It’s been a few years since Australian band Spookyland visited europe, but for those that had the pleasure of catching them live, a distinct impression was made, not least for the rather unforgettable vocal style of lead singer Marcus. A pitch that borders too high, and a trill that sounds borderline nervy, somehow combine with the music to give the band a striking, distinctive sound.
Latest track/video “God’s Eye” comes as an appetiser for their debut album ‘Beauty Already Beautiful’ , which is scheduled for a May release. Of the track, lead singer Marcus had this to say; “A whole lot of eyeball metaphors in this song. It’s about something going wrong along the way, or at least wondering if something did. The line “god’s eyes have to blink’ is repeated a lot, so blaming God for the world’s woes can seem reasonable, pathetic, funny or even annoying, all in one listen.”
We were lucky enough to grab a few moments with Marcus as the band were getting ready for their SXSW appearance…
BM: How was SXSW? Tell us all about it?
MG: Good so far, hardest thing is finding water and avoiding GMOs. Shows are always a pleasure. Especially in America. People engage here in a nice way.
BM: You’ve also got a few shows coming up with Jake Bugg, right?
MG: Looking forward to it, hopefully his crowd don’t mind us hijacking them for half an hour.
BM: Any plans to come this side of the pond (UK)?
MG: Definitely get there soon, May I think is the aim. Hopefully some Europe stuff too.
BM: Beauty already Beautiful is out in May – can you tell us a little about it? Who did you work with etc…
MG: We cut the album at saddle creek in Omaha. Tony Buchen who worked on our last EP came with us to produce. BM: Were they songs written specifically for the album, were some of them long standing songs?
MG: The songs were written for it mostly, there was already a good 100 but we wanted to capture a certain theme so we wrote it in a 3 month frame. It doesn’t sound like a debut to me, more like a pretty good return to form 6th album or something.
BM: The album is been released on the Play it Again Sam label here in the UK – how did that deal come about?
MG: We had a song get in some UK press and some email just popped up from them saying they liked it. Very lucky.
BM: You’re from Sydney – what sort of scene is going on over there? Any upcoming bands we should check out?
MG: It’s a tricky place right now with all these Orwellian laws coming down on night life. I think the frictions improving the music though which is good at least. We love what a band called Yeevs are doing and the Tambourine Girls, great lyrics and genuine feelings happening.
BM: What are your plans for the rest of the year, other than the album and US touring that is……any festival dates?
MG: Some UK and Europe hopefully. Depends on how well this album does in the end. We’d never stop if there was enough precedent.
‘Beauty Already Beautiful’ will be available through Play It Again Sam on CD, vinyl and digital formats.
Spookyland are: Marcus Gordon (vocals), Liam Gordon (guitar), Nath Mansfield (drums), Nic Malouf (bass)
