Strays (Life Inside the Orphanarium)

While compiling and sorting through the Steve Kilbey solo catalogue, we found a clutch of songs with no real home. Strong, passionate tracks with barely any information attached, mostly tucked away unheard. Some were pulled into a ‘to do’ file, waiting for the right moment.

Later came a set of wonderful radio sessions, uncovered with help from fans and collectors. Most listeners hadn’t heard these either. Over the course of a year, these recordings began to feel connected, and this album became their natural home.

It opens with a real belter, originally intended for a film soundtrack, and closes with an extraordinary live performance of Steve with the Hoffmen, Sean, Ricky and Adrian, taking on Lonely Stretch by The Triffids. Powerful enough that nothing else could follow it.