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Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is the sixth studio album by Australian rock group Powderfinger, released by Universal Records on June 2, 2007. It was released with a limited edition bonus DVD, titled Powderfinger's First XI, featuring eleven music videos spanning the band's career, from the first single, "Tail" to "Bless My Soul", the band's latest single before the release of Vulture Street.

Following the success of their previous album, Vulture Street, Powderfinger toured and then spent three years on hiatus. They reunited in late 2006 to write songs for the album, which was recorded in Los Angeles, California, in early 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf. The first single from the album, "Lost and Running" was released on May 12, 2007, and reached number five on the ARIA singles chart. A second single "I Don't Remember", was aired on radio on 9 July, 2007. and was released as a CD single on August 12, 2007.

The album received critical acclaim, with many reviewers commenting that the album was "consistent" and "distinctly Australian". The album encountered controversy relating to the song "Black Tears" with claims that it may have influenced the Palm Island death in custody trial. Powderfinger released an abridged version of the song as a result of these claims.

Background

During television interviews in 2006, Bernard Fanning stated that Powderfinger was working on a new album to be released the following year. The band reunited in January 2007 after their three year hiatus and departed Australia for the recording of the album in Los Angeles, California. On Powderfinger's website, guitarist Ian Haug said that the upcoming album was an "exciting new direction" for the band's music. After a month of recording Fanning made a March 2, 2007 announcement on Australian radio station Triple J that tracking was complete, mixing the album was to follow, and the approximate release date was June. Fanning also stated that several of the tracks on the album feature session pianist Benmont Tench.

Herald Sun Hit, a subsidiary of Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, announced the album's title as Dream Days at the Hotel Existence with production by Rob Schnapf, best known for his work with Beck and The Vines. The title of the album was drawn from the book "The Brooklyn Follies" by Paul Auster, which Fanning had read during the recording. He stated the concept of the title related to escapism, and that he felt it an appropriate sentiment to attach to the music of the album.

Recording and production

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was recorded in a different manner to Powderfinger's previous records, as the band sought a different sound to past works. Melbourne's Sing Sing studios were not used for recording unlike previous albums. Following a brief blog entry on the band's MySpace web page telling fans to expect a new album, the band began recording in late January 2007 at the historic Sunset Sound studio. Powderfinger had already written most of the album before departing to the United States, although the band had used different techniques in putting this album together. In particular, Powderfinger wrote songs in parts and brought them together. Some songs were written in pairs or trios, whilst other songs were written in parts by different people, and then combined. According to the band, this created a more "diverse" and "fresh" approach.

Another new introduction was American producer Rob Schnapf. Albums had been produced previously by American producer Nick DiDia. The band used different approaches in putting the album together as "it comes back to the sound the five of us can make together", as said by singer Bernard Fanning. Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton commented that as a rule they preferred not to put together an album that was just "plain", otherwise they would not have recorded it. As the style of writing differed, the band identified the need for piano performances in many of their songs, and enlisted veteran pianist Benmont Tench to play parts throughout. Powderfinger was only able to record from Monday to Friday through their recording phase, unlike any previous albums where they had been able to record on Saturdays as well. The band has said this led to them having more free time to explore Los Angeles.

Album and single releases

Template:Sound sample box align right

Template:Sample box end The first single from the album was "Lost and Running" and the video clip, which was directed by Damon Escott and Stephen Lance of Head Pictures, began showing in Australia on the April 21, 2007. The single made its Australian radio debut on April 16, 2007, but had been available for several days beforehand on the Powderfinger's MySpace web page. An exclusive early release of the song was played by Triple J on April 13, 2007.

The album was released in Australia on June 2, 2007, whilst the single "Lost and Running" was released on iTunes and as a CD single on May 11, 2007. Certain versions of the single release contained a selected collection of Powderfinger music videos spanning their entire career from their first single "Tail" through to the most recent single before Dream Days at the Hotel Existence; "Bless My Soul," on a bonus DVD, titled Powderfinger's First XI The music video for "Lost and Running" was also included, and was dubbed The Twelfth Man.

Several songs from the album were launched to Perth fans as free music downloads via PerthNow, a Perth based newspaper. Fans were required to obtain a "codeword" from the newspaper, then submit it online to download the tracks.

The second single from the album is "I Don't Remember". The film clip for the song was created by Fifty Fifty Films, who have created music videos for the group before including "Passenger" and "Like a Dog". The song was aired on radio on 9 July, 2007, the music video was released in July, and the CD single was released for sales on 4 August, 2007. The video was shot at Samford State School in Powderfinger's home city of Brisbane and features many of the school's students. The video also features cameo appearances from "industry heavy-hitters", but details as to who these are have not been released. It turned out this was noted in jest, as the "industry heavy-hitters" were all children dressed up as people of the music industry.

