David James Young

The Top 100 Songs of 2015, Part Three: 60 — 41

Posted on 28/12/201527/12/2015 by David James Young in Lists

“We’re at the halfway point! Doing great so far!”
“‘We’? What’s all this ‘we’? I’m the one doing all the hard work!”
“Break time’s over – here we goooooo!”

Part 1
Part 2

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60. Courtney Barnett – Dead Fox

On the occasions that Courtney Barnett does sit and think, she’s got a lot on her mind: The persuasive nature of a lover. The flora and fauna of her immediate surroundings. A truck driver bumper sticker warning that becomes one of the year’s most simply-sweet pop choruses. She’s just watching the world go by and letting her stream of conscience guide her meek but acute observations – not least of which is the gently-devastating suggestion we “mull over culling cars instead of sharks.” However brisk, “Dead Fox” gives listeners a lot to think about and a lot to talk about.

59. Georgia Maq – Mulder It’s Me (Something Terrible’s Happened)

Although the X Files reference is ultimately as apposite to the song as The Simpsons reference was to “What Do You Mean (The Bank’s Out of Money)” – i.e. not very – it’s worth bringing it around to the fact that Georgia Maq wants to believe. She’s drawn to the good in people even when they’re at their worst and she finds truth when surrounded by bullshit. When she drops the bombshell of the final line – a nod to Joan Osborne as much as it is to religious hypocrisy – you’ll want to believe, too. Truth’s out there, y’know.

58. Dan Mangan + Blacksmith – Offred

Once a whimsical, heart-on-sleeve acoustic troubadour, Dan Mangan sought at least a degree of separation 1on his fourth album. Turns out he didn’t need to look all that far – it was found as early on as its opening number. That’s still his distinctive husk and inventive finger-picking in the midst, but he’s shrouded by echoing reverb, whirring microsynth and various creaks and whispers that call from the shadows. It’s just enough to remove Mangan from his past and send him into the great unknown. “Offred” is the sound of beginning again – something we all have to do sometimes.

57. Death Cab for Cutie – Little Wanderer

On Transatlanticism, Ben Gibbard waxed lyrical and extensively-metaphorical on a love defined by the space between on its title track. As supremely beautiful as it is, it’s also fascinating to see the other side of what is ostensibly the same coin: Direct, from-the-heart messages of longing and pining as a new love spreads its fire across oceans and continents. No matter how many photos are sent or hours counted, nothing compares to the third verse’s ultimate payoff, as the wanderer wanders back. This is a love song accepting of reality’s fate, and perhaps that is what the world needs now.

56. Death Cab for Cutie – No Room in Frame

The split of Ben and Zooey felt like the split of Tom and Nicole for the Tumblr generation – and, although he’ll never say it, “Frame” deals with the former comprehending it. The honesty that comes with a first line like “I don’t know where to begin” is palpable; while the reveal of the chorus’ “No room in frame/For two” feels uniquely devastating. It’s arguable that Death Cab have always thrived on bleakness, adding a touch of sepia in darker corners. With Gibbard at a low, then, the music is given the chance to fly. The empty room fills again.

55. The Paper Kites – Revelator Eyes

A stylistic transition from indie-folk to folk-rock might not feel like some sort of drastic leap, but even the notion of these harmonious wunderkinds plugging in is enough to pique interest. A sun-kissed guitar sets over a cruising drumline and glassy keys, taking cues from 70s AM radio classics and the less-hypercolour side of 80s pop to create their finest song since breakthrough “Young” from years prior. Say what you will, but seeking out new territory and challenging their established sound is something to be commended – especially when they enter this next phase with such confidence and finesse.

54. Camp Cope – Stove Lighter

A more pedantic ear might grumble away at the low volume, the poor mix or even the slightly out-of-tune guitar. As far as being a introduction to the world of Camp Cope, however, it’s – as Sherri Bobbins might put it – practically perfect in every way. The dynamic is fascinating – Kelly-Dawn Helmrich’s upper-fret bassline slides up and down, almost of as if it’s avoiding the questioning nature of Georgia Macdonald’s lyricism or the authoritative hat-heavy bash of Sarah Thompson. Although all three operate on different levels, they tessellate in stunning fashion. The spark has been lit.

53. Brian Wilson feat. Nate Ruess – Saturday Night

Although both men symbolise great left-field pop of their respective eras, 2015 wasn’t exactly a career-best year for either; both turning in confused and ultimately disappointing solo efforts. When the two locked in together, however, they created this ray of sunshine that felt like the great lost Beach Boys single or a what-may-have-been for the late, great Format. The harmonies and key change are vintage Wilson; while the wide-eyed romanticism is right up Ruess’ alley. Yes, “Saturday night on Hollywood Boulevard” is the single cheesiest thing to end up on record in 2015. That’s entirely what makes it so endearing.

52. Brendan Maclean feat. Sarah Belkner – The Feeling Again

Brendan Maclean – much like Peter Cetera – is a man who will fight for your honour and do it all for the glory of love. Sometimes, however, that’s simply not enough to keep a relationship from crumbling. Admitting defeat is one of the most honest, important things a person can do in that situation, and Maclean articulates it beautifully in a song that – unlike Peter Cetera – doesn’t blow 80s-cheese chunks. With a masterful build toward the end and some stunning harmonies, Maclean dutifully signs off on what was clearly a huge time in his life. Feel it.

51. Blur – Go Out

Dave Rowntree struts purposefully through the backstreets of the city. Alex James holds down the fort with one of his thickest-sounding bass-lines on record. Graham Coxon lets his inner Andy Gill screech, crash and snarl all over the laid out path. Among it all, Damon Albarn resumes his post up front as if nothing’s ever changed, equal parts loudmouth tourist and perfectly-paranoid introvert. Of all the comeback LPs that could well have gone tits-up, Blur’s ranked toward the top. The fact it triumphed – and sported this career-best single – says a lot about the drab four’s uncanny abilities.

50. Carb on Carb – Take Your Place in the World

Auckland’s Carb on Carb are authentically New Zealand in the same way our indie exports are authentically Australian – uncompromising in their approach, a broad and unmistakable accent lilting the vocals and a true sense of being born out of a vibrant, versatile scene. The highlight of their exceptional debut arrives at the very end, ensuring its final moments count for all they’re worth. As the impossibly-busy drums scatter across a strident chord loop, it’s contrasted by lyrics that are at once confused, distressed and enraged. It’s here, notably, that Carb on Carb take their place in… well, you know.

49. Gallows – Bonfire Season

Word association with Gallows in the past has invariably lead to adjectives like “cutthroat,” “breakneck” and other dangerous terms involving the anatomy. On their first album without the Carter brothers involved, Gallows decided to see what would happen if they tried something that would lead to terms like “slithering,” “brooding” and maybe even – dare it be said? – “sexy.” Naturally, “Bonfire Season” confused the hell out of pretty much everyone. Once the shock wore off, however, it became ever more apparent there’s still so much we don’t know about Gallows. Curiouser and curiouser.

48. Sweater Season – Decay

“All I want is to be happy.” What a simple, perfect sentiment that is. We can run the gauntlet of emotional turmoil time and time again, but when you boil down the spectrum there’s really no greater endgame. Sweater Season took this little idea that could and churned it through their pretty soundscape of guitar noodle and subtle dynamics. What they ended up with was something as quaintly beautiful as that unforgettable lyric – a hazy, introspective and masterfully-executed ballad of sorts which eloquently showed a different side to what people came to know the band for. Happiness is.

47. Jamie xx feat. Young Thug and Popcaan – I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)

Who’d have guessed: the windows-down summer cruise anthem of the year came from a pale, gaunt twentysomething Brit, normally found glooming about with a couple of other sad-sacks. He wasn’t alone, of course – the odd team of Young Thug and Popcaan kept flavours sizzling and the swagger off the charts – but his big-swinging beat and dancehall vibes certainly did their fair share of the groundwork. It was completely uncharacteristic, and perhaps that’s why it made such an impression – it’s so cool that a lyric like “I’mma ride in her pussy like a stroller” glides right by.

46. Daniel Johns – Aerial Love

The first words out of Daniel Johns’ mouth on his first work post-Silverchair are “I’m ready.” Yes, it’s just as pertinent to the romance the track alludes to, but a bigger-picture perspective can also see it as an acceptance of one chapter of his life and another beginning. Twenty years on from Frogstomp, Johns has traded in Zeppelin and Nirvana worship for state-of-the-art beats and a hitherto-unseen sense of rnb bravado. It’s initially confusing, naturally, but it perseveres and it works its way into your head. We have arrived, ladies and gentlemen, herea at the day after “Tomorrow.” Let’s fly.

45. Northlane – Leech

Bands not previously invested in politics that are suddenly the opposite are often told to stay in their lane – and, in the case of bands like Muse or Shihad, rightly so. There’s something about Northlane’s all-too-environmentally aware “Leech,” however, that separates it from the pack. It could be the twisted Midnight Oil reference. It could be the desperate cries of “Show me a way out!” that precede one of the heaviest sequences on their entire LP. Above everything else, it could just be the signalling of Northlane’s evolution of their ideas; moving into their next phase with rage maintained.

44. Royal Headache – High

Love is a drug – and, despite all his rage, Tim “Shogun” Wall is still fixin’ for the stuff: “You get me high,” he sings as clear as day. The return of Royal Headache after years in the wilderness was signalled by this, the big-business title track to their long-awaited second album – and, as far as comebacks go, it felt all the right kinds of triumphant. It was brisk, it was upfront and it was the perfect mix of vintage soul and pierced-speaker garage rock. This, folks, was the sound of Royal Headache learning to be Royal Headache again.

43. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Can’t Keep Checking My Phone

Exactly what was going through Ruben Nielson’s mind when he decided to pair some of his most confused, desperate and paranoid lyrics with the ultimate homage to 70s roller-disco funk is really anyone’s guess. That’s the thing about Nielson, though – and, to a similar extent, the thing about UMO. It’s better to not question motive and to simply let their sense and sensibilities guide you. “Phone” is stunning on first listen – it sparkles as it twirls, each spin inducing a further state of hypnosis. Once you’re under, they’ll take you anywhere and everywhere. Welcome to their boogie wonderland.

