A hodgepodge of things that inspired Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ new album, ‘SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound’
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04.02.2021

A hodgepodge of things that inspired Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ new album, ‘SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound’

Image by Captura Obscura/Matt Puccinelli

The band’s frontman Jack McEwan fills us in on a list of things that helped him craft album four.

As we begin pervading 2021, music lovers are already grasping at the next release, the next slice of fresh music that can acquaint them with a new year and help them forget the last.

Having already waved goodbye to January, we enter February with a kick in our step. Not only do live gigs continue their revival but the anticipation of new music bubbles away like a boiling cauldron. Our ears are piqued, our expectations are high.

An early piece to the 2021 Australian music puzzle is the fourth album from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. With three singles out in the world, including the sizzling and typically-riotous ‘Pukebox’, punters have already gotten a sense of what’s to come on SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound. And excitement couldn’t be more rife.

As we gear up for PPC’s new album on Friday March 5, we asked the band’s frontman and songwriting chieftain, Jack McEwan, for a list of things that inspired the record. And as you can expect, we didn’t get your standard eggs on toast, we got the full big breakfast.

Norm Macdonald’s grin

Norm Macdonald is probably the funniest man, he always cheers me up. He’s notorious for these overly-compacted stories that zig-zag through nonsense and end up with an awful punchline that gets a groan of laughter from an audience like they’ve been fooled by a bad magician.

Every time he’s about to reveal the end of his joke he’ll grin like he knows he got you cooked and I love him for it. I think the way he still tries to make people laugh even now he’s getting a bit older is admirable, he’s not changed at all from his beginnings and that’s something to aspire too.

Matso’s Mango Beer

My brother described the flavour as “What a bee would taste when it gets nectar from a flower”. It is truly delicious and even better on a hot day. I spent a lot of isolated hours in the company of Broome’s finest, twas my drink of choice while recording SHYGA. I even named a track ‘Mango Terrarium’ as it felt like I was living in a bottle. Good times.

Endless YouTube loopholes

It’s fair to say I had a lot of free time last year, I picked up golf again, spent a day trying to learn French, almost read a book, but the brain drain that wiped me the most was a constant stream of buttery serotonin oozing through my lifeless skull, neatly served up in five-minute meme-sized bumps.

I found it really interesting how hours would go by and I could literally remember nothing when I finally snapped out of the hypno screen benders. Then maybe a day or two would go by and I’d suddenly recall a fact, or know what a hemidemisemiquaver is.

My dreams have been a bit weird but that’s alright, I think the system overloads when it’s a late night binge and for some reason you absorb things without really focusing. I’m sure someone’s already studied the pros and cons but if I’m learning without realising then that’s a positive.

The movie, Moneyball

The ‘moneyball’ theory in baseball is when a team assembles the cheapest squad with the greatest statistical advantage. The movie with Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt is decent but it’s more the concept I really enjoyed. When you apply it to music it makes recording gear, guitars, pedals, software and rack units all kinda pointless.

There was a time when I thought to make music you needed a truck load of money so you could afford the best equipment, but if anything, working from home on a zero dollar budget for recording forces you to be more creative. Over the past few years there seems to be more bedroom producers popping up with their own unique recording styles, flavours and techniques and it’s great to see.

The smell of spilt beer on a wooden veranda deck

I’ve got an outside veranda where I sip and ponder all of life’s absurdities. I’m perched there most days from 4pm till late. You’ll need to know my bedroom is directly next to the aforementioned drinking spot, so I can crawl through the window if I’m feeling sharp.

Anyway, most mornings I’ll wake up to a gentle breeze wafting a thick pale ale varnish through the fly screen. It’s kinda similar to that old pub smell but I’ve started to really enjoy it. Get’s me right out of bed to check the table’s state and assess what valuables I’ve left outside from the previous night. Who needs an alarm clock aye.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ new album, SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound, is out on Friday February 5 through Marathon Artists. Score a copy here.