When Beat speaks with Plant, the four-piece groomed in inner city Melbourne have just wrapped up the American leg of their world tour. While I can detect a hint of homesickness in his voice, there’s no denying their decision to make Los Angeles home has paid off.
“We will always be an Australian band, but we can’t ignore how well everything is going for us over here,” Plant says. “We moved to LA for fun and to try something different, but we never expected the band to take off like it has – especially our success in South America.”
While Plant is pleasantly surprised by their strong following in places like Mexico City (where they consistently play to crowds of thousands), anyone who has heard the post-disco decadence of their debut album Illumination (2010),and follow up release All Possible Futures, would agree the band’s appeal is universal. Incorporating the pop sensibilities of Michael Jackson and Prince alongside progressive rock guitar riffs and otherworldly choruses inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the new album offers something for everyone.
“I’ll admit that at first I was worried that people wouldn’t get what we were trying to do because there’s so much variety on the record,” Plant says. “But that’s what we wanted – each track is designed to stand on its own.”
Plant says the five years between albums was an incredibly steep learning curve, and for a while he questioned the strength of his previous songwriting efforts. “On the first album we didn’t know what we were doing – now that we’ve learnt all the rules, we feel more comfortable breaking them.”
Several tracks on All Possible Futures may push the boundaries of conventional songwriting, but the album-making process strengthened the bonds between the band members. “Because Miami Horror was originally a solo project of mine, I was used to producing music on my own. But now we’ve written all these songs together and the guys are so integral to the band I couldn’t imagine Miami Horror without them.”
With Plant at the helm, the current lineup of Josh Moriarty, Aaron Shanahan and Daniel Whitechurch work continuously to improve their live performance. “We really want the audience to have a full sensory experience,” Plant says. “Our shows are always very energetic and we incorporate a lot of showmanship. A lot of bands just stand there and try to be too cool – I think that gets a little old pretty quickly.”
To enhance the festivities of the forthcoming tour, Plant has invited some of the hottest up and coming acts to open the show. “We chose [Melbourne singer/songwriter] Cleopold because everything’s rolling really well for him at the moment. He just released his new song Down In Flames on Chet Faker’s label and it’s getting a lot of attention. We will have Young Franco too – we wanted a DJ as well as a live act. We met through our management and we’ve hung out before – he’s a cool guy.”
Also on the bill is Brisbane artist JOY. “She is incredibly talented, and we thought she’d be a good balance and something a little different to what we’re doing.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve managed to pull together. I was asked the other day, ‘What makes a good party?’ and I think the key element is the people. Meeting loads of different people and just enjoying yourself – that’s why I’m so excited to come home and share these songs with everyone.”
BY NATALIE ROGERS
