Feud's debut EP 'Stay Lost' has finally being released.
Released earlier this week, the EP has been 18 months in the making and introduces listeners to the new sounds of the reincarnated band. Patrick Balfe, the band's drummer, is looking forward to the moment when everyone can hear the songs. “We've had some pretty good responses to the single so far. We've showed some of our friends the full EP,” Patrick says.
“We let them have a cheeky listen it, and the responses we've had so far have all been positive, but then again the only people we've shown it to are our friends. I'm really keen to sit down and have some fresh ears on it to see what the responses are. We're all really proud of the songs. It's going to be exciting to have it out there.”
The EP's gestation period was extended more than a year; at times, Patrick says it was hard to remember the original focus of each song. “It can feel like the song you are currently working with can be sitting around for a long time and you almost don't know what to do with it anymore. It's always in the forefront of your mind and you can forget what you were trying to achieve in the first place.
“We showed the songs to my dad last night as he's in town for my birthday. It's a lot of fun going back and listening to it again, realising how much you appreciate it. It's good to come back and reflect on it a little bit and put yourself back into the shoes you were in 18 months ago.”
The band have only recently applied the finishing touches to the EP. “Jeremy [the band's vocalist and guitarist] is a bit obsessive compulsive,” Patrick says. “He's a bit of a perfectionist, but that's a good thing. We're all really happy where we are.”
There have been some drastic changes in the inner workings of the band in recent years. What started as a solo project is now a collaborative four-piece. “When I originally started working with Jeremy, he would demo the songs and give it to the band and we would play it that way.
"When Gavin [bassist] and Perry [guitarist] joined the band, we became a lot more collaborative. There are still some songs on the EP that were originally written by Jeremy. The other half of the EP is stuff that we wrote collaboratively. It was interesting when it came together.”
The group share a variation of influences which impact the songs they create. “It's actually ridiculous,” Patrick says. “I think Jeremy and I are probably the most similar. We both grew up listening to The Mars Volta and bands like that. Jeremy also takes a lot from Radiohead and other solo artists.
“Perry grew up listening to and playing blues his entire life. He's a massive fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan. When he first joined the band it was a massive learning curve for him, because he literally had just played in blues bands the last five or ten years. Pretty much all Gav listens to is hip hop, so that's another thing all together. He's a massive fan of Kanye West and Drake. So it's a pretty diverse mix.”
'Stay Lost' is available now. Feuds play The Bearded Lady (Brisbane) 26 August.
