO9miy">Emma Russack</a> such as When It Ends and Keep On Trying, both also released in 2018. The untimely death of Denton's brother <a href="spotify:artist:2wJV5MfIve8k9z7Ec4n7BU">Zac</a> in 2018 inspired the emotionally raw songs of 2019's A Brother. He remained highly active after <a href="spotify:artist:2FrbGdBFSc1Jz0FVQ143ft">the Ocean Party</a> broke up, joining new bands <a href="spotify:artist:2sQwpXA2ZqvKTpYbFP03cq">Pop Filter</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6pgS21Vwch7MeKtpcQCDpJ">Partner Look</a>, working on more collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:1Uk2WvbKqPrA19SbAO9miy">Russack</a>, and getting further into the practice of making furniture as the 2020s began. In 2023, his third proper solo album Furnishings arrived, with some songs taking a quiet acoustic path and others veering toward energetic and upbeat jangle pop. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi