Jack Tully & The Seers is a bluesy psych rock act that comes to us from Bryon Bay, Australia. The band, fronted by Tully, was formed in the Byron hinterland of Australia and loves fuzzy electric guitars and experimental sounds. They say their main influences are the hypnotic rock of Spacemen 3 and the “rollicking noise” of Grinderman and Crazy Horse.
I learned about this Australian psych act while poking around Bandcamp for more of that sweet cosmic country goodness. Tully & The Seers released a new album, Wild Revelations, on May 1, 2023, and while there are plenty of rootsy influences, this record is just as good for fans of psych rock in general.
About Wild Revelations
Wild Revelations is the second full-length LP from Jack Tully & The Seers, following 2018’s Harkness Lane. Jack Tully is the mastermind of the group, and he also helped produce this new record.
Tully released a solo album in 2015 called The Keeping, a journey that began in a solar-powered shack in the middle of nowhere, Australia. Along with psych-rock influences like Spacemen 3, Tully is deeply influenced by old bluesmen and alternative country, which drew me to his music.
His debut solo album in 2015 was a poetic reflection of a “troubled past with a humble realization of a brighter future.” Apparently, that future has been brighter because Tully and his backing band, The Seers, are releasing new music into the world.
Wild Revelations is a new chapter in Tully’s musical career, and I thought it was an excellent record with tons of high points. Let’s get to the music.
The Songs
The album opens with a short intro song Skyborne to get us into the psychedelic mood. The swelling of experimental sounds only lasts a bit over a minute and segways into the next track, It’s Alright. Tully’s vocal style is steady and reassuring, as the lyrics on this one perhaps speak of some of the hard times he experienced in the past. “It’s alright,” he sings in the chorus refrain. “Everything’s going to be alright,” over the cacophony of guitar and drumming.
Ballad of Jim Setter comes next, breaking in with harmonica and acoustic guitar. You can imagine Tully and his band playing this one on the farm in the Australian Outback. I loved this tune, and it reminded me of the transcendental blues rock of another great singer/songwriter, The Dead Tongues. It also features a female vocalist – not Tully – who has a beautiful, smoky voice.
Big Noise starts slow and then bangs in with a wall of noise, one of the album’s hardest-rocking tracks. The guitar wailing in the background, in the beginning, is still plenty bluesy, though. Like many songs on the album, there’s a long-ish instrumental jam in the beginning before the vocals kick in. Tully’s flatter vocal delivery reminded me of Alex Maas of The Black Angels. There’s something ominous about the tone and inflection of the voice.
For Clementine is a shorter track, clocking in at two minutes, 45 seconds. Like the intro song, a psychedelic sequence of noises comes through, and the harmonious sound of the vocals. The song acts as an interlude at the midway point of the record and slows things down from the previous rocker, Big Noise.
The title track, Wild Revelations, has more than 20,000 Spotify streams so far – the most on the record so far. Tully’s spoken-word vocals carry the song at the start – “I’m going to lose my mind,” he says. The spoken word is more like poetry, and the band kicks in behind him as he continues his confessional tale. Wild Revelations has some of the best guitar playing on the album, too.
Star Machine felt like the most psychedelic song. The song’s structure felt retro, like some lost space rock tune from the Seventies. I also love the dueling guitar playing in this one. Hangin’ On is next, bringing a slow, melodic electric guitar sound before Tully’s singing kicks in. It’s a beautiful, sugary-sweet song like a Buffalo Springfield track.
Death & Taxes also features some excellent guitar playing, moody and emotive. It’s a short jam of a little less than three minutes. The album closes with Earthbound, which acts as a bookend to the opener of Skyborne. I felt the titles of these two tracks were interesting and perhaps metaphorical. We rocketed into space with the psychedelic sounds of the album, but by the end, we’ve crashed back to Earth and the harsh realities of everyday life.
Final Thoughts
Wild Revelations reaffirmed to me why I’ve become so interested in the cosmic country genre. Jack Tully & The Seers do the genre justice with this album, creating a record that almost felt like a concept album. The way the tracks were ordered and sequenced was perfect, and while I couldn’t detect any underlying lyrical theme, the overall sound of the record gelled in a very cohesive way.
Tully has played guitar for years and “views the world through a musical lens.” He says he spent time in America, Canada, and Melbourne, living hand to mouth, playing in bands, and buying guitars he couldn’t afford. All that time has apparently helped him hone his craft and use music as a vehicle for healing.
The title Wild Revelations connote almost biblical images, conjuring images of wild-haired prophets. That’s a bit of what this album feels like. Sure, there’s a psychedelic aspect, but there’s also the dirt, grime, and bloodied knuckles you’d expect from deep-down roots music and the blues. Tully & The Seers take us through this wilderness on the record, and it’s a hell of a trip.
Support Jack Tully & The Seers by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Instagram, Facebook).
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