Custard on rock’n’roll in the 21st-Century
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

"*" indicates required fields

06.09.2018

Custard on rock’n’roll in the 21st-Century

custard.jpg

Custard, the dorky contrarians of Australia’s ‘90s power-pop scene, were responsible for the most irreverent musical touchstones of the era, such as ‘Music is Crap’, ‘Apartment’ and ‘Ringo (I Feel Like)’.

Dissipating under the usual circumstances of fatigue and success malaise in 2000, the band has since enjoyed nearly ten years of relaxed reformation and plan to hopefully emulate Keith Richards’ levels of rock’n’roll immortality.

The fruits of the band’s middle-aged reincarnation were recorded spontaneously last year at the now-defunct Basement in Sydney in a set spanning Custard’s sugary first four records as well as the two-punch return of 2015’s Come Back, All is Forgiven and last year’s The Common Touch. Co-songwriter, vocalist and drummer Glenn Thompson was low-key while describing the resulting live album, which he mixed in his home studio.

“I had to actually go and search for some live records to see how they sound, because I don’t know if I’ve ever really listened much to a live album before,” he laughs.

The Band (Live in The Basement), apart from having a strikingly crisp mix, is a raw document of a Custard show start to finish. The LP reminds audiences just how much fun the band still is; lead vocalist Dave McCormack retains all of his childlike charisma, albeit with a huskier edge, while the band is able to oscillate between groove and guitar crunch as effortlessly as their breathless early years.

“I think we learnt at the very beginning when we got back together [in 2009] after about half an hour of rehearsal, when we play together it sounds just like Custard. I’ve played in quite a few bands that didn’t sound like Custard. It just so happens when it’s the four of us together that’s how it sounds and it works.”

Thompson doesn’t mention one of those “other bands” he dabbled in was The Go-Betweens between 2000-2006, but this makes sense; Thompson repeatedly says the key to Custard’s reformation success has been the lack of pressure, and a Go-Betweens tag is a heavy one to bear in the Australian rock canon. Thompson now works a day job at Carriageworks, an arts centre in Sydney, which he says provides him with a healthy separation of states.

“Before when we were younger, it was all we did and all we thought about. Now we all have totally self-contained lives outside of Custard. It’s no pressure while having a clear mind and clear approach.”

During Custard’s hiatus, Thompson obsessively taught himself the strictures of sound engineering, building himself a home studio to mix and record all of the band’s new music. The band’s goal making a record these days is simply to make an album they’re happy with, and Thompson says the DIY sound approach helps.

“It’s not a huge change but I do consider that when I’m playing drums now, keeping out of the way of other instruments and everything having its place. “

Though music has technologically changed for Custard, the bizarro McCartney-Lennon songwriting pair of Thompson and McCormack hasn’t dulled with age.

“The funny thing is, ever since I started writing songs I have been in a band with David. To begin with, it wasn’t Custard, it was a country band in Brisbane called Cow. I don’t have any experience writing songs having not known how David writes songs. I think we both share a less than earnest take on the world.”

Custard’s 21st-century modus operandi now is providing sporadic yet enduring bursts of nostalgic fun for a crowd spanning children, parents and grandparents.

“The whole paradigm of rock’n’roll is, it’s an exciting young person’s activity. I think we learnt quite a long time ago rock’n’roll is a lifelong experience.”