The latest effort in hard-hitting Aussie pub rock by The Beasts (formerly The Beasts Of Bourbon) is, frankly, awesome.
“Surprising, isn’t it?” jokes long-time vocalist Tex Perkins.
The new album, ‘Still Here’, is surprising in the sense it’s come together from a place of doubt and confusion, personally and professionally; ideas Tex is only too happy to explore.
‘Still Here’ is in many ways still The Beasts Of Bourbon, but in its essence, (with the band continuing on without bassist Brian Hooper, who passed after The Beasts Of Bourbon final show, and guitarist Spencer Jones, who was only around long enough to contribute one song to the new album before passing) it’s a baton passed on with a certain weight.
“One aspect I think,” Tex says, with some trepidation, “at some stage without actually verbalising it, I think we decided to become the biggest, ugliest, scariest, most horrible rock band we could possibly be. A lot of our songs have fun with embracing that mythology, even living that mythology. This record reflects on the consequences of that mythology.”
It doesn’t sound regretful, according to Tex, but there is a lot to unpack in this release. When he says The Beasts set out to be the “biggest, ugliest, scariest, most horrible rock band”, there truly is a gnarly, DIY aesthetic to be experienced from this release. “We paid for it,” he laughs.
Indeed, but The Beasts approached the studio with no pre-conceived idea as to what they wanted to do or the sound they wanted to come out with. Tex’s brash manner takes a more sombre tone.
“The original intention was to play this benefit concert for Brian; he was adamant he wanted to play at his own benefit, and he did, and it was the most heroic, inspiring thing any of us had ever seen. After that, it seemed like anything was possible.
“Originally it was Brian’s idea to go into the studio. Brian died a week later. Spencer was also ill. The intention was to get Spencer on tape one last time but to be together in that environment, where… Well, I guess we could have gone to a rehearsal room but we’re all about recording. It’s kind of what we do. It seemed a natural thing to do.”
With only a week to get things together, Spencer was one of the first to contribute a song – ‘At The Hospital’. The irony of that track not lost on the band, it set a precedent for 'Still Here'. “The rest of the album needed to be about what was happening,” Tex says.
“Not only about what was happening to Spencer and Brian, but also to be about the band, and as I say, the consequences of living this friggin’ mythology.”
Though there was tragedy cloaking the band around the losses of Spencer and Brian, coming together to produce ‘Still Here’ was self-prescribed therapy for The Beasts. “Absolutely, absolutely,” Tex says, his tone firm again.
“Again, that’s what we do. We put our thoughts, fears and dreams into songs. And it was a part of the healing process, the mourning process, but tell you the truth, now that we’ve made this album, we’re kind of trapped in that mourning process.
“Now we’ve made an album all about it, we’re forced to talk about it, go over it, analyse it – and I’ve already done eight months of that, and it’s been a heavy slog.”
Tex doesn’t want to overstate the sobriety here, he says he’s fine. Indeed, he’s more than fine. This album, despite the trials and tribulations surrounding it, is so much fun to listen to. “It’s a classic,” Tex agrees brightly.
'Still Here' is available now.
The Beasts 2019 Tour Dates
Thu 21 Feb - Theatre Royal (Castlemaine)Fri 22 Feb - Prince Bandroom (Melbourne)
Sat 23 Feb - Croxton Bandroom (Melbourne)
Thu 28 Feb - Tanks Arts Centre (Cairns)
Fri 1 Mar - The Northern (Byron Bay)
Sat 2 Mar - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Thu 7 Mar - ANU (Canberra)
Fri 8 Mar - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Sat 9 Mar - Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Thu 14 Mar - Rock Rover (Fremantle)
15-16 Mar - Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
Sun 17 Mar - The Gov (Adelaide)
