We’re pretty lucky with our music here in Australia, we’ve got a bunch of artists doing things new and different, and the world’s watching. A bunch of Aussies are making their mark on the stacked US music scene and getting some much deserved recognition.
One band who’ve just hit the road in the US to a bunch of adoring fans is Gold Coast’s Eliza and The Delusionals, who’ve quickly made a mark with their debut record hitting the 15 spot on the charts, fans loving their blend of rock and old school.
Now we’ve received their next release, Make It Feel Like The Garden, alongside a huge national tour. We caught up with the frontwoman Eliza Klatt and guitarist Kurt Skuse to dive into it all.
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“I feel like this is the first time we’ve recorded something and not been like ‘oh I wish we’d done that’,” Klatt notes. “You change so much in a 12 / 18 month period of time, so it’s interesting to see how we still enjoy it, I still really enjoy all the songs.”
“When we were in the studio, we went through everything with a fine-tooth comb,” Skuse notes. “The demo-ing and writing and pre-production were over a few months, so we had time to sit around.
“Honestly, now I’ve listened to it, I wouldn’t change a thing with it. Which is a nice feeling, but pretty rare.”
While on tour in America, the process of getting Make It Feel Like The Garden began. The mammoth tour saw the band hit almost every US state, Skuse noting the environment and journey helped them hit heights brand new to them.
“The environment at the time was really relaxed, we didn’t put a lot of pressure on ourselves. There was a lot of reflecting time. Being able to travel across the entirety of the USA made us feel like we could do anything and be super creative.”
The recording happened in a DIY studio in Napa, California, and Oscar Dawson’s studio in Rye, Victoria, the Holy Holy bandmember finding common ground in a relaxed environment, as Klatt notes.
“We’d love to work with him again, because of the great experience we had. He’s just a great musician and a great person. He created a really fun environment where I can’t really imagine going back to being in a strict studio environment.”
“He’s just such a good creative mind,” Skuse adds. “Doing it with Oscar was just super, super refreshing.
“I actually really enjoyed myself and the time we had. We’d make dinners and go to the beach, it wasn’t like a ‘fuck we need to get this guitar part down right now.”
With the world getting crazier every day, people are looking for things to escape and get their minds off the madness. With 80’s style moments, sax solos, and wonderous lyrics, the group note Make It Feel Like The Garden is a bit of an escape for listeners.
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While having a different relationship with the music, Klatt notes listening back to the music brings a different type of memory for her and the band.
“I feel like when (Kurt and I) both listen into it, and I think I speak for Ruby our bass player as well when I say this, but I think the three of us listen to the record more than we’ve ever listened to our own music before. And I think it’s just because like, we just really enjoy it. We escape with it by listening to going back to memories of writing it.”
The group are also on the precipice of hitting the road on their biggest tour yet, coming to the Howler Bar on August 3, where they’ll be playing their new record in full. Skuse dives into the world of the band in the leadup.
“Tours are like a massive puzzle. We know we want to play the record live, so we go ‘how do we actually do that?
“We stand in a room with each other, and go, ‘okay, you’re gonna play that part. I’m gonna play this part and we’re gonna get this tone’ and it’s honestly just like a really big jigsaw piece that you’ve got to make.
“I kind of really like when bands take it to a new level and take it to a different place live and change it up.”
“It keeps it super exciting, not only for people watching, but for the for the band itself, that energy translates if everyone in the room is on the same sort of level.
Make It Feel Like The Garden is out now via Cooking Vinyl Australia, and the tour kicks off August 2 in Sydney, before making its way to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.
