Rock is traditionally the domain of kings and queens, prima donnas and egomaniacs. Press Club are bringing a little democracy to the scene with their debut album Late Teens. The indie-punk foursome chose everything, from their name to their album tracklisting, through show of hands.
“I haven’t been in a band where it’s been so equal before,” says vocalist Nat Foster. “If there’s not real equality, tension can arise. We’re not in our teens – not in our ‘late teens’ – anymore. Our desire to have a well-oiled machine is so much greater than anyone’s ego.”
To create their debut album Late Teens, the band gathered at bassist Rufio MacRae’s Brunswick East House and converted it into a ‘songwriting sweatshop’, turning out 40 songs over a period of weeks. After playing their way through all 40, the band voted on which ones would make the cut.
Recording, mixing and producing the album themselves, Press Club divided the work according to preference. Foster, who holds a graphic design certificate, put together the album cover, showing rusty household appliances overgrown with morning glory vines.
“I’ve been in bands in the past where I’ve been the frontwoman and everything has fallen to me,” says Foster. “It’s just easier spread around. We’ve all got our specialties. It’s easier to do the things you’re good at than push shit uphill.”
Press Club are a live band first, she says, so they’ve tried to capture the energy of their shows on tape by relying as little on overdubbing as possible. The perils of DIY recording became apparent one morning when guitarist Greg Rietwyk accidentally erased the vocal track for the song ‘Headwreck’. “We were so lucky that we only lost the vocal tape,” says Foster. “It was a bit upsetting, but I feel like we got a better take the next time around, anyway.”
For many bands, signing with a label is the first milestone to success. Press Club are independent by choice, says Foster, even though it means working on a smaller scale for now.
“The way we measure success is going to be different than if we were working with a label,” she says. “That said, all of our minds are blown by how many people have pre-ordered the album.”
Press Club’s profile rose when their single ‘Suburbia’ was picked up by triple j and by Sydney’s FBi Radio, and the band was picked to play festivals including NYE on the Hill and Falls Festival.
Now, Press Club are ready to unleash Late Teens on Melbourne stages. After that, they’re on the road with the Smith Street Band, booked in for a gruelling 28-show tour from Perth to Cairns. Foster likes playing raucous shows where she can draw a response from the crowd with a raw and sincere performance.
“I don’t like listening to a vocalist that I don’t believe,” says Foster. “If they’re telling me something and it feels half-arsed, that frustrates the shit out of me. If someone’s asking me to believe something, I need them to believe it as well.”
Since childhood, Foster has always felt a responsibility to be tough and emotionally independent. She admits that, to this day, she doesn’t really like to let loose except when onstage. While Foster’s early material runs on adrenaline, Late Teens is a high-intensity blast of raw pain and vulnerability.
“I’m notoriously bad at being able to talk about my emotions,” says Foster. “Growing up, I don’t think I learnt to express myself in that way, to get real emotional. Why let people know that you’re not feeling great when you can just write a song and get over it?”
Press Club are already working on another extra-large batch of songs to fuel their next record. In the meantime, Foster hopes that Press Club’s horizontal approach to music will continue to be reflected in the Australian scene. She recalls crossing paths with bands like Bad//Dreems and Tasmanian punk rockers Luca Brasi, who graciously offered to lend Press Club their gear.
“I think everyone’s realised that it’s better to lift people up than to put people down,” says Foster. “If we create a full community of incredible music, then we can lift that whole community up to another level rather than just getting one or two bands up there.”
