STACK February 2016 Issue 136

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T he aural splendour on Synthia is
very visually suggestive, and first
impressions of single Come Alive
– with its pulsating synth-bass, an
insidious, chugging guitar and eerie tin
can accents – instantly evokes centipedes
churning below the earth as in a David
Lynch film. “Oh, I love David Lynch – the
whole band is pretty influenced by David
Lynch actually,” vocalist Hayley Mary says
over the phone from the café in London
where she likes to go to write. “We used
to have this thing where every time we
played in a sh*tty empty room when we
were on tour, or some awkward show we
didn’t want to be doing, we’d all turn to
each other and go, ‘Just imagine we’re a
band in a David Lynch film’ and we’d do
that weird thing where they kind of look
like they’re lip-synching, and it’s this
strange dream vibe.”
The Jezabels probably haven’t been
relying on David Lynch to get them
through anything lately, with Synthia
proving the Sydney four-piece are as full
of detailed, ethereal ideas as they’ve ever
been. The task of circulating those ideas
throughout the band’s members – Hayley
Mary, keyboardist Heather Shannon,
guitarist Samuel Lockwood and drummer
Nik Kaloper – has taken on a deliberately
visual approach. “This record, I think
we’ve gotten way, way better
at communicating with each
other visually,” she says.
“We’ve got photos and
videos that we feel represent
us. Otherwise an image is
something that just happens
to you, and it feels horrid
because you’re so proactive
in what you’re putting out
into the world as musicians.
We were a band before
Spotify and Instagram and
we were actually able to live
in denial. We were like, ‘Oh,
it doesn’t matter, we’ll just be
like Radiohead and make cool
music,’” she drawls. “And
then we realised that actually,
Radiohead have a really
well-constructed image! And
it doesn’t just accidentally
happen; you have to take
control, because otherwise
you get misrepresented.”
Hayley Mary of The Jezabels talks refusing prototypes, the progress of
acceptance and why she’s not fixated on the end of the rainbow. By Zoë Radas
visit MUSIC FEATURE
10 FEBRUARY 2016
MUSIC
You have to
take control,
otherwise you get
misrepresented
The Jezabels: L-R
Samuel Lockwood, Heather Shannon, Hayley Mary and Nik Kaloper.