Only 12 months since their live debut, indie pop rockers Flag Duty are ready to unleash their fifth single, the infectious 'Back To You' brimming with nostalgic rock influences and quirky pop melodies.
The four-piece band from Brisbane consists of singer Ben Hobart, bassist Tom Jolly, guitarist Abi Ashford and drummer Lachlan Barnard. Tom also acts as the group's lyricist and songwriter; while he and Abi also supply backing vocals."The song was first written over the 2018/ 19 New Year's period, so it's been a long road to get it out," Tom says.
"In its first iterations, it was this very straight, very heavy, four-chord rock song, which is actually the version we played at our first ever gig.
"The general consensus among the group was that it didn't really sound like us, but, me being stubborn, I went away and just wrote a new song using the same lyrics.
"By the time we were all together, jamming it out and adding different parts, it had definitely taken on a new life. I remember Abi coming up with the main guitar riff more or less straight away, which definitely got the ball rolling a bit and informed a lot of the dynamics."
Ahead of its commercial release tomorrow, scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Back To You' today. Enjoy.
"That's always my favourite part of the process," continues Tom, discussing the song-writing process.
"When the four of us are in the room piecing it together, that's when you really fall in love with the song and start to imagine how a crowd will react to it.
"The initial song was sparked from a text. It's just about wanting to move on from something, but kind of knowing that it doesn't take much to put you back to the start. Who knows, maybe that's where you really want to be.
"I think I probably questioned myself on some of the lyrics, particularly the chorus hook. At the time, it was just the first thing that came out and I probably thought I was being edgy swearing in a chorus, but was of half a mind that I would change it. By the time I actually came back around to do that, I was attracted to the bluntness of that statement."
When it came time to record 'Back To You', Flag Duty were bound to a work at a certain speed to complete the project.
"The recording process was quite frantic because our producer, Dan, was in the process of moving to London, so we were going at a million miles an hour to get some songs done," Tom says.
"It probably worked well in a way because we didn't have time for deliberation. There's a Theremin part which Ben played in the outro, which was definitely an exercise in 'hit record, play it, move on', and I think it turned out well.
"There's also a piano in there which Dan brought right out to the front in the first mix he sent us, when we normally bury our keys pretty deep. For me, that gave the song a new energy."