42. Daniel Johns – Surrender

Not to get all LATFH on the matter, but the best showcase of Daniel Johns’ evolution from rock-star to pop futurist was not on his debut LP, Talk. It wasn’t even one of the first two singles that sprung from his Aerial Love EP. Rather, this non-single cut from the latter ended up working wonders for arguing the case that Johns has had this kind of sultry swagger in him for longer than we could have anticipated. The beat pops and cracks, snapping itself around John’s heavens-high falsetto and cooing refrains with absolute style. We’re not in Newcastle anymore, Toto.

41. The Weeknd – The Hills

2015 was the year that we lost Wes Craven. It was also the year, strangely enough, that an allusion – a tribute, even – to his work managed to top the pop charts and take commercial radio to what Barney Gumble could only describe as “strange new levels.” From a songwriting perspective, “The Hills” was born out of darkness. There are no heroes here – only villains. Each scream; each sub-bass thud feels like a massacre. In the hands of a lesser performer, this could have tanked. The Weeknd, however, refuses to loosen his grip until we are… well, weakened.

The Top 100 Songs of 2015, Part Two: 80 — 61

Posted on 14/12/201516/12/2015 by David James Young in Lists

Here we are for part two. Response was unreal last week, thanks for checking it out and sharing it around. Here we go again! Part one here.

80. The Sidekicks – Everything in Twos

“Everything in Twos” turned up less than a month into 2015; dropped its bags and set up shop. It wasn’t going anywhere – nor should it have. Ducking and weaving through shimmering guitars and bouncing drums, it’s the type of power-pop that packs lyrical density to complement the bright, bursting tone; straight from the John K. Samson and John Roderick school of songwriting. Once you’ve surrendered to its wide-eyed charm and heartfelt, harmony-laden chorus, there’s no going back. It clocks in at 2:47, but you’ll be under its spell within the first 30 seconds – or your money back, guarantee.

79. FIDLAR – 40oz. On Repeat

The cheap beer has run dry, there’s no cocaine left and FIDLAR are not as stoked on the whole ‘stoked and broke’ thing that they were a couple of summers back. They’re still making belligerent, snotty garage pop-punk at its core, but the opening number on August’s Too saw them get a little more up-close and personal with their feelings – anger, depression, confusion et al. A dash of wurtilizer and toy piano is just enough to note growth and maturation on their part. Not a complete reinvention – because, duh, FIDLAR – but it keeps you guessing. Listening, too.

78. Bad//Dreems – Bogan Pride

Sure, these Adelaide natives enjoy a torn flanny and a smashed tinnie as much as the next bloke. Even with this in mind, Bad//Dreems are acutely aware of their native land’s major issue with hyper-masculinity. As the guitar scratches urgently against a pounding punk beat, “Bogan Pride” tears down beer-swilling muscle junkies with bitter, unrepentant fury. The irony of more of these types attending Bad//Dreems shows as their profile continues to (deservedly) rise probably won’t be lost on the band. At least they’ll always have this. Bonus points: The only song in the list to feature an exasperated “FUCK’S SAKE!”

77. Brendan Maclean – Tectonic

With synth arpeggios that orbit the planet and gated snare that could knock out Phil Collins in a single hit, “Tectonic” is the furthest that Mr. Maclean has ever ventured from the piano. Much like when Tim Freedman whipped out a keytar in the second verse of “Thank You,” the crowd was confused. But then, they cheered! And oh, how they danced! “Tectonic” is a pulsing, twirling piece of interplanetary pop – a shot in the dark that resonates in high definition. You could say the song was how Brendan got his groove back if only he’d never lost it.

76. Philadelphia Grand Jury – Crashing and Burning, Pt. II

Five years ago, the Philly Jays premiered a new song on tour entitled “A New Package for You,” another archetypal rush of knockabout indie-pop with a wild side and a spring in its step. For the band’s comeback album, the song was resurrected – a new hook, a slightly-slower tempo, a new hair-metal guitar break into the bridge and a bit of sprucing up here and there; hence the “Pt. II” suffix. Its origin story alone is indicative of how the track encapsulates their past, present and the future – it’s “A New Package” in a new package. Get excited.

75. EL VY – Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, with Crescendo)

The National’s Matt Berninger hasn’t always written zingers (lest we forget “Sometimes, you get up/And bake a cake or something” or “Standing at the punch table/Swallowing punch”), but initial listens to his side project’s first single will have you scratching your noggin over whatever mumbo-jumbo he’s spouting off. ‘Triple Jesus’? ‘A saltwater fish from a colourblind witch’? Who knows? Moreover, who cares? The thing about “Return to the Moon” is that it makes perfect sense in clear spite of itself. It’s a pop oddity; a guitar swagger, an off-beat handclap.If Berninger’s enigmatic charisma can’t win you over, perhaps nothing can.

74. Best Coast – Feeing OK

Five years ago was the summer that Best Coast’s debut, Crazy for You, was the ultimate girl guide – an album full of lyrics to quote endlessly on Tumblr while others would reblog and add the phrase “figuratively me!” Not to discredit that album whatsoever, but the best parts of the band’s third, California Nights, are when they’re tackling some of the bigger issues than boy problems and weed. On the album’s opener, Bethany Cosentino laments being there for everyone except herself; learning slowly but surely how to start putting her well-being first once again. It’s figuratively a great start.

73. Sweater Season – Charley

For a band quite figuratively less than a year old to be delivering a song as confident in nature as “Charley” is the equivalent of your infant child skipping the ‘goo-goo’s and ‘ga-ga’s entirely and skipping ahead to reciting a Shakespearian sonnet. In one swiftly-paced and smartly-written piece of proto-grunge indie, the band establishes a dual guitar tone to kill for – all sunshine and radiation – while simultaneously tossing killer one-liners like “I forget what I regret” – later transmogrifying into “what I have left,” for full effect – on top, almost as an afterthought. Damn baby geniuses.

72. The Sidekicks – The Kid Who Broke His Wrist

Steve Ciolak has never shied away from deeply-personal writing – it’s where he embraces it the most that his songs shine. That being said, there’s something about the way he reminisces on childhood spent and a youth now lost to a man on the verge of his thirties that, for whatever reason, feels somehow – importantly – different. It resonates in a way one might not initially expect – perhaps to do with how he still sees so much of himself in the boy that he once was; still finding himself unable to make a proverbial fist. Heartbreaking – and bone-breaking.

71. Citizen – Heaviside

For a band that used to recall acts like Sunny Day Real Estate and Jimmy Eat World, it’s strange that Mogwai and post-Deja Brand New are immediate comparison points when discussing the quietest moment from Citizen’s fascinating second LP. Yes, it’s a departure – and a major one at that – but the faded, distant shimmer of the guitar and the immediate, raw-nerve vocals that feel as though we have cut to the core of what this band is – and, more importantly, what it can be. For a song about purgatory, Citizen sure know where they’re headed on “Heaviside.”

70. Rihanna feat. Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds

A Barbadian, a black skinhead and a Beatle walk into a bar… yes, the year’s most unlikely combo were also behind the year’s most unlikely pop smash. Not that these three haven’t seen a hit or two in their lifetime – least of all Macca – but it was the manner in which “FourFiveSeconds” presented itself that made for such an intriguing prospect: Quiet. Unassuming. Raw. Soulful. No braggadocios raps, no “na-na-na”s, no nostalgia. Just an unplugged, intimate moment with true music royalty. A true career highlight for each – and given their combined history, that says a remarkable deal.

69. The Smith Street Band – Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face

The night Tony Abbott was elected, The Smith Street Band played a sold-out Corner Hotel, telling their captive audience that this was not a man to be trusted or one that spoke for them. In the year of Abbott’s demise in the public eye, it began with this furious, damning five-minute suite detailing his evil, hateful ways in explicit detail. It’s the angriest song the band has ever recorded – and, as it stands now, their most important. “A change is gonna come,” Wil Wagner warned, echoing sentiments of the late Sam Cooke. Less than a year later, it did.

68. Seth Sentry – Violin

No-one likes to see the clown crying. When Seth Marton isn’t goofing off, flirting with waitresses or talking about hoverboards, he’s capable of eloquent and passionate introspect. An open letter to an absent, arrogant father, “Violin” is Seth’s most private and painfully-personal song. As Marton’s cathartic furor rains down, so too does his discontent and malaise over how things have panned out. The song’s lynchpin comes in the form of its first and last line – which are one and the same. It brings the song full circle, leading one to hope against hope the bastard hears every last word.

67. White Dog – No Good

From the warehouses, garages and four-track recorders of Sydney, White Dog emerge with fists swinging and teeth sharpened. “No Good” seethes. It radiates from the back of cracked, split-open radio speakers. It prowls the streets of the inner-west wielding a switchblade. It’s the loudest, rawest and most primal sound to erupt from the DIY punk scene this year – and most other years, too, if complete honesty is allowed. If you’re not getting the message already – or maybe you just weren’t paying attention – remember this: “No Good” is the antithesis of its own name. That’s punk as fuck.

66. Major Lazer feat. DJ Snake and MØ – Lean On

Diplo is King Midas – everything he touches becomes gold. DJ Snake is King Henry VIII – he’s a wild motherfucker that’ll chop people’s heads off for the thrill of it. MØ is the lady of the lake – she holds the sword with all the power. By some bizarre head-on collision, the three have been pitted against one another in a three-way dance – and everybody wins. “Lean On” was, for many, the highly sought-after ‘song of the summer.’ More importantly, it was an assertion of pure dominance for both the charts and the dancefloor. Just go with it.

65. The Story So Far – Nerve

The best pop-punk right now is made by kids raised on Through Being Cool that are through being cool. Beyond empty slogans and Tumblr drama lies music that can be artistic, cathartic and genuinely engaging. The Story So Far have evolved into such an act, having grown up before their audience’s eyes and winding up on the wrong side of their 20s with a bad attitude and some killer riffs. Subsequently, “Nerve” stands as one of the most righteously-angry songs of both TSSF’s canon and the calendar year. Any self-respecting rock fan needs to hear them out on this one.

