A band that was birthed during the sustained periods of lockdown, The Pleasures are a group who lean towards the bluesy, alternative side of country, Americana.
The four-piece are fronted by multi-Golden Guitar winner, multi-ARIA nominee and youngest ever Australian Grand Old Opry performer Catherine Britt and modern day troubadour, songwriter's songwriter, Golden Guitar winner and consummate story-teller Lachlan Byron – who've been friends for a decade but never spent time in the studio together.However, the spark to record a project began when Catherine contacted Lachlan in the wake of her divorce, with their shared love of Texas singer-songwriters initially dictating the direction of the music.
Although not intentionally a concept record, The Pleasures debut album 'The Beginning Of The End (due out next Friday, 4 August) is written from the dual perspective of a couple processing the different stages of getting divorced – "this is a break-up album. . . [but] this one's different – it's the whole journey; we're both right and we're both wrong."
Ahead of the album's release, Lachlan tunes in from somewhere in Europe for an extended chat.
How have your respective recent solo travels gone? They both look pretty exotic in their own ways!
I feel very at home now touring in Europe – this was the fourth time I'd been since early 2022 and the second time to Scandinavia, but the first time that I've ever done it without a band.
I was opening for Hannah Aldridge, whose record I produced with Damian (also from The Pleasures) late last year. It was a thrill to play to her great crowds every night of the week and especially to see her record being received so well. It was a really magical three weeks.
Whilst I was there, Catherine was playing in the Northern Territory, which in some ways is probably the opposite to Sweden and Norway – but there is a wildness to both locations.
We are both pretty adventurous spirits and seem to find a way to feel at home wherever we go, and sad to leave too.
Your music leans more into the bluesy, alternative side of country, Americana – even that old-school '50-60s rock & roll flavour; what about the genre/s excites you especially given younger audiences are embracing the scene in larger numbers (and not just in the bush!)?
I suppose it's the music that most naturally comes out of us, so that is kind of what makes it exciting.
This musical style is a good palette for telling stories – there's lots of space for plenty of words. Personally, I don't really think too much about the age or demographic of the audience – people of all ages like stories.
The band's history; you formed in 2021 – what propelled the formation of the band in the middle of a pandemic?
It was Catherine's idea to get together and work on some songs – then when we went to start recording them we realised 'oh this is something we didn't expect it to be – this needs to be a band'.
It was actually probably the least practical thing possible for us to do – given we live in different cities and we were going in and out of lockdowns – but it seemed like it just had to happen somehow.
The band is fleshed out by Damian Cafarella (bass) and Brad Bergen (drums); what do they bring to the project as sidemen as well as travelling partners when you're on the road?
They're two great, intuitive musicians that can both play just about everything. We have complete and total confidence in them both all the time – I just can't imagine a better rhythm section.
Brad is Catherine's partner and Damian and I have been 'besties' for years, so not only do we all like each other a great deal but we all know each other so well that we can really tell it straight.
Tell us about The Pleasures' debut record, which is concept of sorts that traces two characters fiery relationship (from start, to the finish, and the aftermath)? How does 'The Beginning Of The End' differ from the classic break-up song/ album that's the staple of any genre going back decades?
I'll answer these two questions at once.
This is a break-up album – maybe even a divorce album. But unlike most (or pretty much ANY that I can think of), we're telling it from both directions here. And we're not holding back.
Relationship break-ups are rarely black and white – but when a break-up album comes from just one perspective you come out of it feeling like one person (usually the songwriter) is hurt. This one's different – it's the whole journey; we're both right and we're both wrong.
When writing for a specific theme or characters like you have for this album, did the songs come to you more readily or was there still the chase of unearthing this collection of songs? As songwriters, how much of your own personal truths and lessons end up in the songs you create?
Again I'll answer two at once – the theme emerged as the songs emerged. There was no strategy, no brief.
We wrote in a kind of stream of consciousness manner – we'd never written before but we found immediately that we could write almost as if we were both using the same brain. We wrote fast and furiously even though we didn't really have a deadline. It was just that every time we started we wanted to keep going.
Even once we saw the theme emerging, we didn't feel like it was compulsory to stick to it – but each song that would emerge together seemed to fit.
The art of writing collaboratively; do you get together for a pre-arranged period to thrash out the new material or was each song its own mysterious journey that perhaps began when you were by yourself working out threads of song ideas?
