BandNation

There must be something in the water down in Brisbane, as that city has been producing so much quality music that no less an authority than Billboard magazine recently deemed it one of the global music hot spots. Certainly living up to that lofty reputation are Small Mercies, a four-piece who recently released their SonyBMG debut, Beautiful Hum, an album of uplifting, rocking anthems that was produced by Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5) and mixed by Tim Palmer (U2, Pearl Jam’s Ten). Wallace, who discovered the band through MySpace, was particularly impressed with not just their sound, but work ethic: “They had almost 50 songs to choose from and not a clunker in the bunch,” he says of the early recording process in Los Angeles. “They certainly had enough material for a double album (no joke), which put us in a great position to have many excellent songs to choose from.” Vocalist Steve Blaik, guitarist Danny Procopis and drummer Marty O’Brien all met in high school (bassist Jeff Reeves signed on later) and their early demos quickly caught the attention of John Woodruff (Savage Garden, Evermore), who wasted no time in signing on as manager.