64. Endless Heights – Haunt Me

When Joel Martorana gave up screaming and turned his attention to singing two years ago, it was a confusing and suspicious move to some genre stiffs. As his voice rings out on “Haunt Me,” however, one struggles to recall Endless Heights without it being there. It suits the hypnotic drone of the guitars and the brisk drumming to absolute perfection, and presents itself as further evidence that the change in direction for the band was undoubtedly the right decision to make. Succinctly, “Haunt Me” gets a lot of work done in a considerably-short time. The power of Heights compels you.

63. Justin Bieber – Sorry

It takes a lot for a man to own up to his mistakes – especially if that man was, up until quite recently, a boy despised on a global scale. With an A-team of producers spreading the good word on his behalf – in this particular instance, Sonny “Skrillex” Moore – Bieber’s path to redemption is a gruelling, arduous one for us to undertake. As long as songs like “Sorry” keep turning up, however, the path shall be paved with gold. Anyone not left dancing in the spirit of the song’s phenomenal video just isn’t Beliebing hard enough in themselves.

62. Josh Pyke – Be Your Boy

Sure, he’s a bit more Smooth FM than Triple J these days, but there’s a lot to be said for the fact Josh Pyke has never changed his stripes for anyone. He’s always been a hopeless romantic, a dreamer and an old soul – and all of this entwines beautifully on what is unquestionably his best song in years. Layered percussion and cooed backing vocals prove to be a warm bed for Pyke’s rekindled-youth flame to rest upon; and its sweetly-sincere chorus will do the rest of the job in worming its way into your heart. Ahh, Pykey. You’re alright.

61. Silversun Pickups – Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)

When photos of Silversun Pickups first surfaced, many thought that the voice they were hearing belonged to bassist Nikki Moninger. Naturally, they were in for a world of shock when they inevitably saw Brian Aubert step up to the mic, but “Circadian Rhythm” is a Sliding Doors moment of sorts that shows what life would be like if it was actually Moninger that took the lead. As luck would have it, it’s a total delight – a more subdued and intimate moment from a band that normally go to 11. This, indeed, is a dance well worth immersing yourself in.

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Part three up next Monday!

Don’t forget you can download the podcast version of Part Two here.

The Top 100 Songs of 2015, Part One: 100 – 81

Posted on 07/12/201507/12/2015 by David James Young in Lists

It’s about that time, folks. You know how this one goes. Good, clean fight to the finish. All genres, countries and ages accepted. Only one rule: No touching of the hair or face. Alright, let’s get it on!

To pre-game, why not take a listen to this supplementary list of 50 great songs that just missed out on the top 100?

As always, DISCLAIMER: This is not a list of the most popular songs, nor is it a list curated by anyone except myself. These are, in my view, the best songs of the year. Disagreement and discussion is welcomed, but ultimately if you have any real issues with any songs that are ranked too low, too high or not at all… make your own list!

– DJY, December 2015

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100. Cosmic Psychos – Fuckwit City

The greatest moments in the 30-plus year canon of Cosmic Psychos have been helmed by the infamous snarl of Ross Knight, so it’s a rare treat to hear a lead vocal from the band’s pot-bellied riff-bearer, John “Mad Macca” McKeering. Macca’s no crooner – but, then again, neither’s Knighty. It’s not exactly a top priority when there’s a big, stomping riff and a middle-finger-waving chorus to smash through. The accompanying video, which sees the band smashing tinnies and chowing down on snags, gets the point across better than words ever could: them’s the Psychos. They’re not to be fucked with.

99. Kissing Booth – Battlefield

“Battlefield” has been a staple of Kissing Booth’s live shows more or less since their formation, and it’s easy to see why – if it’s not Tom Jenkins’ thunderous tom rolls that lead it in, it’s the earnest, raised-fist chorus and undying mantra of “you’ve got the strength in you to succeed” that will firmly seal the deal. Recorded at long last for their debut, Never Settle, “Battlefield” became a highlight once again – it’s a slow-waltz through love-and-war metaphors and swinging twin-guitar warmth, reeling in listeners before bowling them over. If love is a battlefield, consider Kissing Booth victorious.

98. You Beauty – Illywhacka

They’re not pioneers of writing about love from a hardened, cynical perspective – and Lord knows they won’t be the last. What spices up the title track to You Beauty’s second album is knowing it’s from the perspective of a scam artist – someone who makes a living saying things but never meaning them. “If I misuse the words/I’m not the first,” he justifies at one point; “I do believe it’s unconscious like the rest,” he affirms at another. Throw in some thwacking snare rolls and a Johnny Marr-worthy guitar tone and you’re ready to fall for anything he says.

97. Frank Turner – The Next Storm

Positive Songs for Negative People, Turner’s comeback LP from the middle of 2015, was thematically centred on Turner refusing to let pessimism and a slew of personal ordeals serve as the obstacles they once were. As bar-room piano leads him into a fist-wielding rock shuffle, Turner takes a matter as pedestrian as the weather and lets it blossom into the perfect metaphor for his sunnier outlook. It might seem naff – especially if Turner has ever felt too endearing – but it’s hard to deny a shout-along to a refrain as wonderfully succinct as “Rejoice! Rebuild! The storm has passed!”

96. Young Fathers – Rain or Shine

Young Fathers are in it to win it, because having the Mercury just wasn’t enough. The trio – alongside Sleaford Mods – were two major acts to properly turn British music on its head and expose a darker, more unpleasant side of their respective homelands last year. It’s telling that both immediately followed up their world-class 2014 breakthroughs in 2015; equaling – and occasionally bettering – their predecessors. This slab of sweet-and-sour alt-hop stays true to its name; throwing a Motown worthy ‘hey-hey-hey’ into the blender with some deadpan abstract poetry. Theirs is a revolution that is still… well, revolving.

95. Alabama Shakes – Don’t Wanna Fight

Perhaps the most piercing, indescribable squeal this side of Kings of Leon’s “Charmer” is what lead us into the first single from Alabama Shakes’ long-awaited second album. The groove was very much still in the heart for Brittany Howard and co., shuffling through a head-nodding lick and a driving four-on-the-floor beat before letting loose a truly righteous falsetto-disco chorus that takes on double duty as a harken-back to vintage soul. Much like their finest moments from Boys & Girls, “Don’t Wanna Fight” is some kind of genre Voltron. In the right context, it’s a fully-formed and unstoppable machine. Right on.

94. Horrorshow feat. Thelma Plum, Jimblah and Urthboy – Any Other Name

This protest song, dropped in the wake of horrendous abuse toward now-retired AFL player Adam Goodes, is an endlessly-quotable all-star tirade against the systemic, institutionalised racism that has become more and more prevalent in modern Australian society. Each artist brings their A-game across the track’s runtime, laying their heart out on their sleeves and making it exceptionally clear who is in the wrong. The track’s mic-drop moment comes with Solo’s damning, defiant final point: “Racist is as racist does/So if you’re doing something racist/Hate to break it, you’re a racist, cuz.” This is our wake-up call. Australia, this is you.

93. Hockey Dad – Can’t Have Them

2014 was the year of Zach Stephenson and Billy Fleming, the Windang wunderkinds that wrote the best Australian song of the year and sent audiences young and old into a hair-flipping frenzy. It would have been entirely understandable if they wanted to go for their afternoon nap this year, but it appears the red cordial is still running through their veins. This stand-alone single is a bright, bouncy hip-shaker that strengthens Stephenson’s knack for cooed, wordless refrains and Fleming’s primitive boom-thwack Ringo fills. It bodes considerably well for the band’s imminent debut LP next year. Game on, you little scamps.

92. Drake – Know Yourself

The mixtape lifestyle suited Drake this year. Dropping new material when he felt like it with no label pressure and no pushing for a greater ambition meant that the man born Aubrey Graham was allowed to have a lot more fun. Amid the dozen-plus new songs that arrived on the If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late mixtape, it was this centrepiece that sent fans into a tailspin. Its clanking trap beat, its obnoxious sub-bass and that hook – Drizzy can make this shit happen without even trying these days. You know how that shit go. Airhorns at the ready.

91. Beach Slang – Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas

In the same year that Weston, the pop-punk band James Alex was a part of in the 90s, reunited for a handful of shows; Alex also got a second wind with the momentum of his new band, Beach Slang, who became one of 2015’s most hyped rock bands. It’s easy to both see and hear why this was the case: the paint-splatter ride cymbal, its two-chord fury; not to mention the wordless refrains one has to unlock their jaw in order to properly sing out. We are all in the garage, but some of us are looking at the stars.

90. Endless Heights – Teach You How to Leave

Every year, Endless Heights inch further and further away from the forthright melodic hardcore with which they made their name. Every year, Endless Heights write sharper, smarter songs with a greater level of introspect, heart and poignancy. Simply put: Every year, Endless Heights get flat-out better. This, the title-track to their third EP, feels like an endgame of sorts – the kind of low-key, artfully-quiet song that they have worked towards on previous efforts. It’s able to do more in less than three minutes than what may of the band’s contemporaries can achieve with five-plus. A bright, beautiful slow-burn.

89. The Bennies – Party Machine

From one end to the other, The Bennies can become a million different things – post-punk hip-shakers, knees-up ska bouncers, heavy disco (pardon the pun) ravers. When it all rolls together, it becomes something full of wild-eyed energy; a measured defiance of restrictive guidelines and genre semantics. With a third album looming, “Party Machine” feels like the Bennies single that has the most to prove – that they are ready to take this shit higher than ever before. It passes accordingly with all the flying colours of a hallucinogenic rainbow. The machine rages on. The party is just getting started.

88. Pity Sex – What Might Soothe You?

There are those that haven’t quite known what to make of Pity Sex in the past – too much of an indie band for shoegaze nerds, too much of a shoegaze band for indie kids. On their first new material in two years, the band play up their limbo with a song accentuating both sides of the coin. Twee, unisex vocals are placed under the same spotlight as hazed-out, Daydream Nation-worthy guitar fuzz – at once joyously bright and uniformly morose. Putting genre semantics aside and appreciating a great song for what it is – it, indeed, might soothe you.

87. Miguel – leaves

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was given a songwriting credit to this end-of-summer lament after Miguel claimed he was accidentally inspired by the Pumpkins’ hit “1979.” The similarities certainly present themselves – particularly in the off-kilter guitar patterns – but “leaves” substitutes the mid-west teenage dreaming for west-coast heartbreak and Corgan’s adenoidal nostalgia for a smooth, love-lorn crooning. Along with being a standout moment of Miguel’s excellent Wildheart LP, it certainly stands as the best thing Corgan has been attached to in well over a decade – and it says a lot that he wasn’t directly involved at all.

