Australia’s synth pop saviours weather health crisis
Australian quartet the Jezabels formed in 2007 and generated significant buzz Down Under. Singer Hayley Mary, drummer Nik Kaloper, guitarist Sam Lockwood and keyboardist Heather Shannon released their third full length album, titled Synthia, last February. Owing to Heather Shannon’s ovarian cancer relapse, touring the album was cut short.
During her recovery, Shannon collaborated with former Midnight Oil lead singer Peter Garrett on his debut solo album A New Version Of Now while other members pursued various projects. Now the ARIA Award-winners are back on the road ready to drop synth pop singles such as Pleasure Drive, Rosebud, The End and All You Need on North American crowds.
Hayley Mary answered some questions by e-mail while on the road.
You are touring your third album (Synthia) which was put on hiatus while the group dealt with Heather Shannon’s ovarian cancer diagnosis. How is she and what is the lineup for this North American jaunt?
She went through treatment this year and that has been successful. So, it’s just a case of monitoring it for now. The point of cancelling rather than touring with someone else for this tour was a lot to do with the fact that the album means a lot to the whole band and we wanted to at least tour it once together.
Having already played Coachella Mainstage, the band is hardly unknown here. But it feels like this album is the one that delivers the big stadium anthems like Smile or If You Want Me. Were you feeling the arena writing this album?
I don’t think we ever consciously aim for anything to be honest. There are a lot of conflicting styles and tastes in the band. We’ve got a thrash-metal drummer, a classically trained keyboardist, a country/ shoegazey guitarist, and an ’80s goth disco diva for a singer, so making room for all of them in a song or album, rather than ambition for largesse, is behind that in most cases.
The group gets compared to everyone from Kate Bush to Elastica and the Cranberries. But when I listen to Pleasure Drive, I hear that classic Aussie four-on-the-floor beat. What are your influences?
Is it weird to say I don’t really know anymore? It used to be a world where you would talk about that one mix tape you had as a child, or that your parents listened to Bowie and Springsteen while you were in the womb or stuff like that. However, I do think two themes have always been part of the essence of the band and that’s gothic and disco. They seem conflicting, but they are two really strong aspects of Australian culture and I think they have rubbed off on a lot of bands.
Given the play on words in the title, did the group really delve into vintage synth sounds for the recording. There seems to be a lot of groups from Down Under digging the Moogs and things?
Yeah Heather delved into a lot of synth sounds, some vintage and analogue some new and digital. She bought a Prophet which birthed a lot of the grooves and bass-lines on the album. But there was no purism about it, like “let’s find some pure analogue vintage sounds, dude,” it was just
a matter of stumbling upon or creating stuff that sounded good either vintage or from software.
If Hillary Clinton wanted to use your song Stamina do you think you’d let her?
No. I don’t care how much Clinton throws about the term “feminism.” Both candidates are irreconcilable with any notion I have of goodness. Both have and will continue to perpetuate American imperialism. Neither have done or will do anything good toward transforming the prison system from what it is, an ever-growing parasitic system for legalized (primarily black) slavery, that feeds economic interests while telling America it’s still the land of the free. Democracy as far as we know it leaves me feeling cold and empty, actually. But since we are seemingly all going to hell anyways, I suppose why not let her use a song? Actually, screw it, I’d let Trump use it, at least it would get some LOLs and make us some money before the end of days …
OK, those opinions are probably likely to change, certainly only my own, and do not reflect the stance of The Jezabels as an entity or it’s other members. Good luck America.