“While working there, we would explore a variety of different stuff,” drummer/vocalist Matthew Correia says. “Yeah sure, we would go through garage records and a lot of old psych stuff but we were also interested in a lot of old world music, folk, even ’80 and ‘90s Britpop and shoegaze.
“It always seems like there’s more out there to find and there always will be. It’s like a bottomless well of content to search through which is an inspiring thing.”
Concisely worded, garage music is synonymous with its haphazard and DIY methodology and because of Allah-Las musical youth in the beginning, it was inevitable they lent on ragged guitars and madcap production.
“We have a garage sound because, at the start, we’d never really played in a band before,” Correia explains. “It wasn’t like we were going to start playing and have a baroque section and strings. I’d say it was more of us naturally becoming the exact meaning of a garage band more than it was us searching for it and us trying to live in the ’60s or something.”
A band also garnishing the twist and bop of psychedelic pop closely hails West Coast psychedelia while their catchy harmonies and singalong references the British Invasion.
Amalgamating their distinctive sound with a certain sense of unflappability and charm has seen the Allah-Las forge a unique personality. “We throw other things into the mix that separates us from any garage record from say, 1965. We add a lot of present day interpretations and other genres, whether it’s in the lyrics or in the arrangement or in the themes to our songs and albums.
“One thing that’s important to us is having an idea and putting that out, but not necessarily having to explain exactly what it is. To me, the best songs can be interpreted in a lot of different ways and I hope the music we create is timeless and is something that people can interpret in their own way.”
Investing in a different journey on each of their three LPs, Allah-Las have a propensity to indulge in instrumental numbers. Worship The Sun’s Ferus Gallery explores bongos, piano and even xylophone sections to create the perfect garage-dance track.
While their latest B-side number – Autumn Dawn’s Hereafter – escapes the guitar entirely, investing in key synths and strings. Greater originality is spawning, nevertheless, their tendency to make music in the moment will unlikely see them stray too far from the shed.
“On a new record, all of us have an idea for what we want and we pool resources and come together with different ideas for songs and themes and go from there. Everybody has tastes that are always evolving and I think it’s important for anybody to be thinking forward but I think we have a sound and I don’t think we’ll lose touch with what we’ve found.”
Having just completed a US tour alongside Australian psych poppers The Babe Rainbow and taking to the stage at Coachella, Allah-Las will venture Down Under for the first time with what begs to be a fascinating spectical.
“Australia has always intrigued me having grown up watching all the surf films from there. I think there’s a strong relationship between Australia and California in a lot of ways and I feel a kindred relationship there.”
By Tom Parker