86. Darren Hanlon – The Chattanooga Shoot-Shoot

He’s spent over a decade as one of the country’s smartest, most celebrated songwriters – even his peers can’t help but be amazed by the way he wondrously weaves his wayward words. The standout track from his fifth album takes the Gympie couchsurfer about as far from home as he’s ever been – travelling to Tennessee on a budget bus. To borrow a phrase from Upworthy, you won’t believe what happens next. The “Folsom Prison Blues” chord progression and timely snare hits are a nice touch, too. Of all of Hanlon’s tales, this one hits number one with a bullet.

85. Micachu and the Shapes – Oh Baby

“It’s not us to give up in a rush,” crows Mica Levi over a hypnotic boom-bap rhythm and underwater synths blubbering from afar. She’s got a point, y’know – it might have been three years since we heard from Levi, Raisa Khan and Marc Pell; but they re-enter the fray as if they were never really gone. Reverb-laden crooning and an experimental hip-hop flavour to the song’s lo-fi production add spice and texture, but theirs is a dynamic so constantly-shifting and fascinating that these two aspects could just as well be just scratching the surface. Just like that, it vanishes.

84. Best Coast – Heaven Sent

Not to get all Rick Astley on the situation, but Best Coast are no strangers to love. Their knack lies in their ability to make it sound as fresh and dewy-eyed as that of young romance. No-one else in the current indie-rock climate could drop something as sappy as “You are the one that I adore” atop a major chord and not only get away with it, but be commended for it. There’s a method and an art-form to all of this – and the only ones that know the secret recipe are Bethany and Bobb. Love rules, yeah yeah.

83. Bad//Dreems – Cuffed and Collared

What other band in Australia right now could simultaneously recall God’s “My Pal” and The Remembrandt’s sole hit “I’ll Be There for You” in a single bound? It could well have something to do with how “Cuffed and Collared” vividly mashes together the fury and bounding energy of the former with the unmistakable pop ear-worms of the latter. It might be a song that details a violent altercation, sure; but you’ll be damned if you aren’t grinning every time that the hook in question rolls around – and it’s on a near-frequent loop. With Dreems like these, who needs Friends?

82. Foals – What Went Down

What the ever-loving fuck is going on here? From its seasick organ drone to its detour into a thick three-note riff – not to mention its subsequent tear-down and empirical rebuild – “What Went Down” is one of the most head-spinning, ferocious compositions that Foals have ever committed to wax. What else does it have in store? Abstract imagery! A piercing, screamed refrain! Constant, unpredictable swerves that threaten to throw the entire goddamn thing off a cliff! To paraphrase a quote from Blades of Glory‘s Chazz Michael-Michaels: No-one knows what went down, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going.

81. The Hard Aches – Knots

One of the true signs of great, honest songwriting is when the writer in question turns the knife – or, in this case, the much-mightier pen – on themselves. The Hard Aches’ Ben David exposes his flaws on this key track from the band’s debut, Pheromones; bitterly portraying himself as a pathological, unrepentant liar in a constant state of exhaustion. Towards the song’s thrilling conclusion, however, he indicates that he’s on the road to bettering himself – and his is such a blunt, forthright delivery that you just know that he’ll get there. The untying process slowly but surely begins.

***

Part Two will be posted next Monday!

To download the podcast version of Part One, click here.

INTERVIEW: Keith Buckley (USA), September 2011

Posted on 03/02/201503/02/2015 by David James Young in Interviews

Got to have a cheeky double-dip in this interview, as I was speaking with the devilishly handsome Keith Buckley about both the impending Every Time I Die record as well as his side-project at the time, The Damned Things. It was a good time to be a fan of Keith in Australia, as he toured both at the same time as a part of that whole Counter-Revolution clusterfuck. He’s a great interviewee and a lovely guy. ETID just came through town last month and they crushed, as per usual. I also got to speak to Keith again when Ex-Lives came out, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

– DJY, February 2015

***

In the last eighteen months or so, Keith Buckley has been leading a double life – for the first time in his career, he’s lent his voice-box to two different bands. On one side of the coin, he’s been hard at work with Every Time I Die, the southern-fried hardcore rockers of which he is a founding member, working on a follow-up to their highly-acclaimed fifth album New Junk Aesthetic. “We are in the studio at this very moment,” Buckley himself confirms over the line from California. “This is my last interview, and then I have to go and record the vocals.” The as-yet-untitled record is projected for a late 2011/early 2012 release, and Buckley is already considerably enthusiastic about the sound of it.

“This is our first record with our new drummer,” he comments. Founding member Mike Novak left the group in 2009, and has since been replaced by new skin-pounder Ryan Leger. Buckley goes on about the energy of the new material – “It’s got so much more energy than our previous records – we’re really excited about it!” Interestingly enough, however, he’s reluctant to give the usual spiel about how it’s “the best record I’ve ever worked on.” It’s nothing personal – it’s just how many musicians like to drum up interest about the new material. So where does Buckley stand? Does he honestly feel the new record is going to be their best?

“The thing is,” he replies, “is that it’s not just another Every Time I Die record. Our old drummer was with us from day one. Everything you’ve ever heard of us being recorded, that’s been the rhythm section. So this is a completely new drumming style – it’s a new sound; it’s a new energy. So, when we’re looking at everything that we’ve ever done and then comparing it to the way we sound now? This is definitely some of the best stuff we’ve written. And it’s all thanks to our new drummer – he’s made us see it all in such a new way.”

Of course, let’s not forget about what else Buckley has been up to in this aforementioned double life. Teaming up with some unlikely pals from thrash metallers Anthrax and pop-punk stadium-fillers Fall Out Boy, Buckley spent most of 2010 and a part of 2011 fronting The Damned Things. The supergroup was a passion project for the five members to make some good-time rock & roll with a hair-metal and hard-rock edge to it. After three or four years in the pipeline – “You know what it’s like with our schedules,” says Buckley – the band finally released their debut album, Ironiclast, in December of last year. Although Keith maintains that he’s “not the type to get too finnicky in the studio,” it was notably different when it came to recording Ironiclast.

“I was singing,” explains Buckley, who had never previously done “clean” vocals on a record before, “and I wasn’t fully aware of what I was capable of with my voice. I was finding out things that I could and couldn’t do, just experimenting with them. It was a challenge, because I wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t like I had to invent a willingness to do it – I didn’t have to pretend that I like rock music. It was just something that I’ve always liked but have never had a chance to do. I was pushing myself physically with what I was doing with my voice, but it was never like I didn’t like the musical style – I just had to take a different approach to it.”

It should be pointed out at this stage that it was never going to be a case of Buckley leaving his band in favour of The Damned Things – although that didn’t stop a myriad of worried fans approaching Keith while he toured Ironiclast. “Everyone worries about it,” he says, “because nobody every thinks to ask outright. I have never, ever said that I wanted to tone down Every Time I Die. I never said I wanted to leave or anything like that, y’know? It was just another opportunity to write and make music, which is what I like doing. So I did it!”

A simple enough reason, certainly. But here comes the challenge – for the first time ever, Buckley will be bringing both aspects of his double life on tour at the same time. “Yep,” says Keith with a laugh, “I’m gonna be workin’ two shifts in Australia.” While both bands were scheduled to be a part of the doomed Soundwave Revolution, both The Damned Things and Every Time I Die will still get their chance to perform in the country; the former as a part f the Counter-Revolution festivals and the latter doing their own set of headlining club shows. “It’s gonna be quite different to what I’m used to,” Keith says of performing with both bands. “Normally, I just get set into the one style and run with it – but this time I’ll be going between the two. I’m not sure how it’s all going to turn out, but I sure can’t wait to find out!” Likewise, buddy.

INTERVIEW: Thrice (USA), September 2011

Posted on 03/02/2015 by David James Young in Interviews

With news that Thrice are most likely returning in the year to come, what better time to revisit this interview in support of their last album, which I felt was crucially underrated. Seriously, go back and give it a spin. Yellow Belly alone is one of the best songs they ever did. I liked this interview a lot, particularly the interruption from Teppei’s kid. I love it when I’m interviewing a parent and the kid somehow gets involved. It’s happened a couple of times and I think it’s the cutest. Anyways, this was a feature article; so a different approach to how I normally did things at Hysteria; and I was glad I got to shake it up as I was getting sick of transcripts. I think it shows in this story.

– DJY, February 2015

***

“It’s over there, on top of the jacuzzi!” Not exactly what one expects to hear in the middle of an interview, but it’s clearly a matter of importance which requires Thrice guitarist Teppei Teranishi to break from the interview in his Washington home. Turns out that it was his four-year-old son inquiring as to the whereabouts of a lost toy. It’s all but a fleeting moment in an extensive discussion with the 31-year-old, but it also serves as a left-of-centre reminder that Thrice are not the young men who formed the band in high school, coming up with their band name out of desperation and sticking with it when they developed a local reputation.

The band’s line-up – also consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kenrue, bassist Eddie Breckenridge and his brother Riley on drums – may have never changed throughout their history, but the musicians themselves certainly have. Their latest offering, Major/Minor, is the sound of a band confident in their own abilities, surrounding themselves in familiarity and returning to record in their home studio for the third consecutive record… “Well, sort of,” interjects Teranishi, unsure whether his correction is accurate or not.

“I never know whether to count The Alchemy Index as one or two albums,” he says, referring to the band’s ambitious four-disc concept album split recorded over five months and split across two releases. “I guess, technically, we’ve done two records where we’ve worked in our home studios. The next one was [2009’s] Beggars, which we had mixed by a guy called Dave Schiffman – and this time around we got Dave to produce and engineer the album.”

Recorded between Los Angeles’ Red Bull Studios and the aforementioned home studio, Teranishi agrees that having someone like Schiffman, who knew exactly what the band wanted to get out of their studio time, was an invaluable resource in the recording of Major/Minor. “It definitely helped,” he affirms. “We actually worked with him on [2003’s] Vheissu, where he was an engineer. Ever since then, he’s been a really close friend – whenever I had questions about recording or whatever, I’d always go and ask him. Working with him on this record definitely helped in keeping things concise.”

