Horsell Common - Out of the Studio and off to the rescue
» Horsell Common national tour announced - January 14, 2008
» Badlands - Manning Bar - Sydney University, NSW - September 21, 2008
» Horsell Common - Transit Bar, ACT - August 30, 2008
» Horsell Common - Ray Guns, Martians and Kurt Cobain in a Satellite Wonderland - March 21, 2007
The relief in Mark Stewart's voice is so clear that it makes me wonder what went wrong during recording. But the thing it that nothing went wrong. Stewart's band, Melbourne's Horsell Common, are just a band that loves touring and playing together, as a band, so much that when something stops them from doing this is automatically becomes the enemy.
With two major EP's under their belts, namely last year's incredible Satellite Wonderland, and a touring history that would make most Australian bands jealous, Horsell Common are probably Australia's hardest working band. Despite this, one thing they haven't achieved is the release of an album. As of September, this is all about to change.
To Stewart, the album (titled The Rescue, released September 29th) is very different to anything the band has written before. “We've been writing continuously since January, and we've come up with a really diverse album. There are acoustic songs mixed in with rock songs, and we have some of our best friends featured on it.” One thing that Stewart is especially excited about is the range of experimentation. “We were trying out different things we hadn't done before with guitar sounds and drum sounds. We are definitely all stoked with it.”
This range of experimentation has “absolutely” changed Horsell's sounds as well, though Stewart cannot say how. “I don't pay attention to how we sound when we write stuff. When we write, if something sounds really contrived we'll just get rid of it. Either way, it always ends up still sounding just like us.”
One of the things that have greatly changed is the way in which Stewart, as the vocalist, has approached how he writes his lyrics. “I didn't take vocals or lyrics very seriously in the past. This time around there is more attention on telling a story.” Stewart largely attributes this to the tour Horsell Common did in September last year with the prolific Jonah Matranga (of Far, Gratitude and OneLineDrawing fame). “Jonah is great at interpreting the lyrics to songs and really getting across the story, and I really wanted to be able to do that this time. The songs are little more open so that I can tell these stories. I wrote all the lyrics in about two weeks. They're a lot more personal now. I have a family now which I didn't have back when we wrote Satellite Wonderland or Lost A Lot of Blood so I suppose everything is a lot more personal now.”
So with the band excited about the release of the album, why was recording so stressful for them? “We had been writing for six months – since January – with no breaks. It was just the three of us playing these song for so long.” Then producer, Stephen Haigler (who has worked with bands like Brand New and The Pixies) arrives from the United States and joins them in the studio. “It was really weird to begin with,” remembers Stewart. “No one had heard the material, so it was really strange to all of a sudden have a fourth person in there with us. Basically, it's a guy coming straight off a plane and straight into the studio to record.” Then there were the time constraints. “We had to get straight into it, because we only had a couple of weeks to record it. It was really fast and this just added to the stress.” Stewart compares this to the recording of the EP's, “It was definitely a lot more hectic.”
In support of Satellite Wonderland, Horsell Common spent about a year on the road, doing various supports and their own headline tour. This is a band that loves touring. They love being out on the road and most of all they love being on stage. If you have ever seen a Horsell Common show, then you would know this. There is the stoic Stewart singing his heart out, Luke Cripps the tall bass player that runs around on stage with seemingly endless energy, and drummer Leigh Pengelly, who sings along and pounds his skins almost always with a smile on his face. They're having fun, and it shows.
This makes Stewart almost antsy to get back out on the road. “At the moment, I never want to record ever again!” he laughs. “We're so used to it being the three of us, but recording makes the whole process become almost individual after a while.” Stewart becomes serious, “Recording has this really weird way of doing your head in. You spend so much time together writing, and then you go into the studio and can go two days without even seeing your band members.” These guys are his friends. Even though they're on a break before they head out on tour together, the three of them still are all “drinking beers, hanging out and not doing the music thing together.”
This love for the road is emphasized in Stewart's response to the question, “What makes you most excited about the new album?” He responds without pause, “Playing it live. Not for a long time have we had so much to introduce into the set.” The typical set for most local bands is about 45 minutes. “Usually 45 minutes leaves us wondering how we are going to pad it out,” he laughs. “Now 45 minutes isn't enough!”
Perhaps the best thing about Horsell Common is their refusal to be pinned into any genre classification. “We're a rock band,” Stewart says matter-of-factly. They have toured with so many different bands over the years including two tours with Anberlin, Jonah Matranga and even former label-mates Behind Crimson Eyes, that it has given them an unbelievably broad following that enables them to tour with just about anyone. “We've been playing for quite a while. Genres and fads come and go, so I'm glad that we don't get sucked into any of those sorts of trends.” So that must be the secret to their success.
