British India can do no wrong, so it’s fitting their fifth studio album is called ‘Nothing Touches Me’.
The Melbourne quartet is quickly crawling their way into the realm of Aussie rock royalty by doing what they do best: real, raw rock played straight from the heart. “We don’t have the luxury of picking what our sound is and it’s been that way since day one,” guitarist Nic Wilson says.
“We don’t really pick the songs, they pick us. People ask how we’ve changed since ‘Guillotine’ and I don’t know; it’s been a natural progression to here. We’re not that good that we can calculate things like that, the song comes naturally and we just have to roll with that.”
British India’s uniquely blended sound is a huge part of what makes them so popular: part rock, part pop and with a dash of something inexplicable, their influences are wide-ranging yet nearly impossible to define, to the point even Nic can’t explain exactly where their sound comes from. “I think if you ask the four of us that question you’d get six different answers,” he laughs “and I think that’s how we work and [is] one of our strengths.
“Like everyone, we have our influences but when you mash them all together they just end up sounding like British India and that’s one thing I’ve always been happy about is that we don’t sound too much like anyone else. It comes down to the fact we’re not really that great as musicians: Matt can only drum like Matt and Declan can only sing like Declan and the list goes on; maybe Matt would be the only one who could play in a different band apart from us.”
Asking a musician to name their favourite song might be akin to asking a parent who is their preferred child. Yet Nic was able to pick one from ‘Nothing Touches Me’, as well as explain the deeper meaning behind another song from the album. “‘Blame It All On Me’ is a big fave [sic], it might have something to do with that it was one of the last ones that we wrote and we only recorded it the one time so it’s still quite fresh.
"That and ‘Lifeguard’, ‘Lifeguard’s got a bit of personal sentimental value to it for me: the song’s about getting back with someone you’ve dated in the past and how something can feel new but old at the same time; I think that’s what that line’s about: ‘My name coming out of your mouth, so strange to hear it again’. It’s weird dating someone for the first time even though you were together five years before, that’s what that one’s about. It’s got all the feelings of a new relationship but you know everything about the person at the same time.”
While British India have always been ostensibly rock, they’ve never been afraid to let their angst or emotional side seep into their music and lyrics, a tendency which has become more noticeable with each successive album. “We’re straddling the line: we’re definitely not as punky as we used to be but even in the sweeter moments there’s viciousness and it can even come down to the lyrics: a song like ‘Jay Walker’ you can’t describe as anything but a ballad, but it’s still so fucking goddamn sad what’s going on in that song, it’s sad as hell, it’s bleak.”
To produce the album, the band spent time in Berlin working with Simon Berckelman of Philadelphia Grand Jury. “We went over there just to go over the songs,” Nic says. “It was the romantic ideal of getting away from it all and just focussing on something – I don’t know if it really panned out that way. It was getting away from it all and doing 12 hours of music and 12 hours of other stuff.”
After ten years on the road as one of Australia’s hardest-working rock acts, British India have become well-versed in the trials and tribulations of constant travelling. As such, they’ve become prominent themes in the band’s work and although British India may be close to untouchable, they’ve found they’re not immune from the dissociation and ennui inherent in a life spent on the road. “It’s one of those things that comes across on the album, even in ‘Suddenly’ and a few other songs, there are a lot of lines about travelling and I think it all stems from the isolation and loneliness that comes along with it. We’re lucky that we’ve got each other but even in a group you can feel alone.”
‘Nothing Touches Me’ is out now.
British India Tour Dates
Thu 16 Apr - The Gap View Hotel (Alice Springs)Fri 17 Apr - Discovery (Darwin)
Sat 18 Apr - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thu 23 Apr - Paddy’s (Albury)
Fri 24 Apr - Romano’s (Wagga Wagga)
Sat 25 Apr - Area Hotel (Griffith)
Fri 1 May - Sound Lounge (Gold Coast)
Sat 2 May - Urban Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Wed 6 May - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Thu 7 May - Club 54 (Launceston)
Fri 8 May - Republic Bar (Hobart)
Sat 9 May - Republic Bar (Hobart)
Fri 15 May - Dunsborough Tavern
Sat 16 May - Capitol (Perth)
Sun 17 May - Newport (Fremantle)
Fri 22 May - The Metro (Sydney)
Sat 23 May - Cambridge (Newcastle)
Thu 28 May - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Fri 29 May - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 30 May - Workers Club (Geelong)
Fri 5 Jun - Pelly Bar (Melbourne)
Sat 6 Jun - Riverview Hotel (Tarwin Lower)
Sun 7 Jun - Spirit Bar (Traralgon)
