It hasn't been a good run for many WA artists in recent months, but it's amazing how they've banded together on a local scale and made the most of a rough situation.
Now it's time to break free, just like Death By Denim who, armed with their new album 'Moonbow', are gearing up for a national run of shows that commence next week.From the impenetrable fortress of WA, the indie rock/ synth/ R&B-psych band's keyboardist, George Gunson has some feelings on the matter. "It's come to a point where your thoughts and feelings change.
"I was all for locking it down, keeping us safe and everything – now having postponed our tour, I can empathise with other musicians and entertainers that have needed to tour, not for the money, but because it's their bread and butter."
With things so precarious related to live music productions currently, Death By Denim, though excited for the release of 'Moonbow', have been ironing out the creases of a new live show as they position themselves in a new phase of the band's timeline.
"When you release an album, you want to tour it," George says. "It's one thing to listen to an album, and another to experience it live, and that's what we've been working on while being bolstered down: the new live set.
"We did a secret show at The Indi Bar where we played under a fake name. We only played five tracks and I felt it was meaningful in a way because it was like saying goodbye to an era of Death By Denim and usher in a new show.
"The [new] album is different, and we want to show that through a live show. We've been working on a new show that has a lot more grandiosity about it."
A stark contrast, then, that where Death By Denim have been slow to hit the road in support of the album (not by their doing, of course), 'Moonbow' was in fact born very quickly after the release of its predecessor, 2020's 'Sleepless And Sunkissed'.
There's not much else to do when the most isolated city in the world is even more isolated courtesy of a pandemic. "Exactly. It's like the set of 'Dune' out here – it's just sand and ocean. That's about it," admits Gunson.
"That's why at the start of this whole thing [the pandemic] I wasn't feeling too peeved about the borders closing down, because we were busy in the studio creating this new work – now it's come time to show people and that's where I've thought 'no, let me out, open the borders'.
"Musicians in general, we're all just introverted, weirdo hermits, so we don't really mind being told to stay in and social distance. Any day of the week, please. But this?
"I guess we got a flurry of inspiration from a lot of things on the last album that we want to build on, new instruments, new ideas to play with, so it came about naturally to try and force ourselves to rush this project anyway."
Where 'Sleepless And Sunkissed' was rather ambient in its soundscape, ‘Moonbow’, if it’s at all possible, is more laidback than the first.
You can certainly pick up on the sonic elements that have been brought over from album one into two – ambient is just one word to ascribe to 'Moonbow', because it is just such a kaleidoscope of colour and texture.
"Any songs that didn't make the first album were ditched," George explains.
"Usually, if your debut [record] blew up – I'm not saying ours did, but we're very proud of it – a sophomore [album] is always hard because it's a real test, for yourself and fans for them to decide as to whether to stick with you for the long haul.
"I believe, personally, with your sophomore album, you want to try and push something different.
"To suggest there are ambient soundscapes within both albums; [the] debut I felt like it was a bit wild, but with 'Moonbow' we tried to get some ideas down, but really hone it in, really sharpen it up.
"Instead of working with what seems like this massive, big, open ocean of ideas, we're trying to narrow it down to more of a nice, little river. A nice, little pond."
Death By Denim 2022 Tour Dates
Fri 25 Mar - The Espy (Melbourne)Sat 26 Mar - Fat Controller (Adelaide)
Fri 1 Apr - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Sun 3 Apr - Yours & Owls Festival (Wollongong)
Thu 7 Apr - The Zoo (Brisbane)
Fri 8 Apr - The Beach Hotel (Byron Bay)
Sat 9 Apr - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 29 Apr - Freo.Social (Fremantle)
