Raw, gritty and undefined, The Peep Tempel’s second album, ‘Tales’, weaves narratives of a uniquely Australian nature.
“[The album]’s about that sort of old, dying pub culture,” vocalist/ guitarist Blake explains, “like these old bookies, that sort of thing; just building these characters and trying to have a bit of fun with them and put a bit of humour in there. There’s also a little bit of darkness lurking beneath the surface.”
Beginning life as a two-piece, ‘Tales’ marks the band’s second full-length release as a three-piece, with bassist Stewart Rayner thrown into the mix. Described as having “a more laidback feel” by Blake, the album was mostly written on a deck outside their Melbourne studio, with beer and barbecues lubricating the creative process. “[There were] lots of afternoons just sitting out in the sun, having a few beers and spinning yarns,” he says.
“It was a much different setting to where we wrote the first record but funnily enough it was actually next door, so we’d moved about ten metres. There was absolutely no sunshine in the last record — it was just recorded in a dark, dingy room.”
With a sound difficult to pin down, The Peep Tempel employ a range of genres: from blues to punk to frenzied and unyielding rock and roll, the list goes on. But how they do they see themselves? “There was so much music going through all of our skulls before we started making this record – from old style R&B to punk and that sort of thing.
“I guess the band’s got a bit more of a punk aesthetic … A lot of the songs; we just cut all the bullshit out of them. In saying that, there’s almost like a punk opera on the record. But even that’s taking the piss out of ourselves.”
As well as online and CD formats, ‘Tales’ will also be released as an LP, in keeping with their previous releases. With a deep-rooted love of collecting vinyl himself, Blake notes a resurgence in the scene making it possible for bands to spread their sound across the most sentimentalised of formats. “I think it’s gonna make it hard for independent bands over the next couple of years because more and more people are buying vinyl and more and more people are pressing vinyl — so unless there’s a spike in people producing it it’s mean longer waiting times and that sort of thing.”
That’s not to say he’s against it. “It seems to be expanding and has been for a few years now. It’s great.” After the success of their debut album, the follow-up intends to showcase more of the band’s sleazy and decadent storytelling.
“We wanted the record to have an element of ‘ick’. To make you smile, but not without leaving a film across your teeth. It’s misogynistic, voyeuristic, racist, bigoted, over financed, drunk in Bali, pissing in its own mouth, boat-stopping mayhem!”
Written by Luke Ward
The Peep Tempel Tour Dates
Fri 3 Oct - The Tote (Melbourne)Fri 10 Oct - The Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine)
Sat 11 Oct - The Eastern (Ballarat)
Fri 17 Oct - The Spotted Cow (Toowoomba)
Sat 18 Oct - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Fri 24 Oct - The Lansdowne Hotel (Sydney)
Fri 31 Oct - The Reverence Hotel (Melbourne)
