ARIA and APRA Award winners Things Of Stone And Wood return with new single You’d Gone Before You Went/The Windmills Turn, confirm first album in 23 years Rae Street and expand their national launch tour.
by Paul Cashmere
After more than two decades between studio records, Things Of Stone And Wood have stepped back into the frame with a new Double A-sided single and confirmation of their first album since 2003. The new songs, You’d Gone Before You Went and The Windmills Turn, are out now via MGM, offering the first glimpse of Rae Street, due for release on March 13.
For a band that emerged from Melbourne’s late 80s pub circuit and went on to score a Top 10 single and two Top 10 albums, the return is significant. Rae Street marks their first full-length statement in 23 years and signals the start of a new chapter for founding members Greg Arnold and Michael Allen, who will take the material on the road as The Original Duo before closing the run with two full band shows in May.
The new recordings lean into a stripped-back acoustic palette. Tracked in a converted bedroom in Melbourne, the songs embrace an intimate, home-crafted aesthetic while retaining the melodic assurance that defined the band’s early catalogue.
You’d Gone Before You Went is among the most personal pieces Greg Arnold has written. The song reflects on the loss of his mother to Alzheimer’s, delivered through a direct vocal performance framed by minimalist instrumentation and carefully layered harmonies. Arnold, who was named Songwriter Of The Year at the APRA Awards in 1993, has long balanced social observation with personal storytelling. Here, the writing is spare and unguarded, allowing the emotional weight of the lyric to land without embellishment.
The companion track, The Windmills Turn, shifts the mood. Built around accordions, melodicas, hand percussion and communal backing vocals, it carries the lilt of the band’s Celtic-inflected folk-pop roots. Beneath the buoyant arrangement is a reflective lyric examining the restless life of a working musician. It recalls the communal spirit that powered early favourites while sounding at ease in a contemporary acoustic setting.
Things Of Stone And Wood formed in Melbourne in 1989 when Michael Allen arrived at Greg Arnold’s Carlton share house with harmonies in mind. Alongside Justin Brady and Tony Floyd, the group quickly built a following through residencies and relentless touring. Their debut album, The Yearning, released in 1993, peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. The single Happy Birthday Helen, written by Arnold as a gift for his then girlfriend Helen Durham, reached No. 9 and became one of the defining Australian songs of the early 90s.
Follow-up album Junk Theatre also reached No. 8 in 1995, delivering radio staples including Wildflowers and Churchill’s Black Dog. Across the decade the band accumulated five Top 50 singles, an ARIA Award for Best New Talent for Share This Wine and a reputation for literate songwriting anchored in strong acoustic arrangements.
After disbanding in 1998, reforming in 2001 and releasing Rollercoaster in 2003, the group again stepped back from regular activity. Periodic reunions, including a 25th anniversary tour in 2014, kept the connection alive. Rae Street is the first of two albums slated for release in 2026, suggesting a renewed creative momentum.
The Rae St Album Launch Tour will see Arnold and Allen revisit the chemistry that started it all. Audiences can expect the new material alongside pared-back versions of songs that have become embedded in the Australian songbook, including Happy Birthday Helen, Wildflowers, Rock This Boat and Share This Wine.
Nearly 40 years on from that first singalong in Carlton, Things Of Stone And Wood remain committed to the craft that carried them from suburban pubs to national charts. Rae Street presents a band comfortable with its history and focused on the next body of work.
Tour Dates – The Original Duo Rae St Album Launch Tour
Wed Mar 11, Perth, Ellington Jazz Club
Thu Mar 12, Margaret River, The River
Fri Mar 13, Fremantle, Clancy’s
Thu Mar 19, Brisbane, Junk Bar
Fri Mar 20, Brisbane, Junk Bar
Sat Mar 21, Nambour, The Presynct
Fri Mar 27, Sydney, Django Bar
Sat Mar 28, Canberra, Smith’s Alternative
Fri Apr 24, Melbourne, Merri Creek Tavern
Sat Apr 25, Melbourne, Merri Creek Tavern
Fri May 1, Bendigo, Old Church Of The Hill
Thu May 21, Adelaide, Wheatsheaf
Fri May 22, Avoca Beach, Avoca Beach Theatre
Tickets: thingsofstoneandwood.com
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