Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats Announce Australian Tour Dates

Following the release of Skyscraper Stan's third studio album, Those Were Days, via Cheersquad Records & Tapes, Stan is excited to hit the road with his band, The Commission Flats, for a run of album launch shows through April and May!

Aotearoa/New Zealand-born and Australia-based Skyscraper Stan and his longtime touring band and collaborators, the Commission Flats, have generated a body of work that has attracted a loyal, and more recently, global fanbase drawn to Stan’s easy lyrical style, inventive arrangements, and deft genre twists and turns— from folk and country to indie rock and consummate soul— all key elements across the diverse new album.

Those Were Days has had an incredible response in its first three weeks of release. Debuting at #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album chart, #20 on the ARIA Australian Album chart and #14 on the Aotearoa Music Album chart. Stan has had widespread support across Australian community radio, received wonderful reviews from Italy, New Zealand and in Australia's Rhythms magazine, and the album was included in a Best Australian Music of the Week feature in Rolling Stone.
 
Written through the pandemic, and between the cities of Ballarat and Naarm (Melbourne), Stan found himself reminiscing a lot about places, people, and the state of the world as he put pen to paper. The song 'Those Were Days', that gives the album its name, is a lament for the lost hedonism of one's early 20s living in share houses in Fitzroy and Collingwood, and as such, it ties in perfectly with the general nostalgic feel of much of the album.

Across the album's singles, Stan displays both the world-class quality and versatility of his songwriting. On the alt-country meets indie rock first single 'Let Me Be Frank With You' he discusses the phenomenon of working-class people voting for conservative politicians, through the metaphor of small-town gossip.

'Strange Things Happen' and its brilliant zombified video clip is a hooky heart-ache song, with a bouncing feel somewhere between soul and 60s rock, while on 'Down The M8' Stan details the lengths that he and his partner are willing to travel for love, over a soundtrack of rollicking electric guitar and a fascinating blend of impassioned soul and rolling country rock. 

Most recently, on 'Talk To Me' Stan digs deep into what one might imagine as a kind of Antipodean Stax/Motown revue. On the infectious track, complete with a funky organ groove and saxophone solo, Stan delivers a stellar vocal performance as he sings about conversations in the age of conspiracy.

Elsewhere on the album, Stan pays tribute to his partner and spirit guide in life on 'Anjali', addresses nepo-babies in positions of power on 'Run The Game' and on 'The Plainest I Can Say It' he recalls having beef with someone.

A true group effort, the album has been a collaborative labour of love between Stan and the Commission Flats. "We did the whole thing in-house. We arranged the songs together, we produced it ourselves and our drummer Andy mixed it," says Stan. "It has been a long process, but certainly the most enjoyable music making experience of my career so far."

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia.

SKYSCRAPER STAN
For more than a decade, Stan has toured extensively across Australia and New Zealand, performing his own headline shows and at major music festivals. 

With the Sydney Morning Herald calling him “a revelation” and Spill Magazine comparing him to Stan Ridgeway, Daniel Romano, Nick Cave and Otis Redding, Stan has released two studio albums – 2015’s Last Year’s Tune and 2019’s Golden Boy, plus a live solo album in 2017 Live at Some Velvet Morning. All shone a light on Stan’s ability to write concise and accessible narratives in a timeless style, suggesting a writer steeped in the traditions of the classics but looking to refresh that sound for the modern era. His global reach has been extended by the songs 'I Fell Over' and 'Always Thinking of You' featuring on the first season of the TV series Colin From Accounts, with a further tune '21st Century Lullaby' featuring on season two of the hit show.

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