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I
t's a grand month for pop-punk: Blink-182
release
California
, which shares a producer
with Good Charlotte's triumphant
Youth
Authority
, which in turn features a cameo from
dreamboat vocalist Simon Neil of Scottish
group Biffy Clyro, who are giving us
Ellipsis
.
So, almost a three-part pop-punk ouroboros,
if you like. If you don't like, there's plenty
more to choose from, including a gorgeously
ethereal Album of the Month. Don't punch a
gift horse in the face.
Zo
ë
Radas (Music Editor)
OH PEP!
03
NEWS
MUSIC
MUSIC
E
qual rations gutsy, charming, intricate and
smart, Oh Pep! are a Melbourne two-piece
who have enchanted
STACK
over the last
couple of months as tracks from their debut
album
Stadium Cake
have
floated into the ol’ inbox.
Olivia Hally and Pepita
Emmerichs met at the
Victorian College of the
Arts and quickly began
to combine the former’s
guitar and the latter’s
violin and mandolin with
their shared songwriting
talents, coming up with
gems that are musically
fascinating and lyrically
astute with a distinctive
alt-pop-folk mien. “Our
whole premise behind
songwriting is that we
write tunes that we
find interesting to play,”
Olivia says. “That’s what
I always listen out for
in other people’s music
– stuff that keeps me
intrigued.” For Oh Pep!,
those bits come in the form of time signature
shifts, agile melodic twists and Pepita’s inspired
and unconventional approach to the violin.
“I think having grown up playing classical
music, you tend to explore a lot of different
techniques,” Pepita says. “There’s a lot of
plucking stuff and you’re using harmonics and
double stops, and then I discovered Andrew
Bird – the way he plays is fearless, because
you don’t see [violin] so much in pop music.
And he does it without question and he does
it so well.”
The pair’s lyrics and their delivery by
(primarily) Olivia end up like a story of linked
maxims; advice offered ironically, or maybe
too late, or with earnest, honest conviction.
“I guess it’s always
like a note to yourself,
even if the song’s
about someone else
you know,” says Olivia.
“Little reminders, or
things I have heard from
other people that have
taken a little while to
sink in.”
“My dad’s a classic
for the advice one-
liners,” she adds,
explaining that one
of her pop’s favourite
phrases for when he
didn’t want to help her
with her high school
homework – ‘Let me
help you help yourself’
– made it into a track,
for which her dad
will be forever proud.
But it’s heart-skinning
slogans like ‘I know what I want, but it’s not
what I need’, and ‘When I let it out, don’t let it
in’, and even ‘Oh my goodness, here comes
His Highness, followed by my friend the air
hostess,’ that are going to lodge themselves
into the most emotional pockets of your brain.
They're touring in August, so keep an eye out.
INTERVIEW
JIMMY BARNES
T
he beloved Barnsey has crested the
Australian charts for the 15th occasion in
his career - we spoke to him about his new
covers album
Soul Searchin'
.
Q1/
Sifting through all the possible soul
songs you could have recorded, which perhaps
lesser-known track are you most proud to have
brought to the fore with this collection?
I think the tracks that were originally recorded
by Lee Moses:
Bad Girl
and
If Loving You Is A
Crime
. I love his voice and the fact that he is quite
mysterious. There aren’t many photos of him or
a lot of information out there about him. As soon
as I heard his voice I became a huge fan. They are
desperate lyrics with a lot of tenderness. He sounds
like a wounded soul. I hope people go and listen to
his versions of these songs and anything else of him
they can find.
Q2/
You’ve surpassed The Beatles’ record of
14 #1 albums, with
Soul Searchin
’ marking your
15th. Did the milestone surprise you, or are you
very involved with the numbers side of things?
I know exactly how many records I have done
and where they chart. As an artist I am very proud
of all of them, including the ones that didn’t make
it to number one. If I can make a record and get to
say what I wanted to say on it, or sing it the way I
wanted to, to release the emotions that I needed
to release, then I think the records are a success.
So being number one isn’t the be all and end all of
making music. But in saying that I am very proud
of the success of these records. Not just for myself
but for all the people involved, from the producer
through all of the team at the record company who
worked really hard to make them successful.
Q3/
For this month's tour, have you prepped
material from across your entire oeuvre or do
you need to be very efficient and have setlists
set in stone long before rehearsals start?
We have put together a list of contenders that
have been drawn from all four soul records and we
will learn all of them and then decide on the set on
the night. The band are all great players so we are
more than capable of pulling anything we want out
on the night. So don’t be afraid to yell out. We will
see what we can do.
INTERVIEW
Soul Searchin'
by Jimmy Barnes is out now
via Liberation.
Peter Garrett [see our review on pg 18]
Stadium Cake
by Oh Pep! is out now
via Remote Control.