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you’re having a tough sort of day, it’s better to
just be out with it: ‘I’m having a sh-t day and
this is why.’”
And it did get rough; Moffitt laughs as he
considers whether his perfectionist ways set
any forehead veins popping, and eventually
admits: “I lost my mind – I’m not sure where I
left it. I think there’s always one. One of us has
to lose their mind in order for the rest to stay
above water. They’re fine, man! I’m a shell!”
Girlhood
is also a chronicle of the influences
that Moffitt, Manfredi, and their bandmates
Thomas Champion (bass) and Luke Davison
(drums) adored and absorbed during their time
growing up in Sydney. Moffitt says they're
“absolutely shameless” about who they’ve
loved, because: “Whatever goes, you know?
Just throw it in there if it feels good.” He
adds that these days they’ll listen to Rhianna
one moment and sidle up to Texan Thai-funk
band Khruangbin the next; along with their
old loves, this is why
Girlhood
can move from
the Divinyls-inflected title track, to the Gary
Numan-esque
Magick
, to the country-roots feel
of
The First Night
with such panache.
“There was a real mood in Sydney at the
time that we [were growing up], and it felt
like it was directly inspired by things like The
Birthday Party, and Ed Kuepper… Nevada
Strange, and another band called Broken
Dolls, and an awesome band from the Blue
Mountains called Bells Will Ring. Seeing
these young Sydney people absorbing and re-
interpreting this energy – which is basically all
it is, a certain energy, a certain attitude – I think
it really left an impression on us. There were so
many venues to go and see that kind of stuff.
It’s funny that that’s seven years ago now. I feel
somewhat nostalgic for it. But that’s how we
came to be playing that kind of music with that
sort of heavy, languid feel. It feels great to play
in a room when you’re f-ckin’ half cut.”
In track
Yanada
, there’s another nod to the
very first denizens of the band’s hometown;
Manfredi uses the Darug language, the
language of the First Australians originally living
in Sydney, within its lyrics. “I think there’s a
big hurt, and a very disenfranchised mob, and
that’s a shame," Moffitt says of our Indigenous
people and their ongoing treatment. "We’ve
got a really great opportunity in our lifetime to
turn that around. We’ve got to stop ignoring
community. I hope [the use of the Darug
language] sparks an interest in people taking a
bit more pride and being respectful to
our Indigenous community.”
Like his approach to learning about
Manfredi’s unique frustrations and
grievances, Moffitt says that it’s all
about listening. “I guess I’m at the
start of my learning. I’m just trying to
keep my eyes and ears open to things,
and I hope that in time, things will look
different.”
JA & ZKR
05
NEWS
MUSIC
THE PREATURES
I
n understanding The Preatures’ new album
Girlhood
as an opportunity for vocalist Izzy
Manfredi to ask herself a series of questions –
‘Who am I in the band? What do I really think?
What’s bugging me?’ – Jack Moffitt says it was
the notion of the ‘modern woman’, and the spear-
attack of angles that idea can sprout, which started
Manfredi’s lyrical exploration. “There’s so many
things happening at this invisible layer for women,
every day, that men simply don’t comprehend – for
lots and lots of reasons,” he says. "I can identify
some of those things now, from having had these
kind of conversations with Izzy about getting to the
heart of things.
“It’s got a lot do to with things like identifying
with feminism in different ways to how it has been
identified with in the past, and identifying with
community, and knowing what’s important about
the way that we relate to one another. That goes in
so many different directions.
“Often for a sensitive person like Izzy, it can
mount up really quickly, and that can be really
overwhelming. She’s such a direct and tenacious
person. She’s going for truth, you know – that’s
what she wants to get to.”
The producer and guitarist says that to
work through those tenets with Manfredi and
INTERVIEW
the band, the most important stratagems were
communication, and also allowing himself the space
to be green. “It’s not like I need to understand
everything straight away; in fact, a lot of the time
it was great to not have that understanding, and
just marvel at how something was coming along,
and go, ‘Great, this is the thing that I will eventually
arrive at my own understanding of’, and just try to
be clear and direct with my work and my part in our
relationship,” he says.
He asserts that seeing Izzy “grow into this space
of being the kind of writer that she’s hoping to
be, that she’s working on every day” was mightily
exciting, and has deeply affected the way he listens
to others: “My whole world’s really different now,”
he says. In that way, like many bands who have
worked together for several years – The
Preatures’ first single was 2012’s
Take
A Card
from the EP
Shaking Hands
, at
which time the group were still known
as ‘The Preachers’ – Moffitt believes
being honest about having a hairy time
is paramount. “Some days are good,
some days are bad – I think we talk a
lot more than we have in the past, and
that’s because as a unit, our closeness
is also our protection,” he says. “If
Girlhood
by
The Preatures is
out Aug 11 via
Universal.
The Preatures have returned with their bold second album
Girlhood
, in which vocalist and frontwoman Izzy Manfredi
sifts through some candid questions about the female
experience. Guitarist and producer Jack Moffitt explains
how he learned when to listen and when to lean in.
st154_096_MUSIC Room 1.indd 2
21/7/17 4:08 pm