When asked if the band are ready for things to step up a notch with the release of Gloamer, Nolan answers with the answer the question deserved. “Ha, well we all work full time so I reckon if things change and we get to play music full time we’d probably get to surf even more,” he says as though saying a wish out loud. “So yeah, I reckon I’m more than ready for that. I dunno though really; we haven’t thought too far ahead.”
Despite all the good humour in Nolan’s conversation and descriptions of the band insisting on using the cringe-worthy Oz title “larrikin”, Loon Lake have absorbed their storytelling into a world of change, loss and hope for this album. “It was a bit of change that inspired it all,” he explains. “Two of us had come out of really long relationships a bit prior; actually around the first EP. We were experiencing so many new things as well and we had all these amazing things happening with our music career and we were maybe over-indulging a bit – going out too much – but then a lot of it gets dramatized. It comes from experiences but then I make the songs just kind of bigger stories. Also what we were listening to influenced us. The two main things were as a band we were all into that Frank Ocean album and we were going through a Beatles stage too. That’s something you just do through ya whole life I reckon. I had a bit of writers block and was listening to some full on cheesy pop music too; like Bruno Mars kinda stuff. It wasn’t to write like that but just to try to step out of that guitar pop formula.”
Nolan is already feeling the pressure of having his lyrics scrutinised and, as is often the case, that pressure generally comes from those that are closest to the action. Friends, family, lovers – they ache to see themselves immortalised in a song and then loathe what they see. “Yeah, big time, that’s so true,” he agrees. “I had a fair bit of shit from the song Bad To Me, an old song, just because I’d broken up with my girlfriend but it is embellishment. If it’s a good story that’s what I care about. Carolina is a direct story of a mate’s girlfriend who left and went back to Sweden so I called him and made sure I cleared it with him before I went ahead with it. I think it’s pretty reckless if you start writing songs about the stories of your close friends that are bang on without checking.”
Gloamer was recorded as Loon Lake exist – relaxed and on their own terms. Steven Schram (Little Red / San Cisco) took on co-production duties with Loon Lake drummer Nick Nolan. “It was pretty cool the way it worked,” he says. “We did three sets of six or seven day blocks over about two months. Schram encouraged us to learn ProTools and because Nick and I live together, we were able to record a lot of it at home. Schram was really happy for Nick to add his two cents worth. I loved all the recording; I was really nervous about it at first but I had a really good time. That’s actually our favourite thing to do for all of us actually is to record.”
After this tour Loon Lake have a few wild cards up their sleeves. “I don’t think there’ll be anything much bigger than the Big Day Out hey,” he says. “We’re doing a few weird gigs – a few strange festivals and stuff – but we’re hoping to do a really big tour next year. We’re pitching for Groovin’ The Moo but if we don’t get that then we want to do a really extensive regional tour.”
BY KRISSI WEISS
