Sydney band Songs are slated for their first ever appearance on the Splendour In The Grass schedule in late July, but they’ve recently been doing a little recon in Splendour’s home town Byron Bay with an artists residency at creative haven-cum-relaxodrome, La Casa.
With their critically acclaimed 2009 debut of effortless jangly pop cuts, Songs were among the first wave of Australian bands to borrow heavily from the summery slacker sound pioneered by Antipodean influencers The Clean and The Go-Betweens. With Songs’ follow up Malabar the band have explored a denser, richer approach in both their songwriting and arrangement. The upbeat indie melodies are still present but the introduction of synths and vocal loops add a less improvisation and more polished sound. Songs will be serving a selection of jams, new and old, to the Splendour crowd in July, but hear a sample of new material produced fresh from the backyard of La Casa in the footage below.
Front man Max Doyle (whose creative pursuits also include major fashion photography and self-publishing) also filled us in on a few of his key creative/life influences…
Who is your favourite band and why? Maybe Wilco. Even if I get tired of them I named my son after them so they have my undying loyalty.
Who is your favourite photographer? I like a bunch for different reasons but all time is probably Nobuyoshi Araki, but then there’s also Juergen Teller, Terry Richardson, Robert Frank and William Egglston. But depends on the day.
What’s your favourite place that inspires you? I think a lot about Mexico at the moment. Something in the air. Also Botswana, Africa, but it scares me as well.
What’s your favourite sunset song? “Anything Could Happen” by The Clean.
For more live music inspired by La Casa head to the website.
