“All our songs are one big lyrical idea, in many different forms,” explains guitarist and vocalist Alex Palmer. “The new EP is completely like that – it’s like one big song with different shades.” Yet in classic psychedelic fashion, Ten Cent Pistols’ root idea doesn’t lend itself to simple articulation.
“It’s hard to put your finger on it,” Palmer says. “It’s about fear and love, and dark and light – the battle we have as humans.”
The genesis of Ten Cent Pistols came over five years ago when brothers Palmer and drummer Owen Hughes formed a two-piece blues band (the band’s name is borrowed from another two-piece blues band, The Black Keys). The addition of additional members coincided with an expansion of the band’s sound into a more expansive psychedelic, and occasionally stoner rock aesthetic.
“It’s hard to say what the distinction is between psychedelic and stoner rock,” Palmer says. “Some people say we’re stoner rock, but I think we’re more psychedelic. To me, psychedelic rock is more about a feeling – you can get that from lots of different types of music, but psychedelic music can give you that feeling better than other forms of rock. Stoner rock is more grungey, I suppose. Psychedelic rock is a bit more spiritual – it has more of a spiritual edge.”
Having released its eponymous first EP in 2011, and a second EP, Vultures, in 2013, Ten Cent Pistols are about to launch their new EP, Lightwalkers, at Cherry Bar on Saturday April 19. “I think this record is much more psychedelic and instrumented,” Palmer observes. “There’s a lot more room for the keyboards in the songs that we wrote and recorded.”
The EP was recorded at Black Pearl Studios by Julian Mendelsohn. Australian-born Mendelsohn had recently returned to Australia after working for many years in in England including at the famed Abbey Road Studios. Mendelsohn’s resume is impressive to say the least, having worked with Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page and Elton John – as well as being a close friend of Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmore.
“We saw his name attached to the studio, so we sent him one of our songs and he liked it and was happy to work with us,” Palmer says. “He was great to work with – he had so many great stories.”
The other notable aspect of the recording process was its adherence to classic rock recording values. “This was the first time we’d worked in a big studio, and it was great to go in there and record straight to tape – tape was the sound that I always wanted: there’s something about that sound that I’ve always loved,” Palmer says.
That recording process provided the foundation for putting the record onto vinyl format. “The sound of the record really changes across the different formats,” Palmer says. “I like the sound of vinyl much better – it’s warmer and more compressed.”
The engineering and mixing assistance of Tom Iansek offered another level of detail. “Tom’s a genius,” Palmer says. “He had lots of great ideas – he put the organs and keyboards through different effects, and that allowed the psychedelic sound to really come through.”
Beyond the launch of the new EP, Palmer suggests Ten Cent Pistols will wander into even more psychedelic territory. “We’re three EPs deep, so next we’re going to do a full-length album,” Palmer says. “I think in the future our music could go all kinds of places. It’ll be a progression into the future and the past. It’ll definitely be psychedelic – I want to make a record that’s even more psychedelic, maybe more Spiritualized.”
BY PATRICK EMERY
