#Sparkle bands free#

Gatling: ItвЂ™s interesting, because I obviously wasnвЂ™t there for the first album, but when I came in, it just felt like seeing like an uncle or something. Like James would have an idea to try something guitar-wise, or Maz would have a vocal harmony or something, and I think they were a bit more willing to be like, вЂњOkay, letвЂ™s see where this could goвЂ¦вЂќ I think having worked with them, we definitely got a sense of how they worked, and vice versa, so this time around, there was a bit more of that trust and a bit more willingness to push backwards and forwards on things. The bridge needed to be like вЂInhalerвЂ™, you know, where itвЂ™s like, вЂњCanвЂ™t get enough space вЂ“ downg, downg, downg!вЂќ And you think it canвЂ™t get any bigger, but then it gets bigger, and youвЂ™re like, вЂњOh my God, theyвЂ™ve done it again!вЂќД®specially going back to Bernie and Nick as well, did you feel more confident to shake things up a little more?Д«irtwell: I think so. Gatling: With that one, we were listening to lots of Foals. That song in particular is such a fucking journey. But it also starts with a spy riff, like this Pink Panther-esque bullshit. вЂJeff On The StreetsвЂ™, for example, the end of that song is thrashy and gross and discordant вЂ“ it kind of sounds awful, but in this amazing way. It definitely dips back into it вЂ“ and probably even deeper than than any other WAAX record. And so I think a lot of the instrumental stuff is actually drifting away from being the really, really heavy WAAX of old. I wasnвЂ™t a heavy music guy until, like, five years ago. Gatling: IвЂ™d also never really been into heavy music. And something would always come out of that вЂ“ it might just be one line, but it always ends up being what makes the song. WeвЂ™d get past the songs weвЂ™d work on in a session, and then IвЂ™d go вЂround to JamesвЂ™ place and weвЂ™d sit on his balcony, or heвЂ™d come to my place, and weвЂ™d just talk for like a while вЂ“ there wouldnвЂ™t necessarily be any goal with it, weвЂ™d just kind of chat and noodle away and just play to each other for a bit. Okay, how can I make that song into my song without getting sued?Д«irtwell: We also spent a lot of time just sitting down and bouncing random shit off each other. Gatling: I think oftentimes, youвЂ™ll hear a song and youвЂ™ll be like, вЂњOh, I like that song. And eventually something will, and itвЂ™s like, вЂњOkay, thatвЂ™s cool, letвЂ™s roll with that.вЂќ And then as the recording process goes on, it either sticks through the whole process, or it doesnвЂ™t. He and and Maz work on getting a song structure together, and then weвЂ™ll take some time apart to just kind of sit with the song, and then weвЂ™ll bounce ideas back and forth with each other for ages, just to see what sticks. Where did that vibe come from?Д«irtwell: I think for James and I, working on guitar parts is its own kind of thing. There is a lot of stuff on this album that feels like a step away from Big Grief вЂ“ that sort of Pixies-ish, almost Weezer-y noodling on вЂMan Like MeвЂ™, for example. I donвЂ™t think IвЂ™ve ever been super crash-hot at guitar, but IвЂ™m definitely good at learning things quickly. And they were like, вЂњOkay, Saturday morning, we have rehearsal,вЂќ so I went home and learnt every song that they had out on Spotify.

To learn more about it, Australian Guitar caught up with Gatling and longstanding rhythm guitarist Ewan Birtwell.Д«ut when we actually got togetherвЂ¦ I thought it was going to be a rehearsal on a Thursday night вЂ“ Maz messaged me and she was like, вЂњCan you come to the studio and meet us?вЂќ And I was like, вЂњYeah, sure,вЂќ and I got there, and we ended up just drinking lots of beers and hanging out.

#Sparkle bands free#

The album saw WAAX return to the La Cueva studio in Byron Bay, where they reunited with producing duo Bernard Fanning (yes, that Bernard Fanning) and Nick DiDia вЂ“ but At Least IвЂ™m Free is less of a sequel to Big Grief than it is the debut album of a completely reinvented and revitalised iteration of WAAX. The end result of their hustle is the bandвЂ™s most exciting and unpredictable body of work yet, At Least IвЂ™m Free. Gatling became DeVitaвЂ™s new writing partner, and having played in approximately 9,381 bands before WAAX, he came with an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music in tow. Led by the inimitable powerhouse that is frontwoman Marie вЂњMazвЂќ DeVita, the band knuckled down on writing for the follow-up to Big Grief, with the MO being to create a truly unhinged rollercoaster of emotions and tones, where the only rule was that there were no rules. Any other band wouldвЂ™ve thrown in the towel then and there вЂ“ but then again, WAAX arenвЂ™t any other band.