Strange Bird

Strange Bird is the second studio album by the Australian indie rock band Augie March. It was first released on 14 October 2002 in Australia by BMG and was re-released in the United States on 14 September 2004 by spinART. Strange Bird followed from the success of the band's moderately successful first album, Sunset Studies, which was voted as one of the best albums of 2000 by listeners of national Australian radio network Triple J. Strange Bird was quite a departure for the band, replacing the often mellow melodies of the first album with a more expansive, direct sound. Background Augie March formed in 1996, when four TAFE and university students formed a band led by English student Glenn Richards. They released two EPs; Thanks for the Memes and Waltz. Waltz received some industry recognition through nominations at the 2000 ARIA Music Awards, but neither EP was a mainstream success. Nonetheless Augie March were offered a contract with BMG. In 2000, Rob Dawson joined the band as a pianist, and the band recorded their debut album, Sunset Studies. The album was lauded by critics and ARIA but not by the general public. In January 2001, as the band were looking to work on a follow-up, Dawson was killed in a car crash. Keyboardist Kiernan Box was brought in to replace him. Recording and production Strange Bird was written in an abandoned telephone company building in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne. Unlike Sunset Studies, which was produced by Paul McKercher and Richard Pleasance, Augie March chose to produce Strange Bird independently; drummer Dave Williams explained to Beat that the band was so comfortable working together in the studio that they felt confident producing the album themselves. Recording sessions took place at Melbourne's Sing Sing Studios and Sydney's Megaphon and Big Jesusburger studios. Two tracks—"O Mi Sol Li Lon" and "Sunstroke House"—appeared on the album in their demo form.