Response

Chart performance

The album debuted in the ARIA Album Charts on June 11, 2007 at number one, becoming Powderfinger's fourth album to peak at the top spot. The album was certified platinum in its first week of sales, and was its double platinum certification was announced later. A week after its release, the album achieved the highest first-week sales figures of any new release in 2007, with total sales of 40,847, thus making it the fastest selling album of the year in Australia, superseding Michael Buble's third album Call Me Irresponsible. Dream Days at the Hotel Existence broke the Australian digital album sales record in its first week, with over 3,000 digital sales.

Critical response

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was well received by reviewers. DVD Orchard rated the album 9/10, stating that Powderfinger have "maintained their undisputed knack for songwriting". Visitors to the website also rated the album 9/10.

Herald Sun music journalist, Cameron Adams, described the album positively as "in a word: consistent," stating that nothing much had changed between this album and previous Powderfinger albums. Meanwhile, Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Bernard Zuel said "you couldn't fault the playing, the singing or, most of the time, the arrangements here", but that "it is Powderfinger's first dull album". His review stated that there was nothing new and adventurous in the album, and that everything had been done before. Review website FasterLouder commented that the album feels "as tight as their previous albums" and spreads out a charm that is "distinctly Australian", while noting that the album was not recorded in Australia.

Controversy

On May 2, 2007, a song on the album, "Black Tears", sparked controversy when its lyrics were accused of possibly being prejudicial to a major trial due to take place in Queensland in mid 2007, known as the Palm Island death in custody trial. The accused's legal team wrote to the Queensland Attorney-General requesting that release of the album be delayed until after the trial. The band's response was to keep the song on the album, but to release it with an alternate version of "Black Tears".

Cover art

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence's cover art was designed by Aaron Hayward & David Homer of Debaser, a New South Wales based design organisation. The recipient of the 2007 ARIA Award for "Best Cover Art", the album art features a photograph of a road leading into the Australian outback horizon. In the centre, placed in the sky in relation to the background, there is a window with a crimson curtain. Within this window is a hotel room, as per the name of the album, in which a man with no head in a suit is seated at the end of the bed while watching the television.

Above the window is the album title and at the top of the cover is the band's name in the uniquely craftier typeface, created specifically for the album. Though the general design of the cover is that of a 1930s hotel in style, the typeface juxtaposes the general design with being a rather futuristic, science-fiction styled typeset. This is the second futuristic style that the band has used for their name, the first being on their earlier studio album, Vulture Street.

The rear of the album features the same highway image from the front, however it has a roadsign on the left hand side bearing the words "Hotel Existence" and the number "395". The rear of the album also contains the track listing, which is identical for both the regular version and the special edition DVD version. The track listing for the DVD is contained inside the sleeve.

Touring

Tickets for a nationwide tour of launch shows for Dream Days at the Hotel Existence went on sale on May 10, 2007, on the band's website, with tickets to the general public released a day later. Powderfinger also toured in regional New South Wales and northern Victoria. Australian pianist Lachlan Doley was enlisted to play piano and keyboard parts on their live performances in these shows. His performances were welcomed by critics and audiences, with AdelaideNow commenting that "local ring-in Lachlan Doley added shimmering keys to the band's richly textured sound". Powderfinger and Doley performed the single "Lost and Running" on popular Australian variety show Rove on June 17, 2007. The group performed at Splendour in the Grass on 4 August, 2007, and then followed up by performing at Triple J's AWOL Concert in Karratha, Western Australia on August 18, 2007.

Across the Great Divide Tour

Powderfinger announced the Across the Great Divide nationwide tour on 12 June 2007 with co-headline Australian rock group Silverchair, also reformed after a three year hiatus. The tour is set to not only feature in the capital cities, but is also due to feature in fourteen regional centres as well. The aim of the tour is to support reconciliation with Indigenous Australians. According to Fanning, "the idea is to show both bands are behind the idea of reconciliation". The tour will be the longest ever for either band. The tour has been extended beyond Australian borders with four concerts in New Zealand, though these have not been billed as a part of the Across the Great Divide Tour, despite both acts of that tour being the New Zealand tour's headliners.

The promotional posters of the tour features the Sydney Harbour Bridge balancing upside down on top of a circus tent, while balancing Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) and Sydney Opera House on top of each end of it.

Personnel

Track listing

All songs were written and performed by Powderfinger with performances by pianist Benmont Tench.

