Adelaide two-piece The Hard Aches are set to show off their new EP, 'I Freak Out', when they embark on four-week national tour at the end of September.
Guitarist Ben David and drummer Alex Upton are looking forward to playing the new songs to all of their friends. “We've played around the country a lot the past few years,” Alex says. “It's nice be able to see friends in other cities. It's always good to be able to see them and play some new stuff.”
Alex feels good about finally getting the music into a public forum. “It's always good to throw a couple of fresh tunes into the set. We actually finished recording this one at the end of February or the start of March this year. We've been sitting on it for quite a while.”
Listeners can expect a different tonality on this release in comparison to their debut album, 'Pheromones', which Alex describes as having a “light” feel. “This EP has got a lot more distortion,” Alex says. “It's a lot heavier than anything we've done before, which I am all for.”
While having a particular charm in the live setting, being a two-piece band presents Alex and Ben with other challenges . “There's only two of us, so I'm always trying to think of something that is not going to be a standard rock beat,” Alex says. “I want something special that is going to give the song a feeling.
“Everything we've done prior to this we've put bass guitar on it. This time we tracked a guitar through a bass amp and recorded that instead. It's pretty us in that there is no bass guitar on the record, but there is that bass frequency in the recordings that makes it sound typically fat.”
The EP will be released through Alex's own imprint, Anchorhead Record Company. “Anchorhead is independent, but for this particular release we've had some extra help with distribution. Anchorhead deals with most of the front-of-house type of stuff.”
The band have learnt to manage the fatigue from playing high-energy shows and touring life. “As much as there is an itinerary of having to be at a certain place at a certain time, between those major points there is no structure to the day,” Alex says.
“You just do what your body needs at the time, which could be food, coffee or a nap. It's very strange, It can get very mentally and physically exhausting after a couple of days really.” The band is always ready to play, however. “Getting on stage in front of a couple of hundred people always gives you the kick. It's a great feeling.”
Though the duo are always ready to party if need be. “If the planets align, a good party can get thrown,” Alex says. “Most of the time Ben and I are pretty grumpy and tired people. Getting to bed as soon as possible is pretty good, but on the last Luca Brasi tour there was a lot of partying going on as you can imagine.”
Although nothing has been organised, there's always a chance that The Hard Aches could be playing their favourite type of show on tour. “House parties are always the best,” Alex says. “There are no rules and just great vibes. We don't do them too often but sometimes on tour we'll have a couple of days spare and we'll try and organise somewhere to play. I don't know if the cops have ever been called. It's never gotten that serious.”
'I Freak Out' is available now.
Written by Edward Johnstone
The Hard Aches Shows
Fri 7 Oct – Miami Tavern (Gold Coast)Sat 8 Oct – Crowbar (Brisbane)
Wed 12 Oct – Coffs Hotel (Coffs Harbour)
Thu 13 Oct – Pier On Clarence (Port Macquarie)
Fri 14 Oct – Small Ballroom (Newcastle)
Sat 15 Oct – Transit Bar (Canberra)
Tue 18 Oct – Musicman Megastore (Bendigo)
Wed 19 Oct – Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Thu 20 Oct – Barwon Club (Geelong)
Fri 21 Oct – Northcote Social Club (Melbourne)
Sat 22 Oct – The Loft (Warrnambool)
Thu 27 Oct - Prince Of Wales (Bunbury)
Fri 28 Oct – Jimmy’s Den (Perth)
Sat 29 Oct – Jive (Adelaide)
Fri 4 Nov – Newtown Social Club (Sydney)
