“I’m excited – I’m on the precipice of releasing the new album Bravado which has been a long time coming, and overdue.”
A long time coming indeed, with the release of his first album Embracism back in 2013 – so what’s been the delay? Something different has gone into the new release that has needed Callinan’s careful and concentrated attention. “There’s two different ways to look at it,” he says. “For starters, I know four years – as far as some people are concerned – is too long between drinks, but if I released an album that was at the very least original or singular as the first two, once every four years, then I’d be pumped on that – I’d be satisfied as an artist.
“The truth is I’ve been really busy. I’ve got another band called The Night Game and we’ve just put our first song out and been playing shows here in America. I’ve been acting in a TV show that comes out later this year, premiering at Cannes. I’ve also played on a bunch of other records, all of these things haven’t come out yet so I guess it’s all going to come to a head, come to fruition simultaneously.”
Callinan truly is a human pinball machine. “I’m in LA now to do Night Game shows, then we go to New York to do more Night Game shows. Then I’m doing a bunch of solo shows in the UK and Europe before I come out to Australia for a solo tour. Then I’ll come back to the US for a tour and go back to Oz for Splendour. It’s crazy.”
This is how it’s been for the past few years for Callinan. Evidently not with releases, but with the extensive travel he undertakes. The amount of frequent flyer points he must rack up would be a source of jealously for even the most avid traveller. “It’s meant that everything has taken a bit longer to finish,” says Callinan. “Being so ambitious in all these different realms. It’s all come together in 2017 and there’s not much I can do except keep my head above water.”
Reeling off his itinerary (impressively) from memory, Callinan finally finds a moment to focus on his solo material and the new album Bravado. Where first album Embracism was described as “industrial macho menace”, the sophomore release feels as if its thematic edge intertwines some interestingly opposing elements, sparking the question as to why Callinan set aside that previous industrial heaviness for something more euphoric. “It was very deliberate,” he says.
“The truth is, emotionally I was a very angry young man when I made Embracisim. I was living in a small confined world in the Blue Mountains – my life fell apart when I made that album. I was upset about a bunch of stuff.
“I was a bit younger and wanting to make something dangerous. I was into music that sounded violent and threatening – by the same token I also found that quite funny. I find that menace and exploration of machismo funny and absurd,” Callinan says.
“In that sense, the new album is funny and absurd but the key difference is, rather than doing something that is simultaneously threatening or scary, it’s now utterly more generous and light-hearted, inclusive and fun, because that’s where I’ve been the last few years, touring the world and having a great time.”
Reflectively, Callinan continues, “One of my problems with this album is it feels more shallow because it doesn’t have that danger, yet I think it’s better for it now. I see it for what it is and I love the bombast and the bravado.”
Calling one’s own material funny and ridiculous is one thing, but how should fans interpret that statement? This music, these ideas and influences are all coming from Callinan himself so it begs the question, does he take himself seriously? “Depends on what day it is,” he says, laughing.
“I’d like to be able to, absolutely. I have to believe and back myself somewhat in order to do it – this wasn’t something I made with very little care – this took a lot of time and heart and in that sense, it’s not a joke. It’s simultaneously very serious. That’s a big part of the album – this walking through different avenues, whether it’s absurdism and sentimentality, or seriousness and humour, or smut and class, or ugliness and beauty, that dichotomy is part of what the album is. So yeah, it depends on what day it is.”
