Faking Clever have been making noise on Sydney stages for three years now, but their origins trace back to the town of Young on Wiradjuri Country in NSW, where songwriter Rory B. Steele (guitar, lead vocals) and brother Cameron Steele (drums) honed their musical abilities together before setting off for the state capital.

Inspired by the 80s/90s Australian independent scene, a love for New Wave and a penchant for alt-country, the Steeles soon linked with kindred spirit and Central Coast expat Toby Dowdell (bass, also of Spicy Lemons). The band found a strong base of support around their musical heroes, particularly the Canberra diaspora of the Hayes brothers and Nic Dalton.

The song ‘Mochrie of Me’, is on the surface a sharp, groovy ode to renowned improv comedian Colin Mochrie (of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ fame), but lurking beneath the surface is the tale of somebody frustrated by pressure from a prospective partner to be anyone but themselves, culminating in cries of “This isn’t ‘Whose Line’..! so why you gotta make a Colin Mochrie of Me?”

On equal billing is the five and a half minute epic “Cresswell”, the story of the ‘Tichborne Claimant’ saga that held a tight grip on newspaper pages throughout the latter half of the 19th century. It is told from the perspective of drover William Forbes, who was acquainted with the Wagga Wagga butcher Tom Castro and vagrant William Cresswell, both of whom were purported to be the true Sir Roger Tichborne.

Their debut release is just the beginning for Faking Clever, after three years together as a band their performances have yielded a strong and versatile catalogue of original songs that are aching to be put on wax, lauded by their contemporaries and audiences alike.