In what’s become typical of new Thrice material, Major/Minor sounds little like its predecessors. Often it defies description, but if pressed one could certainly note that it takes minor aspects of the band’s previous records – notably Vheissu and Beggars – and takes them in ambitious and bold new directions. Typical Thrice, you might be thinking…although Teppei himself isn’t entirely sure that’s the case. Even if it is, it’s certainly not intentional on their behalf.

“It’s never really an intentional thing,” he says after considering the direction taken on Major/Minor. “We’ve kind of always just done what was natural or normal to us at the time – we never tried to push anything. I think that’s actually why our records have all ended up sounding so different, y’know? Every time we make a record, I feel like part of it is always a reaction against the last thing that we did. I don’t know if it’s our short attention spans or whatever, but that’s the way it’s always been.”

“It was like with The Alchemy Index,” he continues, elaborating on his statement with an example from the top of his head. “It was quite a heavy record, very moody; and there was a lot of thought that went into it. So when we came out with Beggars, it was kind of a reaction to all of that. It was a lot more organic and natural in the recording process – and, in that respect, I think the transition between Beggars and this record is the least jarring transition we’ve ever made. Obviously, I think it’s completely different – I don’t think it’s the same at all. But I do think that it picks up where Beggars left off; and that the progression is much easier to note.”

Of course, it’s easy to note progression when the first track on your latest record is better than every track on your last album combined – in this instance, the snarling, grandiose driving rock of “Yellow Belly.” The song was built from the riff up as Teranishi jammed with the Breckenridges while Kensrue was away. He points to the song as something that perhaps best defines where Thrice are in 2011.

“It’s pretty energetic, and it’s got a pretty solid groove to it, I think,” he says on the song. “That’s something that I think is recurrent in the new material, that it’s really groove-based at its core. Actually, the album title – Major/Minor – actually came from “Yellow Belly.” That was the working title for the song because it flip-flopped between major and minor on the root notes of the song, giving it sort of a strange feel. As we got to writing more and more, I began to feel that it was something that we were doing on a lot of the songs, and it just began to make sense that’s what we’d call the album.”

The band are currently preparing for an extensive U.S. tour alongside Michigan kids La Dispute, but before we wrap our interview, Teppei gives a small hope to fans that were left disappointed by the band’s controversially pulled Australian tour as a part of the now-cancelled Soundwave Revolution. The plan, at this stage, is to tour Australia in the new year with a new promoter – although nothing is set in stone yet.

“We don’t know exactly when,” he says, “but we honestly will make sure that we get to Australia as soon as possible – it’s honestly one of our favourite places to play.” In the meantime, repeated listens of Major/Minor will just have to suffice – and, given the album’s lasting replay value, it should just be able to tide us over.

INTERVIEW: Title Fight (USA), April 2011

Posted on 03/02/2015 by David James Young in Interviews

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I did this interview in bed. No, seriously. I forgot it was happening and then had the phone given to me at quarter to eight in the morning, leaving me to scramble to grab my recorder and try to remember what questions I had. It’s also worth mentioning that the first time I heard of Title Fight was when I was asked to interview them. Joey from Hysteria used to spring a lot of relative unknowns on me at the time, but they all ended up being favourites – The Chariot, letlive., these guys. Learning on the job!

Anyway, for an interview that was essentially Wayne Brady’d, this turned out alright. Not great, but what can you expect given the circumstances? I got to do another Title Fight interview this past December, and it turned out WAY better. I’ll share that here eventually.

– DJY, February 2015

***

After building up a solid underground reputation, Title Fight are ready to break through to the other side with their long-awaited debut album, Shed. Combining a sense of melodic pop-punk and ruthless hardcore, Shed is the kind of album that will last in your mind far longer than its half-hour playing time. Australian Hysteria caught up with Jamie Rhoden from the band to discuss the new album, a change in recording style and their inaugural visit to the country.

AUSTRALIAN HYSTERIA: Hey Jamie, how’s your year been so far?

The year has been really good! Although we haven’t done much with it so far. We finished recording in December of last year and were pretty much home until now. We did a short tour of Canada with Comeback Kid and maybe two other shows besides that. Our record came out at the beginning of the month, and people are excited about it! We go on tour in two days.

It’s understandable that people are excited. That’s a pretty long time to be sitting on the record! Was than an executive decision – “the man” making you wait that long?

[Laughs] No, we kinda chose that time ourselves. We were trying to push for it to come out earlier, around March, because they said that the record will take two months to get from the final production stages into the pressing and all that other stuff that I don’t understand. Then everything took so long, with the mastering and the artwork and taking forever to get into contact with people, so it got pushed back a little bit. We weren’t mad at anyone – I mean, it would have been cool, but it’s really good timing for us. I think it’s worked out for the best.

Fair enough. You must be excited now that it’s finally out there, though?
Yeah, it’s definitely a big weight off our shoulders. We’ve been anticipating this for a long time – it’s our first full-length and our first release with SideOne [Dummy Records]. It’s a really big thing for us, and we had a lot of pressure. People were always going to say whatever about this – “they signed to SideOne? They sound like this now! They suck!” All that usual crap you hear whenever a band does something. So far, though, people have been really supportive. I’ve got no complaints at all!

What was the recording process for Shed like? Was it all that different to when you guys have recorded previously?
A huge difference. The other two or three times that we’ve been in the studio, it was literally somebody’s basement that we turned into a studio. We were there for three days, and finished all the songs in the studio. We were unprepared and rushed – we wanted to get everything out as soon as we could. With this one, we spent basically a year writing the album itself, and then when we went into the studio, we did two weeks of twelve-hour days. It was our first time in a real studio with a producer. All these things were really new to us, but we tried our best to make the most of them. Even though two weeks is a really long time, a lot of people who go into these big studios will be using them for months at a time. They have a day for a drum part, a day for a vocal take. We got everything done at once. It was a long time for us, but there was still a lot for us to pack in. I think, for our first time in a situation like that, we were as prepared as we could have been.

With that said, being in the studio for such an extended period of time, was there ever an underlying fear that perhaps you might be overthinking the process?

Sometimes. I think in the writing of the album, that’s especially what happened. We were afraid that we were going to write a song and we’d get reactions like “that songs sounds exactly the same as this one,” or that “that song sounds nothing like this one.” Just this fear that we would write something that wasn’t “us.” We kind of got to the overthinking point when we were really focusing on the writing, where that fear would keep creeping into the songs. “I don’t want it to sound like this,” or “I don’t want it to sound too much like that,” or whatever. We had to sit down and say to ourselves: “Why do we care?” Why do we care what it is, as long as we’re happy with it? Let’s just do our own thing – and that’s just what we ended up doing.

A debut album is always seen as a pretty big landmark for a band – was it important to make a strong first impression?
Yeah, we had that idea when we were going into record it – we wanted to make a statement, I guess you could say. I think it’s a great example of who we are as people and as songwriters and as a band at this point in time. We really wrote songs that we needed to write.

What songs from Shed would you show to someone in order to best represent what the album is about?

There’s a couple of songs that come to mind. There’s a song that we wrote called “Society,” and the entire idea behind the song is that we’re the kind of band that writes these short, fast, aggressive songs. Why can’t we write a short, slow, angry, aggressive song? We drew influence from bands that we all love but perhaps doesn’t come out that much in our music. I think it’s a cool song that kind of sticks out in its own way, and I don’t know how people are going to react to it. I’m really excited about showing it to people.

You must be looking forward to playing these songs live?
Oh, yeah. The last time we recorded was in December of 2008. We’ve been playing pretty much the same songs since then. Don’t get me wrong, those are great songs. At the same time, though, when you do the same thing at every single show, it gets fairly boring and redundant. We’re just excited to play anything new at all. But the fact is we really like the songs that we wrote, and we’re really excited to play them.

Tell us about the tour you’re about to start – we’ve heard it’s pretty massive!
Yeah, we’re doing a full U.S. tour, and it’s with Touché Amoré, The Menzingers and our friends in Dead End Path. It’s a tour that we wanted to be big, but we also wanted it to be on our terms. We wanted to be touring with bands that we like, that are diverse and that we can have a good time with. It’s gonna be cool – it’s our first-ever proper headlining tour in the States! We’ve toured a lot in the past year, but we’ve never had something big like this before.

Sounds exciting. And then you’re bringing Touché to Australia with you for the first time!
Yeah! I don’t know if we’re bringing someone else out or not – we’re working on it, but we don’t have any more info yet. But we’re coming in September! It’s our first time crossing the equator, and it’s gonna be really cool. We love going to places that are extremely foreign to us, and it’s definitely gonna be a crazy experience. Especially with Touché! We can’t wait.

INTERVIEW: The Wonder Years (USA), April 2011

Posted on 03/02/2015 by David James Young in Interviews

I’ve been a huge Wonder Years fan for years and years and years now. Genre regardless, I see them as one of the realest bands one could hope to encounter in the current musical climate. There’s no bullshit here, no genre politics, just a group that want to be the best band that they can be in their own way. I’ve interviewed Dan Campbell, their lead singer, twice now. Despite being a fan, I felt slightly unprepared for both; and, in turn, they’re not features that I think are my best. Dan does give me some pretty good insight here, though. As I’ve said before, I really start to find my way as an interviewer around 2011. Everything here is purely for archival purposes – and for my own measly entertainment.

– DJY, February 2015

***

Last year, The Wonder Years released a remarkable sophomore in The Upsides, subsequently tearing venues across Australia apart with en-masse singalongs and stage-dives aplenty. Having just warmed up crowds for Parkway Drive, we now turn our attention to the band’s brand-new album. Entitled Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, there is no doubt it will keep both old and new fans satisfied with its aggressive streak and endearing choruses. Australian Hysteria got the chance to catch up with the band’s irrepressible lead singer, Dan “Soupy” Campbell, to chat about the album, the shows and that funny-looking bird that’s turning up everywhere…

Australian Hysteria: Hey Soupy, how’s it going?
Dan “Soupy” Campbell: Hey, it’s goin’ good! Got a little bit of a headache, but we’re on tour and we’ve pulled over to do a couple of interviews. We’re in the middle of a seventeen hour drive, so I’d rather be doing this than sitting in the back of the van doing nothing. [Laughs]

Let’s talk about the new record. It’s come out quite quickly – about eighteen months, in fact – since you guys released The Upsides. Was that a conscious decision, to get the material out as soon as possible?
Y’know, it’s not like we were writing along the way and just needed to put out all these songs. It was actually that we had toured non-stop for about a year, and then we said ‘Okay, let’s take two months off and write a record.’ The difference between our first record [2007’s Get Stoked On It!] and The Upsides was a couple of years because we were in school and we weren’t able to take the time that we needed away from that to focus on writing a record. Now that we’re a full-time band and don’t have anything else holding us back, we were able to say when we finished touring and to take that time to write a record. I mean, you can only tour so much before you start boring kids at shows.

