I love a happy-sad song. You know those ones that get you up and dancing, but are a lot darker than they first appear once you start listening to the lyrics. So “Children of the Hour,” the latest single from Eora/Sydney act Dande and the Lion, has everything I’m looking for. Rest assured, it will get you up off your seat and grooving along to the beat. But once you tap into the words, you’ll start to fully appreciate this gem.
‘Children of the Hour’ was inspired by a play I read by Lilian Hellman – ‘The Children’s Hour’ – that was later adapted into a film starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine,” explained vocalist Natassa Zoe. “Hellman’s story played a part in helping to initiate my songwriting process and I started to reflect on how this related to experiences in my own life at that time. ‘Children of the Hour’ centres around the push and pull within an intimate relationship; meeting someone who takes you completely off-guard and shakes up your world in a totally unexpected way. So much so, that you start creating excuses to see them, thinking about a future with them, yet despite all those feelings it never quite matches up, for whatever reason you’re both just out of touch.
“The song itself is about being playful in the moment, following the feeling rather than over-thinking things. Yet, despite this, the ‘hour’ never being quite right and ultimately leading to the endless wondering of how things might have been under different circumstances, in another time.”
Dande and the Lion are current touring around the East Coast to support this single’s release. Here are all their remaining dates:
3 March 2023 – Oriental Hotel, Mulubinba/Newcastle
25 March 2023 – The Jynx House @ Venue 114, Kabi Kabi and Jinibari Country/Sunshine Coast (supporting The VANNS)
5 April 2023 – Mumbo Jumbo’s, Darkinjung Country/Terrigal
14 April 2023 – Towradgi Beach Hotel, Dharawal Country/Towradgi
21 April 2023 – The Gum Ball, Wonnarua Country/Lower Belford
28 April 2023 – Kelly’s on King, Eora/Newtown
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Saz Watson