Born in transit between the echoing halls of Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre and the hum and creak of a city flat, is the latest offering from La Huva, their second album – Midnight Black and White.

Since the release of their debut Pretty Mile, the Sydney trio, (John Lattin, Malcolm Mckernan and Tim Kevin), have built a loyal & passionate following receiving glowing reviews up and down Australia’s East Coast and abroad, as well as airplay on national and local radio. Pretty Mile has stood the test of time. A casual and simple record, captured beautifully by Tony Dupe in an old run down coast house south of Sydney, it documents a time and place perfectly – in the tradition of something like an early Go-Betweens recording.

La Huva have since continued to win over live audiences in the company of The Bats, Knievel, The Smallgoods, Louis Tillet, Youth Group, 78 Saab, Sneeze, The Small Knives and The Guild League to name just a few. After time spent touring nationally and o/s in other musical and non musical ventures, they found themselves with an abundance of new songs and demands for a new record.

With limited funds at hand but time to burn, they decided to utilize the small second hand studio that was taking shape in Tim Kevin’s bedroom (in fact a refuge for ‘defunct’ and offended analog equipment), so it was decided that the new album should realize its ambitious potential on the eight tracks of a second hand reel to reel tape machine. Inspired by unbeatable optimism and the solid fact that the likes of Brian Wilson, the collective genius at Motown’s ‘Hitsville’ and cassette deck heroes Guided By Voices had delivered such incredible sounds under similar ‘limitations’ La Huva decided it was most definitely worth a shot.

The essence of this recording indeed lies in the performance to the turning wheels on the deck and the sweet qualities v imperfections of the sound. Recording vocal takes in one pass, mixing on the fly, utilizing spare reel to reels for tape delay and reverb effects etc. Like those before them La Huva have managed to work within the limitations of their own technology and means. The pay off for the extra effort is in the performance, spontaneity, and the happy accidents that occur in the heat of the take.

Of course process is one element to the making of an album – the songs are its heart and not much can be said until they are heard. In contrast to Pretty Mile, Midnight Black and White was written and recorded through the paces of modern city life. Themes range from the universal and timeless, to the more slanted. Bar room protagonists, war room puppeteers and the jet-setting king of duplicity and sleaze, Ambassador, all have a scene to play in Midnight Black and White. It’s a passionate album that loves where it comes from enough to celebrate its best and fire its worst with an atmosphere strong enough for you to smell the rain on the walk home after the show. This is tied sweetly in the hymn like closing track which plays like a manifesto for the record itself.

The layering and orchestration around the album is something to dive into. Interwoven string lines play against jarring percussion and exotica tape loops but the live feel remains intact and shines through. There is a refreshing originality in La Huva’s sound that meets sweet melody with a loose, jagged energy, a tension that makes this three piece band unique and irresistible at once. In the same way that their live shows provide that contrast between classic sensibilities and the element of surprise, the album manages to capture the sweet collisions that make La Huva a stand out.

Take the sound of a detuned piano being played across the hall next to your enlisted best friend banging the tambourine trying desperately to cut through the guitars and strings and all of this kept just in line by a throbbing back beat. There, you have a sense of Midnight Black and White. It doesn’t simply throw toward an era or a way of doing things, it takes on approaches that have been used before, built from the ground up into something unique, relevant and fun, something that we who love La Huva have been watching from day one are excited to be a part of.