WA alt. country cavaliers The Kill Devil Hills saddle up and hit the dusty trail with their brand new full-length album, 'Matango'.
"We're 21 years old, so we've been around for a long time and we're happy to still be here," vocalist and guitarist Brendon Humphries laughs. "It's sometimes complicated keeping any sort of project ongoing and I feel we've got a really good album we've been working on that we're really happy to put out."From its pre-pandemic conception in the band's home town of Perth to being demoed in a manor in southern France, 'Matango' is a record culminating from the life and trials of The Kill Devil Hills over the past four years.
"We started the record literally two weeks before the pandemic lockdown, so the arc of the recent times spans that period, and then three of us became parents in that time, myself included," Brendon explains. "So, the last four years have been a bit of a journey.
"We finished the album awhile ago, but it's only recently we've been working out how to release it so we can get back into things and a few things that have been suspended, like travelling. We were touring over in Europe prior to the pandemic stuff, and we intend to resume that this year.
"The very first sketches of the album came from up in the hills in Perth during some band getaways. Then the last time we were touring in Europe we demoed the album in this place in the middle of a belting summer heatwave in southern France.
"So basically, there were six of us including our production manager pretty much wandering around in our undies or shorts, sweating beads and setting up. We spent a few days recording in the lounge room of this French manor, but it was f...ing hot. We didn't have a lot else to do, it was just like, 'let's do some recording'. I think that's where the album really commenced."
Recorded in the band's home town, 'Matango' is The Kill Devil Hills' seventh studio album and represents a significant shift in how the band approaches their recording process. Brendon says there was a greater emphasis on production and designing the songs in the studio.
"We didn't go in there with the intention of let's get a song and record them and that's how they go. It was more let's discover the music that we can and play with it and build it, and hope for the best," he laughs.
"Unravelling that and how the band plays it is our current challenge. It was a good process and different to what we've previously done, which has been very much design the song and then capture the living version."
The coming of 'Matango' also heralds a return to live touring for The Kill Devil Hills as the band confirms a heavy national and international touring commitment for the album over the following months.
"We're going to hit some dates in other parts of Australia in the next several months, and then we hope to be over in the European summer playing some festivals over there," Brendon says. "2024 bodes to be as busy as we can be."
The Kill Devil Hills launch 'Matango' at Freo.Social (Fremantle) on 8 March.
