Post by luceluna on Feb 23, 2002 16:53:37 GMT 10
They’re back. Australia’s lovable alterno-rock clowns - the unstoppable, vivacious presence of Jebediah - have a new eponymously titled album, a new tour and a newfound confidence in themselves and their sound. "We were all extremely confident going into the making of this album," says a slightly sleepy Kevin Mitchell, singer and guitarist, "and I don’t think we lost any of that confidence in the making of it. I think that confidence has come from just going in there and making the most natural, honest, Jebediah-like album we could. We didn’t shy away from anything or get self-conscious.
"We wrote a lot of the songs over the summer period last year," he continues, "and it was the first summer we’d spent home in something like 5 years. We were all really happy to be at home; totally enjoying all the things that we’d missed about having summer holidays."
A summery album it most certainly is. Having already produced an infectious hit in the shape of the Scottish-flavoured ‘Fall Down’ (complete with tartan from the Stewart clan), the disc shimmers with vibrant energy, grounded in full-bodied production and muscular sonic washes. Above all, there is an assured and harmonious air to proceedings. "Some of it was premeditated," Kevin says. "When we were talking about making the record, one of the main things we discussed was the last album and how, because we were shooting so hard for great production (which I think we got) we sapped a lot of the vibe out of it. With Magoo we talked about steering away from that and making the album a bit looser - making it sound like four people playing in a band together and really getting off on it."
Utilising the services of Magoo - the producer behind records by Regurgitator, Midnight Oil and Spiderbait, amongst others - is sure to turn a few heads. "He was just the perfect person to work with for the record that we wanted to make," Kevin enthuses. "He’s really mellow. We also really wanted to work with an Australian producer: someone really on our wavelength. We knew that he’d be relaxed and wouldn’t take the recording process so Goddamn seriously. We knew we’d have a lot of fun recording with him, and fuck, that’s definitely what happened."
Touring won’t be neglected in the coming months, either, with a national jaunt kicking off in conjunction with the release of ‘Jebediah’, and the group "all keen as mustard to get back to the States again." Kevin notes with uncharacteristic gravity, though, that it’s far from a guaranteed free ticket to rock superstardom. "It’s not 1997 any more. A lot’s changed. Trying to get a band like us on commercial radio these days is gonna be difficult."
DAN STAPLETON
"We wrote a lot of the songs over the summer period last year," he continues, "and it was the first summer we’d spent home in something like 5 years. We were all really happy to be at home; totally enjoying all the things that we’d missed about having summer holidays."
A summery album it most certainly is. Having already produced an infectious hit in the shape of the Scottish-flavoured ‘Fall Down’ (complete with tartan from the Stewart clan), the disc shimmers with vibrant energy, grounded in full-bodied production and muscular sonic washes. Above all, there is an assured and harmonious air to proceedings. "Some of it was premeditated," Kevin says. "When we were talking about making the record, one of the main things we discussed was the last album and how, because we were shooting so hard for great production (which I think we got) we sapped a lot of the vibe out of it. With Magoo we talked about steering away from that and making the album a bit looser - making it sound like four people playing in a band together and really getting off on it."
Utilising the services of Magoo - the producer behind records by Regurgitator, Midnight Oil and Spiderbait, amongst others - is sure to turn a few heads. "He was just the perfect person to work with for the record that we wanted to make," Kevin enthuses. "He’s really mellow. We also really wanted to work with an Australian producer: someone really on our wavelength. We knew that he’d be relaxed and wouldn’t take the recording process so Goddamn seriously. We knew we’d have a lot of fun recording with him, and fuck, that’s definitely what happened."
Touring won’t be neglected in the coming months, either, with a national jaunt kicking off in conjunction with the release of ‘Jebediah’, and the group "all keen as mustard to get back to the States again." Kevin notes with uncharacteristic gravity, though, that it’s far from a guaranteed free ticket to rock superstardom. "It’s not 1997 any more. A lot’s changed. Trying to get a band like us on commercial radio these days is gonna be difficult."
DAN STAPLETON
