Published by Do615 on 10/18/22.
There’s something in that Australian water. Melbourne’s King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have built a reputation as the music industry’s most prolific band with five albums planned for 2022 alone, but Perth’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have quietly amassed an impressive catalog of their own. Two albums have come and gone since the Crumpets performed at the now defunct Mercy Lounge in 2019, and they show no signs of slowing down as they return to Nashville at another historic, independent venue on October 24, Exit/In.
After briefly reminiscing on how that Mercy Lounge show resulted in scores of free drugs before they drove to the Desert Daze festival, frontman Jack McEwan reflects upon drawing inspiration from their first tour of the United States.
“Music is so inherently in everyone’s body here and conscience [sic], especially, I mean Nashville of all places, the amount of artists that come out of there. It’s just like history in every sort of place,” McEwan observes.
Having released five albums in six years as a touring band, it’s hard to imagine the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have much time to live with a record, but McEwan perpetually teters between perfectionism and impulsivity. It’s not uncommon for the band to work on 50 to 60 songs in preparation of a project, sometimes creating 20 versions of a single song.
“I can’t just put a song on. I have to hear it from the beginning, and if I’m listening to the last song, I got to listen to the entire album so this 45 minute mark sounds good because it’s going to flow up to that,” McEwan explains. “I think that’s my favorite part of writing a record because it’s your book; it’s your little statement, or whatever you want it to be. It’s got to be constructed in some sort of meaningful way to get you from A to B […] Flow – and tension and release.”
Despite this obsessive listening throughout the recording process, McEwan inevitably finds faults in the completed work and immediately sets about correcting course on the next project.
“I can’t listen to it once they’re released; I can never listen to a song again,” McEwan admits. “I might do it occasionally to compare what I’m doing with other people and once it’s completely out of your ears. But when I’m working on it, it’s like my favorite thing in the world.”
The band’s latest record, Night Gnomes, was a direct response to 2021’s SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound. In that comparative listening, McEwan determined that he had perhaps gone overboard in his editing techniques on SHYGA! and should pivot that attention over to sharper, more concise songwriting and structure for Night Gnomes. That record might only be six months old, but McEwan is already plotting on how to improve for their next LP.
“I think if I get an idea and a flavor for the record then start actually thinking more about how it’s going to sound on the record, rather than what the idea is like on my computer and then work with a mixer, it’s going to change so much from what I was going for,” McEwan says.
McEwan begins to reflect upon the cohesive sounds of his favorite records and how intentionality throughout the recording process will play a bigger role in the band’s future.
“The albums I love have all got a distinct style […] Like Tame [Impala] can just create a record and it’s that tape kind of saturated sound and that warmth, which I think I’ve been missing. I’ve been doing it very digitally because I got comfortable with it and it’s easier,” McEwan says. “What’s the best way it’s going to sound? Through what microphone? Through what amp? Don’t just be like, ‘alright, this is what I got.’ I’ve always done that. I feel like I’ve ruined so much music because of it, where I’m like, ‘oh, that’s not how it should sound.’”
Psychedelia has defined that sound up to this point; it’s in their name, after all. However, McEwan has a broader palette he hopes to continue to explore. Night Gnomes single “Bubblegum Infinity” began as an endeavor to write for English alternative rock duo Royal Blood, and he’s currently working on a side project described as “Oasis-style songs, crossed with Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, and others.” It begs the question: will an audience embrace a piece of art on its own merit, or will they only accept one idea of what an artist should create?
“I would love to put out loads of different stuff, but I think as soon as you get a perception of what you can create, you don’t want to change it,” McEwan concedes. “I’ve always said System of a Down, you kind of pigeonhole yourself into one sound or one flavor. They’re not ever going to come out with some sort of funk record; it’d be weird. I think it’d be cool if they did, but it would also be strange because I know what they sound like and I don’t want them to do this.”
The audience’s perception of what the band can create ultimately guides their direction to some degree, but McEwan still hopes to find an outlet for these disparate influences.
“I would like to write as many different things as possible and not be judged just by Porn Crumpets, so maybe just release them under different monikers and try to remain hidden and not allow anyone to know the creator, which would probably make music more interesting actually,” McEwan muses.
Following his creative instincts has paid off thus far. It’s taken him from dead end bartending and office jobs to recording music and selling out venues across the world with his friends.
“I think it’s nice that I’ve had a bunch of weird, different jobs, I suppose. I think going somewhere that you don’t want to go is a little like each day, you always look at your future in a way – well I did at least – that I didn’t know where I was heading,” McEwan says. “I literally would just be like ‘I hope my car crashes into something so I don’t have to go in today.’”
“There’s a bunch of stuff I tried, but I’d rather fail at the thing I want to try and do well than fail at something I’m just … failing upwards, at least. [laughs]”
Whether you define it as failing upwards or success, limited Exit/In tickets remain following a string of sold out shows. It’s hard to argue with those results.
