Doughboy Hollow

Doughboy Hollow is the fourth album by Australian rock band Died Pretty. The album, recorded with English producer Hugh Jones, was released in 1991.

Doughboy Hollow
Studio album by
Died Pretty
ReleasedAugust 1991
RecordedTrafalgar Studios, Annandale, Sydney, April 1991
GenreRock
Length47:36
Label
ProducerHugh Jones
Died Pretty chronology
Every Brilliant Eye
(1990)		 Doughboy Hollow
(1991)		 Trace
(1993)
Singles from Doughboy Hollow
  1. "Stop Myself"
    Released: June 1991
  2. "D.C."
    Released: September 1991
  3. "Sweetheart"
    Released: February 1992

Described by Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop as "brimming with passionate, dramatic and alluring musical vistas", it took the band into the Top 20 album charts for the first time, peaking at No.19 in September 1991.[1] The album led to three ARIA Award nominations in 1992—Album of the Year for Doughboy Hollow, Independent Single of the Year for "D.C." and Best Video, also for "D.C.".[2] It was also included in the 2010 book 100 Best Australian Albums.[3]

Lyrical content

Talking to Richard Kingsmill of Triple J in 1996, Ron S. Peno explained the lyrics of second single "D.C.": "The lyric is about the passing of someone, and coming to terms with it." He further elaborated: "Lyrically I wrote it about a dear friend that passed away while we were on tour in Europe. His name was David Cox—hence the "D.C." title. He was this wonderful person who came into my life, influenced me and left it again before his time." Peno agreed with Kingsmill's assessment that the song was "a bit of an anthem", stating that he "love[s] the song" because "it's straight from the heart".[4]

Impact and legacy

Interviewed in 1996, five years after Doughboy Hollow's 1991 release, singer and co-writer Ron Peno said the album remained the band's creative watermark. "Now there's an album that should have done something," he told the Daily Telegraph. "It's a very loved album and I think it was a special record for us. I think it was criminal that it got ignored."[5]

Thirty years after the album's release, Double J featured Doughboy Hollow on their weekly Classic Albums show in August 2021. Caz Tran reflected that "Doughboy Hollow should have made Died Pretty a household name", and that "its songs show the Sydney band at the peak of their creative powers." She concluded: "Thirty years on though, it is clear Doughboy Hollow occupies a special place in Australian music, popping up with stubborn consistency on essential albums lists to this day."[4]

Named the 96th best Australian album by Rolling Stone Australia in 2021, they said, "More closely aligned with the overcast melodies of bands like R.E.M. and The Dream Syndicate, the Sydney ensemble were almost anti-grunge in their love of crystalline adornment and poetic melodrama. And most damning of all, singer Ron Peno rendered his tortured emotions through subtle delicacy rather than angsty outbursts."[6]

Track listing

(All songs by Brett Myers and Ron Peno except where noted)

  1. "Doused" – 4:10
  2. "D.C." (Ron Peno, Steve Clark) – 4:33
  3. "Sweetheart" – 4:13
  4. "Godbless" (Ron Peno, John Hoey) – 3:31
  5. "Satisfied" – 6:04
  6. "Stop Myself" – 3:34
  7. "Battle of Stanmore" – 2:19
  8. "The Love Song" – 5:00
  9. "Disaster" – 3:54
  10. "Out in the Rain"– 4:21
  11. "Turn Your Head" – 5:19

Personnel
  • Ron Peno — vocals
  • Brett Myers — guitar
  • John Hoey — keyboards
  • Steve Clark — bass
  • Chris Welsh — drums

Additional personnel
  • Amanda Brown — violin ("The Love Song," "D.C.," "Battle of Stanmore")
  • Sarah Peet — cello ("The Love Song," "D.C.," "Disaster")
  • Sunil de Silva — percussion

Charts
Weekly chart performance for Doughboy Hollow
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 24

References
  1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 171. ISBN 1-86448-768-2.
  2. ARIA Awards 1992 nominees
  3. O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  4. "Doughboy Hollow should have made Died Pretty a household name" (Radio interview). Interviewed by Richard Kingsmill. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original (audio) on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021. The lyric is about the passing of someone, and coming to terms with it. Lyrically I wrote it about a dear friend that passed away while we were on tour in Europe. His name was David Cox—hence the "D.C." title. He was this wonderful person who came into my life, influenced me and left it again before his time. (Quote at 10-minute mark of program.)
  5. Dino Scatena, "Band that never says die," The Daily Telegraph, 17 October 1996.
  6. Doug Wallen. "200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone Australia.
  7. "Australiancharts.com – Died Pretty – Doughboy Hollow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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