Sydney rockers, Flickertail (formerly The Bitter Sweethearts) are currently touring the east coast of Australia showcasing their five-track debut EP, ‘Hurry Up And Wait’.
Everything the band loves about music can be found on this record, with guitar lines like Thin Lizzy and AC/DC as well as rich, vocal harmonies and melodies inspired by The Beatles.
The band features Liam Whelan (lead vocals/ guitar), Jonny Goldrick (guitar), Matt O’Callaghan (bass) and Marcus Fraser (drums and vocals). Flickertail plan on conquering every state across Australia.
You signed with indie rock label Golden Robot Records in 2016. How does it feel after all your hard work has finally paid off with the release of the group's debut EP?
[Liam Whelan] We’d been flirting with a few labels - not so much a feeding frenzy, more refined dining experience - and when Golden Robot got in touch with us, we initially thought we’d be interacting with C-3PO.
Obviously, when we found out the label was actually the fastest growing rock & roll label in the country, we were a smidge disappointed, but we’ve developed a comfortable working relationship with the label staff.
This business is one where the hard work pays off, then you all look at each other, rub your hands together and say “what's next?”. So naturally, the next step is to work even harder and hit the next milestone.
Your EP ‘Hurry Up And Wait’ is about to be released, can you give the fans a glimpse of what went into making this EP?
I’ll give more than a glimpse. They can have the whole, f$%^ing panoramic view if they want: I write the tunes by myself, fuelled by endless cups of Lyons tea and my trusty 1990 Les Paul Standard.
These come into writing sessions, which is the four of us banging around on acoustics, until they’re refined enough to meet our exacting professional standards. From there, we test the songs live and if they make girls dance they get kept and committed to tape.
"I don’t like bands who take themselves too seriously in videos; we’re here to have a good time, not depress you and whinge about the meat industry like Morrissey."
If they encourage ham-fisted blokes in Slayer shirts to start throwing their arms around like it’s an MMA tournament, we burn the tune along with our self-respect.
The actual recording process comprised mainly of waking up at 8am, chucking the football on TV, and throwing genius down in between EPL replays and ice-cold beers.
How would you describe the progress and inspiration that went into the EP?
Three words: hard f^&%ing work. We’ve got banging guitar rock down to a precise science. It’s not magic exactly, but the great thing about science is it works no matter whether or not you believe in it. We know what we’re doing and we do it very well.
Is there a song on the EP that you tend to favour more over the others?
I personally love each song like it’s my child, which is to say I raise them until they can fend for themselves and then f#$% off to live my golden years in peace.
Every parent has a favourite, however. Mine is 'Let There Be Love', I think, because it’s the most craic to play live. We’ve been opening with it since forever because it’s a real mission statement: “Here we are, this is what we do, if you don’t like it you know where to go.”
It kicks off with those guitar harmonies and it’s got a lot of doubled lead and rhythm guitar on it so it’s a genuine treat to play every time. On top of that, the chorus is simultaneously sweet and monolithic: like getting hit in the face by a brick, delicately glazed in honey and cinnamon.
What was it like to work with Tony Wall, who has practically worked with every legend from Olivia Newton-John to KISS; you guys must have been pretty chuffed to work with him in the studio?
Tony’s a great bloke, and Steve Balbi - the A&R guy at Golden Robot, and also a great bloke - wrangled Tony to do our record because he knows I’m a huge KISS fan and a massive fan of Paul Stanley.
Tony worked on KISS’ 'Alive IV', with the symphony, and Paul Stanley’s live solo record, 'One Live KISS'. Tony regaled us all with stories of working alongside the titans of rock, and in our turn we steadily made him more confused by the number of times we watched 'Braveheart' in the studio.
My mum made us a tin of biscuits that he f#$%ing scoffed the first day though, so I still haven’t forgiven him for that.
"That’s basically what I am, an enormous excitable puppy. Probably an Airedale."
You released the music video for your second single, ‘Back of My Mind’ which was filmed by Jack Barratt and directed by Jonny. What inspiration went behind the making of the video?
We wanted to make a few references to the video for 'Supersonic' by Oasis, which is where the couch shots and rooftop stuff comes from.
I don’t like bands who take themselves too seriously in videos; we’re here to have a good time, not depress you and whinge about the meat industry like Morrissey.
If you have the privilege to play rock & roll for people who want to hear it, you owe everyone a great time, so we opted to go for a video that’s more fun than it is morose. Turned out a treat.
You guys have been on the road since the end of February; how has the tour being going so far?
It’s been great fun. We’ve always primarily been a live band, so this is us in our element.
We’re hitting places where we’ve built a loyal following - Brisbane, Dubbo, Melbourne, Orange - and some new territory, like Coffs [Harbour] and the Gold Coast to boot. You have to keep expanding, otherwise you wither and die like Aerosmith should have done decades ago.
Can fans who are yet to see the gig expect any surprises during the show?
It depends what they’re expecting. If they’re queuing up for loud guitars, great hair and more hooks than you can catch an ocean’s worth of fish with, they’ll be pleasantly satisfied. If they’re expecting sensitive coasties in baggy shirts and stick n poke tattoos, they’ll be sorely disappointed.
That said, we’ve got some very special moments cooking up for our St Patrick’s Day Sydney show this weekend. March 17 at the Fusebox in the Factory Theatre. Our show has always been incendiary, but this one will provide the kindling to stoke a long-burning fire.
Do you tend to find inspiration from other rock shows that you grew up watching?
I don’t aspire to be anyone or anything other than the best version of myself. Rock & roll these days is too much about halls of fame and award ceremonies and wearing the right shade of biker jacket on your night's out.
It’s a filter on a selfie or a label on a pair of leather trousers. I don’t believe in sacred calves and I don’t believe in revering people who are flesh and blood like you and I.
We set a benchmark of the great live shows, as indelibly recorded on vinyl - KISS’ 'Alive', Thin Lizzy’s 'Live And Dangerous', The Who’s 'Live At Leeds' - and aim not only to hit that level, but to beat it into unconsciousness.
I know what an earth-shattering experience seeing a great live band can be from watching Biffy Clyro, Airbourne and The Darkness in my youth, and we aim to provide that for everyone who comes to see us.
You guys were formally known as The Bitter Sweethearts'; what was behind changing the band’s name?
We were known formally as The Bitter Sweethearts and informally as “those knuckleheads with the Guinness song”. I started The Bitter Sweethearts with Matt, our bass player, and mates of mine from school.
We went through three drummers and too many f$%^wit lead guitar players until we got to the current line-up. The time was right to move forward with a clean slate, and I liked the word 'flickertail' because it reminded me of a really bloody happy dog.
That’s basically what I am, an enormous excitable puppy. Probably an Airedale.
So now that your conquering Australia any plans to head overseas for a possible tour?
We’d love to. Three of the four of us are European citizens and we’ve got a load of people gagging to see us in person over there, so the UK and Europe will likely be our first stop, ideally this year assuming everything goes according to plan.
From there, we’ll play on any stage that will have us, in any room big enough to accommodate our egos.
‘Hurry Up And Wait’ will be released 16 March via Golden Robot Records.
Flickertail Tour Dates
Sat 17 Mar - Factory Theatre (Sydney EP Launch)Sat 31 Mar - Last Chance Rock n Roll Bar (Melbourne)
Sat 7 Apr - Old Bank Hotel (Dubbo)
Sat 21 Apr - Whole Lotta Love (Melbourne)