How much of this material was written on the road?
I think that there are two songs on the record that had started before we sat down to write the record. Neither of them were finished products, though. They were more like little ideas. So, really, everything on this record was written during that two-month block that we set apart to write the album.

What has the response been like to the new material when you’ve been playing it live?
It’s been great, actually. I’m a music fan, and when I go to a show and I hear a band say “Hey, how about we play a new song?” I just go “Goddammit!” [Laughs] It’s like, I don’t wanna hear a new song. I wanna hear the songs that I know. So, for us, it was like “Let’s not play any of these songs until the kids have heard it.” So we released Local Man Ruins Everything and made sure people had a couple of listens before we started playing it at shows, just so that people could be engaged with it and be a part of the experience. I think a lot of Wonder Years shows are about the group experience. It’s less us performing towards you and more about all of us doing it together – the crowd and the band. For us, it makes more sense to let you in on the song than for us to spring it on you.

Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing – That is an incredible title that you’ve put to this record. Tell us a bit about it.
It’s actually based on the first line of an Allen Ginsberg poem, America. His line goes “America, I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.” So it’s a bit of a re-contextualisation of Ginsberg. The record is, to an effect, rooted in that poem. I feel like it’s consistently in dialogue with America the same way that Ginsberg was in his poetry. It made sense to co-opt that line.

It might seem weird to some long-time fans to see the same band who used to sing about Cap’n Crunch not too long ago write these very heavy melodic punk songs. Was there a notion to make Suburbia… more of an aggressive record?
I’d like to start by saying that while this album was written by the same people that wrote Get Stoked On It!, I don’t feel like it’s the same band. A lot of times in life, you’re a different person as you grow up. Obviously not physiologically, but you know what I’m talking about. I think where we are, in our mental and emotional state right now, it’s completely different from when we wrote Get Stoked On It! I almost consider it a completely different band.

As far as the aggressive edge to the record, I feel that the answer to that is twofold. The first is the production of Steve Evetts. Steve’s goal was to capture the raw live energy from when The Wonder Years play shows and to translate that to record. I think he did an amazing job of it. Secondly, I think it’s a lot about how people perceive it. We’ve had people listen to Local Man Ruins Everything and tell us that it’s so awesome that we’re way more aggressive. We’ve also had people listen to the song and tell us that it’s so awesome that we’re more chilled out. It’s really about what you, as a person, take away from a song.

Geoff Rickley from Thursday wrote this awesome article for Alternative Press where he said that for the several months in-between recording and releasing a record, it is your record. But as soon as the fans have it, it is their record. They’re going to perceive it based on whatever schemata they already have in their brain, they’re going to receive it differently. So, you might think it’s more aggressive, and someone else might think it’s more chilled out – and, in some respects, I agree with both. The goal was to do all of that. We wanted to make a record that was louder and quieter; faster and slower; harder and softer than anything we’ve ever done. Why just stretch in one way? Why not prove to people that we can do all of this and still be a pop-punk band?

He’s on the front of The Upsides reissue, he’s on the cover of Suburbia…, he looks like he’s the seventh member of the band in the new press shots. Who is this bird, and what can you tell us about him?
He’s a pigeon. We’ve named him Hank. He’s a bit of everything. I would describe Hank as a physical manifestation of The Wonder Years. I know that’s a bit of a mouthful, but what I mean by that is a pigeon that, as an animal, lives exclusively where it is not wanted. It’s a tough life, but the pigeon doesn’t give a fuck. I think, for a long time, this band was a band that couldn’t get noticed by anyone in the music industry. A lot of times, that would indicate that it’s time to pack it up and move on to another project, onto a new part of life. The thing about The Wonder Years – and the thing about this current pop-punk movement in general – is that we all said “Fuck that! Fuck you if you don’t want to be on board. We’re going to do this ourselves.” While the pigeon doesn’t have the consciousness to say something that, I feel that’s more or less how the pigeon would respond.

That’s very true about the pop-punk movement. We had some great pop-punk tours in Australia last year – you guys, Fireworks and Valencia, to name a few. Even though not all the shows sold out, all the reports would talk about just how passionate the fans were, and how big the energy was in the shows. How important has The Wonder Years’ live show become?
I think our live show is everything. I think that our live shows show the passion that we have for this music that can’t be shown in our records. You have to be there, you have to watch our faces. You have to see what we do. You have to be a part of it. The great thing about The Wonder Years is that it’s a shared experience. I remember the first show we played in Australia was a sold-out, 300-capacity room. That’s amazing for us. It doesn’t always have to be 3000 people there for it to be a unique experience.

A lot of the time, the greatest shows I’ve ever seen have been in basements or houses or legion halls. It doesn’t have to be a huge sound system with a fucking laser system and a fog machine. Sometimes, your favourite show is watching your favourite singer throw himself off a speaker stack into a crowd. That’s what a lot of pop-punk does right now. As a scene, we kind of banded together and said that we don’t need the rest of the world. If you want to be a part of it, you’re welcome. But if you don’t want to be a part of it, it’s not going to stop us. That’s the same way with Man Overboard, Transit, Fireworks, Such Gold, Title Fight…we’ve come together and we’ve said that we’ll be here, whether you like it or not.

Anything else is contrived and derivative. If you’re spending all of your time as a band trying to get signed to a major label, then you’re not doing it right. There are bands out there that can make entire careers out for themselves without any use of a label, especially now with the advent of the internet. I mean, look at Odd Future [Wolf Gang Kill Them All] right now – they’re killing it. They did it by themselves. If you want it bad enough, you can get it.

The Top 50 Gigs of 2014, Part Two: 25 – 1

Posted on 02/02/2015 by David James Young in Lists

Part one if you need to catch up. This officially marks the end of list season. See you this time next year!

25. The Blurst of Times @ Factory Theatre, 25/10

Vibes aplenty, not a dud set among the batch and a true celebration of mostly-Australian awesomeness. What more can you say? This one we’ll hand to the legendary Dion Ford of Palms: “It was such a great day, not even Shania ‘I’m not easily impressed’ Twain could deny its excellence.”

24. The Bronx @ Metro Theatre, 20/6

If it’s a calendar year in Australia and The Bronx haven’t visited, did it actually happen? One of their final shows in support of 2013’s fourth album arrived with little more than their greatest hits and a spurt of energy that can only come with racing toward the finish line.

23. Ms. Lauryn Hill @ Sydney Opera House, 27/5

It’s turned into both a scarce rarity and a monumental risk – what to make of the illusive Fugee fifteen years and change removed from her seminal sole LP? As luck would have it, she remains a joyous, invigorated performer; backed by a sensational band and a rekindled spirit. To Zion!

22. Pixies @ Sydney Opera House, 23 and 26/5

Seeing The Breeders and a Deal-less Pixies within months of one another felt more or less like visiting your mum’s and then your dad’s after a divorce. They’re happier without one another and doing really well on their own. Life’s good. All we are saying is give Pixies a chance.

21. Cloud Nothings @ Oxford Art Factory, 10/12

Nearly two years on from their breathtaking Sydney debut, Dylan Baldi and co. proved that a three-legged dog is just as menacing. Cuts from Here and Nowhere Else thrived, but a propulsive “Wasted Days” finale – clocking in at just over sixteen minutes – sealed the deal. Rock & roll is fun.

20. The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro Theatre, 24/2

With a rare appearance from Glassjaw and Japanese sensations Dir En Grey, the Escape Plan tore Sydney a new one at their first headlining show in four years. Shit got as wild as you would hope, including a grand finale involving Greg Puciato figuratively hanging upside down from the rafters.

19. You Am I and Heavy Friends @ Vic on The Park, 1/1

That’s how you kick off a year, boys and girls. There’s Courtney Barnett jamming on Divinyls. There’s Phil Jamieson, climbing a speaker stack like it was 1998 and busting out “Cathy’s Clown.” There’s the Red fucking Wiggle, Murray Cook, playing Iggy Pop and Bruce Springsteen songs. So fucking rock.

18. The Bennies @ Beatdisc Records, 16/3

It was the Brady Bunch of tour weekenders – Luca Brasi and Postblue met The Bennies and Apart From This in a fatal-four-way overseen by local legends Oslow. Improv dub jams, pies to the face and enough juicy tunes to turn Parramatta’s little shop of rock into the ultimate hot-box.

17. Manchester Orchestra @ Metro Theatre, 15/11

There was a mixed reaction to Cope, Manchester Orchestra’s fourth studio album. When it comes to their live shows, however, it’s unanimous – they are unmissable. Especially if Kevin Devine is along for the ride. A borderline-religious “Where Have You Been” capped off a stellar performance. Forever and ever.

16. Kishi Bashi @ Newtown Social Club, 1/7

One man, one violin, a couple hundred admirers watching on from the front and figuratively surrounding him for over half the set. Warm, joyous intimacy. Tender, beautiful songs – some old favourites among the devotees, some fresh from Ishibashi’s excellent Lighght LP. This entire show felt like falling in love.

15. Kanye West @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 12/9

The storm-in-a-teacup wheelchair debacle aside, this show was proof that Kanye stands as one of the single most charismatic performers in the world right now. He can command an entire audience for two hours entirely on his own, with little more than a backdrop and a catwalk. Make a circle.

14. Ben Folds and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra @ Sydney Opera House, 14/11

It’s about the closest thing that pensioners get to a rock concert, but Folds is still managing to keep his orchestral collaborations enticing for all ages and all levels of BF fandom. A stunning “Rock This Bitch” was the centrepiece, improvising an entire arrangement with jaw-dropping and hilarious results.