1. "Head Up in the Clouds" – 3:47
2. "I Don't Remember" – 3:41
3. "Lost and Running" – 3:42
4. "Wishing on the Same Moon" – 4:32
5. "Who Really Cares (Featuring the Sound of Insanity)" – 5:10
6. "Nobody Sees" – 4:14
7. "Surviving" – 3:45
8. "Long Way to Go" – 3:46
9. "Black Tears" – 2:30
10. "Ballad of a Dead Man" – 5:29
11. "Drifting Further Away" – 3:40
12. "Down by the Dam" – 4:29

Limited edition bonus DVD

Released under the titles Powderfinger's First XI and The Twelfth Man, the bonus DVD features eleven music videos by Powderfinger spanning their entire recording career, and also includes the launch single to Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, "Lost and Running".

Powderfinger's First XI

1. "Tail" – 4:24
2. "Living Type" – 3:25
3. "Pick You Up" – 3:30
4. "Passenger" – 4:39
5. "Good Day Ray" – 1:50
6. "Don't Wanna Be Left Out" – 2:18
7. "My Kind of Scene" – 4:31
8. "Like a Dog" – 4:41
9. "On My Mind" – 3:40
10. "Sunsets" (Acoustic version) – 3:57
11. "Bless My Soul" – 4:06

• The Twelfth Man - "Lost and Running" – 3:52

Notes:

^ A. Generally listed as "Good-Day Ray," however it is listed without a hyphen on the CD insert and DVD.

^ B. The video and single for the song "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" were released simply as "On My Mind" without the bracketed title, and the song is listed as such on the DVD.

Footnotes

1. ^ DVD Orchard (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, retrieved on June 5, 2007.
2. ^ Triple J (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence: Triple J Music Reviews, retrieved on May 28, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "triplej" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. Australian Music Charts (2007), CHART: Australian top 50 singles (21/05/2007 - 27/05/2007), retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
4. ^ The Courier-Mail (2007), Powderfinger Go Back To School, retrieved 9 July, 2007.
5. "'I Don't Remember' with bonus live track available now through iTunes!". Powderfinger newsletter. Powderfinger. August 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. ^ Herald Sun Hit (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence review, retrieved on June 13, 2007.
7. ^ The Courier-Mail (2007), Powderfinger Album Faces Ban, retrieved on 28 May, 2007.
8. ^ The Daily Telegraph (2007), Powderfinger Amends 'prejudicial' Song, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
9. Powderfinger (2007), Powderfinger News - New album, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
10. Triple J (2007), New Powderfinger Album Details, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
11. McCabe, Kathy (May 13, 2007). "Powderfinger's blitz". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
12. Herald Sun Hit (2007), Powderfinger, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
13. ^ Play4Me (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, retrieved on July 9, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "play4me" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
14. PerthNow (2007), Black Tears, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
15. Take 40 (2007), Powderfinger Biography, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
16. The Courier-Mail (2007), Finger Tips Fresh Sound, retrieved on June 9, 2007.
17. ^ Rove (2007), Rove, airdate June 17, 2007, No. 11, Season 7.
18. JB Hi-Fi (2007), Lost and Running, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
19. PerthNow (2007), Free Powderfinger Download, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
20. "Powderfinger go back to school". The Courier Mail. July 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
21. ^ Australian-Charts.com (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
22. "2007 Album Accreditations". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
23. Undercover (2007), 40,000 Powderfinger Fans Can't Be Wrong, retrieved on June 12, 2007.
24. Powderfinger (2007), Powderfinger Newsletter - June 13 2007, retrieved on June 13, 2007.
25. New Zealand Albums Chart. Published by Charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 14 July, 2007.
26. SMH (2007), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence Review, retrieved on June 13, 2007.
27. FasterLouder (2007), Dream Days At The Hotel Existence, retrieved on June 7, 2007.
28. Generation Q (2007), Powderfinger Announce Dream Days at the Hotel Existence Launch Parties, retrieved on May 28, 2007.
29. "Debaser win ARIA award for 2007 album cover art". Design Federation. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
30. Dream Days at the Hotel Existence cover art
31. ^ HeatSeeker (2007), Powderfinger Concert Information, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
32. Take 40 (2007), Powderfinger Tours, retrieved on July 9, 2007.
33. The Border Mail (2007), 'Powderchair' to Rock Border, retrieved on June 9, 2007.
34. Adelaide Mail (2007), Dream Day Night, retrieved on June 9, 2007.
35. "Powderfinger". Splendour in the Grass. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
36. "Triple J goes awol". cecbuzz. FasterLouder. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
37. Dunn, Emily (June 13, 2007). "In concert - rock and reconciliation". The Brisbane Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
38. Fanning, Bernard (2007). . Powderfinger - Biography. Take 40. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
39. Rice, Stephen; et al. (September 23, 2002). "Who is in the band?". The Powderfinger FAQ. Powderfinger Central. Retrieved 2007-10-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
40. "Down by the Dam" was included as a bonus track on the version of the album released on the iTunes Music Store, and was included on the CD of the single "Lost and Running".

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