We made time – mainly for Catherine to travel to Melbourne – and we brought in some ideas for titles etc, but we held off on developing anything until we could both be in the same room.
Catherine was particularly determined to keep it that way and I think it was a great call. When she came down we'd write in the evenings, usually after going out and having dinner, then sometimes going to a gig at The Old Bar or somewhere like that – then going home.
Sometimes we didn't start writing 'til midnight – and usually after a few drinks. But we'd finish each night, get up and record the next day, then start the writing process again the next evening.
Whenever we got together to work on this we completely lived inside the process – it just happened that part of that process was drinking bottles of red wine and getting Ubers all over town and making conversations with random people in bars.
You've been friends for ten years; what sparked an interest to start a musical project together? And did you have a clear idea of the music you wanted to pursue together?
Catherine messaged me one night out of the blue, whilst she was going through her divorce, and said we should make some music together.
I interpreted that as maybe doing a duet, but she may have just meant writing some songs or working on her next record. We share a love of Texas singer-songwriters, so I suspected the music we'd write together would be along those lines – and to some extent it is, but really it came out a lot more swagger, a lot more rock & roll than I imagined.
You've pressed the album on vinyl (coloured too!); was that important to have that format to somewhat honour the legacy of the music-genre's history?
I think we just love vinyl – and fortunately the whole world seems to have fallen back in love with vinyl again. We feel really strongly about this record and just figured that it would sound and look best on a 'proper' record.
While you've only released three singles ahead of the album drop, you've been super busy on the live front the last couple of years; getting that time together in a live setting, how vital is that to the evolution of the band and the direction you want to take the music?
The live shows have pushed us outside our normal comfort zone.
Everyone in the band is doing something they don't normally do: I'm on lead guitar, Cate's on electric guitar and banjo, most of Brad and Damian's live work is usually on guitars, but they're on drums and bass respectively.
This makes it all more unpredictable, more spontaneous – and that's a really important part of what we want this band to be. It's had a big impact on how we've recorded the record too.
For those rocking up to their first Pleasures gig, what can they expect from the stage and do you throw in the odd cover to freshen things up?
We're not averse to a cover – in fact there's one and a half of them on the record. The live show is a little unpredictable, we have plenty to say but we don't plan it beforehand – and we play loud. It's never the same twice and we love that.
You've got festival appearances at Gympie Music Muster as well as Groundwater Country Music Festival... life on the road and especially appearing at rural-regional festivals, is that a lifestyle you both embrace?
Personally, I live for the road. Travel is a huge part of music for me – I need adventure and I need stimulation and I can't stand still. I really want to see everything, and festivals and tours have given me that opportunity – for which I'm so grateful.
And then there's Catherine – who is probably even more of a road warrior than I am; she and Brad are the kind of guys that don't blink at driving ten hours through the night after a show to go catch a plane to another state or a town in the middle of nowhere. And they do it with kids! So, it's fair to say that yes, we embrace it.
What's the best aspect of life on the road, travelling from city to town, winning over a new audience etc?
I can't speak for Catherine but for me it's the constant change – the endless possibilities of new and great experiences with people you've never met, or old friends you haven't seen for years.
The band has an upcoming tour of the US; how grateful are you as performers to be able to freely move about and tour again given everything the last few years?
I think about it every day and I don't know if it's even possible to feel more grateful than I do right now. To play music for a living is a huge privilege – and to get to travel and see the world and do it is even more so.
The mainstream swell of support of Australian country music, Americana, roots-blues artists is unlike anything the scene has seen; who are some of the local acts that are catching your attention?
I'm going to be loyal to my Melbourne crew here and say all the folk that play down at The Gem and Lulie Tavern and The Old Bar and George Lane and The Lomond. Melbourne has been incredibly supportive of this kind of music for as long as I've been doing this – and probably much longer.
Thanks for your time; anything else you'd like to add?
No these were great questions – think you covered it all!
'The Beginning Of The End' is released 4 August.
The Pleasures 2023 Tour Dates
Sat 26 Aug - Gympie Music Muster (Sunshine Coast)Sat 14 Oct - Country By The River (Murray Bridge)
Sat 21 Oct - Groundwater Country Music Festival (Gold Coast)
Sun 22 Oct - Groundwater Country Music Festival (Gold Coast)