13. DZ Deathrays @ Rad, 30/5

If this completely sold-out Wollongong show showed us anything, it was that the risk of coming down to the leisure coast had paid off tenfold. Bodies flew, riffs fired up and the Brisbane boys effortlessly showcased why they’re such a dominant force in Australian music right now. Carn the Gong.

12. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu @ UNSW Roundhouse, 23/3

In a venue best known for hosting angsty, black-clad bro-bands, the amazing technicolour world of J-pop came to life with the debut visit of one if its most unique characters. From its bizarre interludes to KPP’s adorable attempts at speaking English, this was an entryway into a whole new universe.

11. Reggie Watts @ Sydney Opera House, 19/10

No two Reggie Watts shows are ever the same. You never know what will happen next. One minute, it’s an a-cappella croon about fish; the next it’s a 10-minute LCD Soundsystem homage. Wherever you end up, both the journey and the destination are unforgettable. Beyond comedy, beyond music, beyond improv.

10. Bruce Springsteen @ Allphones Arena, 19/2

Every last excess and indulgence was allowed at the arena rock show of both this year and the year before it. How does the Boss do it? Five guitarists – that’s how. Playing Darkness on the Edge of Town in full – that is fucking how. A three-hour show book-ended by show-stopping covers – The Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind” at the top, Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” at the end – and filled to the brim with just about every E Street classic you could hope for. Y’all come back now, y’hear?

9. Deafheaven @ Oxford Art Factory, 9/1

After dropping the most intense, mystical metal album of 2013, it was only fitting that Deafheaven’s maiden voyage to Australia delivered the most intense, mystical metal show of 2014. Every movement was striking, every sound piercing, every song all-encompassing and breathtaking in their spectrum. Certainly not something that anyone present would be forgetting anytime soon.

8. Lemuria @ Hermann’s Bar, 1/2

Some nights, the stars align. This was one such night – the perfect line-up, the perfect group of friends, the perfect venue. Bringing Lemuria to Australia for the first time was such an exciting prospect for many people who had been charmed by their sweetly-harmonic yet hard-hitting mix of pop-punk and indie-rock over the years. Having the delightful Erica Freas, Pinch Hitter and Kissing Booth all on board made matters even greater, to the point where there was not a face to be seen within a 100-metre radius that wasn’t plastered with a smile. Let’s hope that those stars align again some day soon.

7. Dolly Parton @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 18/2

There is one guarantee from a Dolly Parton show, and that’s fun. Few entertainers in the world today put on a show as fun as the immortal country star. It’s all glitter and rhinestones and gloriously camp sing-alongs, from “Jolene” to “Islands in the Stream” and a couple of bat-shit covers (“Yakety Sax,” “Shine” by Collective Soul) for good measure. It’s as ridiculous – and as fabulous – as you’d expect. This is Dolly’s world, you’re just living in it.

6. Future Islands @ Oxford Art Factory, 27/7

Ever since that Letterman performance, the weight of expectation has been heavy on the back of Future Islands. It’s not as if it’s anything they couldn’t handle, of course. By the time they arrived in Australia as a part of Splendour in the Grass, they were headed to completely sold-out headlining shows that cemented their reputation as the hottest band in the indie realm. The entire show was a dazzling showcase of what it means to truly believe in your music – it’s hard to find anyone who’ll deliver a performance the way that Samuel T. Herring does. Once that song from that Letterman performance came to life once again, all bets were off.

5. Violent Soho @ Manning Bar, 8, 10 and 11/7

What kind of year was it for Violent Soho? For starters, it was their tenth year together as a band; and also a year following the release of their exceptional Hungry Ghost LP. It was a year they went from hopeful underdogs to the most unstoppable force in the Australian rock climate. It was a year that saw them complete a national tour that completely sold out, even after adding multiple dates. A shift was signalled; and their ascension to the next level was justified. What more can you say about these wild, brawny shows than the band’s own joyful double-expletive – hell fuck yeah.

4. Billy Bragg @ Manning Bar, 18/3

It might have been a classier affair a few days before at the Opera House, but the Bard of Barking was back to basics with his airtight new backing band in tow at this rare club show. The two-hour-plus show found the time to be both tender (“Tank Park Salute,” “California Stars”) and triumphant (“Sexuality,” “To Have and Have Not”); as well as politically charged in the wake of the March in March (“All You Fascists Bound to Lose,” the glorious finale of “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards”). No matter where Bragg and co. took the mood of the evening, the adoring crowd was there every step of the way. Viva la revolution.

3. Arcade Fire @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 28/1

Six years separated visits from Arcade Fire, both tied in with appearances atop the bill of the Big Day Out. While last time around had the band in the relatively-intimate surrounds of the Enmore, the years between proverbial drinks were substantially kind to the Canadian collective – to the point where they were comfortably filling out an arena. With support from Diplo, of all fucking people. Yes, Arcade Fire have graduated to being one of the biggest bands in the world – both from a profile-based and numerical perspective. With this grandiose performance came a justification for their elevation – a career-spanning, glittery journey through chamber pop, indie rock, roller disco and INXS (because why not?). One hopes against hope that it’s not another six years before they return, but even if it is they’ll make it worth the wait. They always do.

2. St. Vincent @ Sydney Opera House, 25/5

2014’s Vivid Live line-up brought us a myriad of joyful performances from veterans, newcomers and locals alike. It really was the most magical time of year – each trek from the wharf at Circular Quay guaranteed a wonderful night was in store. The most stunning of them all came in the form of Annie Clark, pop music’s reigning, defending champion of the weird and the wonderful. Last in town for a similarly-unforgettable performance alongside David Byrne, Clark returned focus solely to her name on the back of an exceptional eponymous LP. The set, which saw Clark team with a sharply-choreographed backing band, spiralled and twirled around jagged indie-rock, lush balladry and slow-motion heartbreak. A truly beautiful cacophony that ran the emotional gauntlet and left all in attendance completely gobsmacked. Long live the queen.

1. The National @ Opera House Forecourt, 7/1

You could have taken any single moment of this show and held it up to justify why it was the greatest live experience of the year. Matt Berninger toppling over the crowd, crowdsurfing to “Mr. November.” The band churning out an intense, soul-swallowing “Afraid of Everyone.” A completely-unplugged, all-in “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” The list could go on and on. It was a matter of taking in the surrounds – the Opera House behind us, the Harbour Bridge to the east, the sun setting and night-time seeping in – and allowing it to blend into the truly beautiful music on offer from a band truly at their peak from both an artistic and a cultural standpoint. Nothing else could have come close to this show, purely on the basis that there was nothing else like it for the rest of the year.

PHOTO CREDITS:
25. Rachel Tinny, FasterLouder
24. Maria de Vera, Life Music Media
23. Wolter Peeters, Sydney Morning Herald
22. Daniel Boud, Boudist
21. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
20. Christian Ross, The 59th Sound
19. Shanti Roy, Lost Through the Lens
18. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
17. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
16. Clare Hawley, theMusic
15. Mark Metcalfe, Billboard/Getty Images
14. Ashley Mar, The Brag
13. Provided by the venue
12. Aki Ishii, Tokyo Girls Update
11. Noah Kalina, Art Forum (photo not from show)
10. Bradley Hunter, The Daily Telegraph
9. Adam Davis-Powell, Demon Race Productions
8. Andrew Dominguez, Carless Distribution (photo not from show)
7. Richard Dobson, The Daily Telegraph
6. Katrina Clarke, The Brag
5. Toby Taylor, Toby Taylor Photography
4. Courtney Dabb, Push to Fire
3. David Youdell, Reverb Street Press
2. Mark Metcalfe, Zimbio/Getty Images
1. Yaya Stempler, FBi Radio

INTERVIEW: letlive. (USA), April 2011

Posted on 31/01/2015 by David James Young in Uncategorized

Another unexpected gem from my time writing for Australian Hysteria Magazine. I didn’t know letlive. from a bar of soap until I was on the line with Jason Butler, who ended up being on the loveliest and kindest dudes I had interviewed up to that point. This is just a quick chat, but I’ve been a huge fan of the band ever since. It was a lasting impression!

– DJY, January 2015

***

After five years of line-up changes and general turmoil in-between albums, letlive kicked back into action last year with a killer new album, Fake History. Things have been going gangbusters for the quintet from there, with the band signing to iconic punk label Epitaph and planning a re-release for Fake History with three new tracks. Australian Hysteria got the opportunity to speak to the band’s founder and leader, Jason Butler, to talk shop on the album, as well as the band’s live antics and a potential trip down under.

Australian Hysteria: Hi Jason, thanks for chatting to Australian Hysteria Magazine! Whereabouts are you?
Jason Butler: I’m actually on Venice Boulevard, making my way down to Santa Monica, California. We’re home free for about a month – we’ve got our release shows, which will only take about three days, and that’s it! I’m actually on my way to a birthday party with my girlfriend.

Sounds good! This article might be the first time our readers may have heard of letlive. How would you describe your band’s music to someone who’s never heard it before?

Something that you’ve wanted to hear for a long time. [Laughs] That’s pretty good, right?

Let’s talk Fake History. It’s your first album in five years – what do you think took so long to get this record together?

I believe it was the components of the band itself. It was willingness – what letlive was, it was a continuation on from a punk rock band I formed in high school. We cut a few albums, and – as you do when you’re young – you do what you want and you play what you want. You put out albums to be a part of something. During that time, though, we generated a different idea of letlive and what it was meant to be. So in those five years between, we were just putting the pieces back together. I’m actually the only remaining member from the original lineup. Truly, though, the beginning of letlive as you and most will know it is definitely with the five gentlemen we have now. We came to the realisation that in order to put something out in an overly-saturated culture that will hold water, you’ve got to really mean whatever it is you’re about to put out. So one day, it fell into place and we recorded it.

Epitaph have planned a re-release for the record. Do you feel at this point that it will help in exposing you to a new audience?

Absolutely. We have to illuminate and acknowledge Epitaph – it’s a milestone for us; it’s a milestone for anyone in punk rock. Of course there will be people that are dedicated to the label, and will want to check out anything Epitaph-related. Also, they’ve done so much as a label independently that they’re marked to be so authentic and natural. All these things are things that we really appreciate so early on in our career. We’re all working together.

