Various Artists' Truckload of Sky: The Lost Songs of David McComb Vol. 1

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As singer-songwriter for The Triffids, David McComb wrote what is now considered one of the greatest Australian albums, Born Sandy Devotional (1986), but after the band's breakup, labored in relative obscurity until his death in 1999.

A Truckload of Sky: The Lost Songs of David McComb, vol. 1 (2020) was written by McComb before his untimely death and later recorded by friends and musical collaborators, including Graham Lee, Rob McComb, Romy Vager, Rob Snarski, Angie Hart, JP Shilo, Alex Gow, Simon Breed, and Lenore Stephens.

This book examines the ways the album echoes McCombs stylistic and thematic obsessions, including that which Glenn D'Cruz classifies as a "hauntological aesthetic," while generating important questions about the relationship between popular music and memory, time and death. Jacques Derrida's concept of hauntology - the revisiting of social and cultural elements of the past - is used to unpack the album's structure and composition. Alongside themes of ghosts, past lives, and haunting, the book discusses what, if any, ethical considerations can and should be made in the curation of the work and legacies of deceased artists.

Author Bio

Glenn DCruz is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. His most recent books include Hauntological Dramaturgy (2022) Sarah Kanes 4.48 Psychosis (2018) and Teaching Postdramatic Theatre (2018). His short film, Vanitas, premiered at the Revelation Film Festival in 2022 and will screen on SBS television in 2024.