There’s a very potent mix of both the heavier side of the music and the melodic side. Do you feel that having a diverse sound assists you in being able to play with a lot of different bands?

Y’know, I would love for that to be true. We appreciate and propagate all kinds of music that people don’t immediately assume to associate with our band. We really hope that it shines through and opens up doors – not just for us, but for other acts as well. No matter how you take it, it’s just music – you’re trying to be creative; you’re trying to latch on to something that was so primitive at one point, based on human instinct. It’s just music. I hope it’s transparent enough for people to see that’s how we feel about it. I’d love to tour with Bruno Mars – maybe if B.o.B. wants to take us out, I’ll do a hip-hop tour!

On the YouTube video for “Casino Columbus,” one of the highest-rated comments talks about what you did at a show – you threw a trash can over your head, started your own mosh pit and tried to climb the roof of a tent. Is any/all of that true? If so, when did it happen?

[Laughs] From what I’m told, it’s all true. It’s all a blur to me, but I’ve seen video! That was South by Southwest. We were playing a showcase, and I chased my microphone into a trash can. I thought I’d go for a fashion statement and wear the trash can as a top hat. I found myself outside of the tent at one point, and then climbed up the tent and found a hole and came back in. It was sort of like the tent was birthing me – it was kinda beautiful! [Laughs]

It sounds like there’s quite a bit of energy going on at these shows. How important are letlive’s live performances to you?

I think the letlive live show is just as important as the way we’re presented on record. It’s definitely different. With the album, we just tried to show as much raw energy and emotion – as trite as that may sound – as we could. It’s the exact same thing with the live show. We want people to understand that letlive is more than the five individuals on that stage. letlive is simply a vessel of some sort, and it’s much more vast than we can fully articulate at this point in time. When we can, we’ll let you know what it is; but right now, we just want people to feel something. It’s a shared energy. Even if they don’t know or don’t like what’s going on, all the energy – negative and positive – is feeding into what’s going on that stage.

Finally, when are we going to see letlive on Australian shores?

As soon as possible, man! We’ve been discussing this with our manager. I’ve heard it’s beautiful, and you guys are some of the nicest motherfuckers I’ve ever met. We did that tour with Break Even, and God-damn! You guys are just nice and cool. Not to mention my boy Jona, from Prom Queen and Bring Me The Horizon. He’s one of my favourite dudes to ever exist. As a country, if you’re all like that? I’m all about it, man. Let’s go!

INTERVIEW: The Chariot (USA), March 2011

Posted on 31/01/2015 by David James Young in Interviews

I had never heard of The Chariot before I was asked to interview their vocalist and mainstay Josh Scogin. I’m forever grateful to Australian Hysteria Magazine, as by writing for them they introduced me to a band that would become one of my absolute favourites over the next few years. Even beyond their untimely split, I still love them. No-one delivered a set quite like them, or put out music with the kind of vessel-popping intensity. I fell for them utterly and completely, and I may well draw that back to when I interviewed Josh. He was a really interesting and intelligent guy, particularly when we got talking about how his faith correlates with the music that he makes. His new band, ’68, are fucking great, too.

– DJY, January 2015

***

They go through band-mates like you go through hot dinners, but Douglasville natives The Chariot are never ones to give up or lose momentum. A relentless beast of touring throughout their native U.S., the band will finally make their maiden voyage down under this coming April, bringing along fellow American metalcore stalwarts Oh Sleeper with them. Ahead of this exciting double headliner, the voice behind The Chariot, Josh Scogin, was on the line to discuss life on the road, tourism and what faith really means within his music.

Hey Josh, thanks for talking to Australian Hysteria Magazine. Whereabouts are you at the moment?

Hey man, no worries at all! We’re actually in Indianapolis, Indiana. Haste the Day are about to play their final ever show, and we’re on the tour with them. It’s kind of awesome, and kind of weird – it’s emotional for a lot of them. A lot of their families will be coming out for this show. Ultimately, though, it’s been really awesome – they’ve been really great shows, and they’re great dudes. It’s been a really pleasant touring experience.

How long have you guys been on tour now?

Well, we’ve been on this tour for about a month, but we were on a tour before this one. We’ve been gone since about January, I think – quite awhile! We’re pretty excited about playing this show and then getting on home.

And these shows have been with your new guitarist, Brandon Henderson – is that right?

Yeah, he actually used to be in a band with our other guitarist [Stephen Harrison]. He’s been playing with us for awhile now.

It’s well-known that the band has gone through a lot of line-up changes. Is it hard to keep things cemented as a touring machine?

I guess it should be hard, but it’s actually been a very easy process. It’s always been friends that we’ve known for awhile – it’s always made a lot of sense. It’s never been weird, y’know – the last change we had before this one was with a guy who toured with us for a year and a half, doing the lights and guitar tech stuff. When our guitarist at the time left, it just made sense – it was obvious that he should join because he’s our good friend, he’s like-minded and he knows where we want to go with the band. So, I guess it’s supposed to be a daunting task – but, like I said, it’s always just made sense. We’ve never had to do auditions or anything like that.

Yeah, so there’s been no Chariot Idol!

[Laughs] Yeah, yeah! Exactly!

It’s also pretty remarkable that you’ve been able to keep a consistent flow of new material coming – for example, the proximity of Long Live [released in November 2010] in relation to Wars and Rumors of Wars [released in May 2009]. How important was it to get that album out as soon as possible – did it come naturally at the time?

We wanted to put one out pretty quick. We thought we had a lot of good material, and it was better than just sitting on it. I write a lot of stuff, so there’s the common ground of being able to move forward even when certain members change. It was just one of those things where we were trying to get on a couple of tours, and we thought “Well, we could stay at home this summer – or we could record.” It all just fell into place – we were all writing, anyway, so it wasn’t like it snuck up on us or anything. We just went with it, y’know?

Are you the type to write material while you’re on the road at all?

I personally don’t write anything on the road. I’ll some times write down some lyric as a little separate entity or something, but I’m usually really busy on the road – it’s hard to just sit down and pick up a guitar and write. When we’re at home, though, it just comes naturally. It’s a really easy process to just hit Record on a computer and lay down a couple of ideas. So, we write a little on the road – I know our guitarist writes a bit, anyway. I think it’s when we’re at home, though, that a lot of the ideas tend to come to life.

Do you think the environment of home assists in achieving the right state of mind for creating music?

Maybe. For me, it’s funny, though; I come up with a lot of ideas that I like at the worst of times. [Laughs] Like when I’m driving, for instance. I’ve gotta just keep remembering, or I’ll just forget it, y’know what I mean? It’s kind of one of those things, though, when you’re always writing – things can come naturally. I never really have to sit down and go “Okay, I have to write a song today.” You just go for it; and when you’ve done that enough times, you don’t have to force anything. It cuts out a lot of the forcing, making it a more organic process – that’s we thrive on.

Definitely. Are you and the band looking forward to your Australian tour?

Oh yeah, of course! After this tour, we go to Europe for a couple of weeks, and then we’re headed for Australia. We’ve been trying to come down for, like, three years. I don’t know, man, it’s always just been one thing after another. But we’re so excited to finally come down there and learn about the culture and the people. Hopefully the shows are cool – that’s obviously a part of it. For us, though, it’s the ability to learn new things, and see the country. That’s what drives this band – the ability to do stuff and see things that we would have never gotten to see otherwise. That’s just brilliant to us. It’s something that we’re just too excited to do.

Are you much of a tourist, or more of a sight-seer? What kind of traveller are you?

I’m kind of both. I’ve done Europe several times, and I like seeing the tourist-y stuff that most of the locals probably take for granted. But I also really enjoy meeting someone and getting to know them – being, like, “Hey, how are you doing? What do you like doing? Where do you like to hang out in your country?” To be able to do that stuff is really cool. If we weren’t in a band – like, say, we just said to ourselves “We wanna go to Australia and visit” – we would probably only get to see the tourist stuff. Being in a band, you get to meet new people, meet locals and find out where they hang out, what they like, where they go to eat. To me, I like both. I love the tourist stuff, but in Europe we get to experience stuff that we wouldn’t get to otherwise.

Oh Sleeper will be joining you guys on this tour, as well. They’re regarded as a Christian band, as are The Chariot. Is there ever a conflict of bands that associate themselves with Christianity performing what is traditionally regarded as “the Devil’s music” – i.e. rock music and heavy music? Or is it liberating to be able to do that?

I get the reaction to a lot of earlier bands within the genre, but I don’t really get exactly why it became known as “the Devil’s music.” With that said, I don’t also necessarily get why Christianity receives its own genre in the world, either. To me, it’s funny that it would be attributed to one side or the other. Unless you knew the lyrics were full-on in talking about Hell or Satan or what have you, I don’t see how music all by itself can be Christian or not. To me, it’s just music. Just because I’m a Christian, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like heavy music. It’s just a form of expressing yourself – it’s like art. Like, I love art, and as a painter you’d never think that “these painting are Christian, these paintings are Satanic.” If it’s just a painting without connotations either way, how can you associate it with anything? Music’s the same: just because it’s heavy, it’s referred to as “the Devil’s music.” I always think that’s pretty funny, to not necessarily have any background on it and claim it as such.

You’d think the stigma would come from rock and heavy music having that history of sex and drugs and that kind of lifestyle, as far back as Elvis and moving on to Sabbath and Ozzy and what have you. At the same time, though, you’ve got bands who are trying to break that premonition and move away from that stereotype.

Of course. I mean, I didn’t grow up in a Christian household – I’m at where I’m at today because of my life’s path and what’s brought me here. It’s not like I’m riding the coattails of some pastor or one of my parents. It’s a very mutual respect that I have with people who are either believers or non-believers – I can relate to both. I know where they’re coming from in either direction. It’s cool to just play music, to play rock and roll; and maybe one day be able to bridge the gap and make people realise that it’s just music. Hopefully, it can even be a blessing of some sort. Just because the media throws “Christian metal” or “Christian-core” on it, doesn’t mean it’s exclusive – that’s not what we’re about. It’s silly to throw a whole genre on something just because the band is from a label, or because you might tour with a band or two who are affiliated with what you’re affiliated with. You just can’t think about it that way, y’know?