Sunset Circus are another fantastic young band from the Melbourne alternative rock scene trying to make their way in the world.
Sunset Circus are another fantastic young band from the Melbourne alternative rock scene trying to make their way in the world. Taking their name from a time when they were driving home from a family gathering in country Victoria, and simply driving past a circus that was operating in the area, they have evolved their sound gradually over the last year and a half. They’ve moved from a style and sound that was quite heavy and technical, to the more accessible, emotive alternative-rock sound that’s in evidence today.
That sound is actually a blend of an extremely broad and surprising range of influences that each member of this promising new four-piece bring to the table, as drummer Will, guitarist/ keyboardist James and guitarist Nick explain at a café in Northcote. “Meshuggah were a huge one, and one of my favourite bands,” Will recalls, “but it’s not really that relevant now. We’ve got a couple of riffs that are sort of shredding…”
“I would say that there is a bit Counting Crows in my playing,” James interjects, “I put a bit of that in, but when you mix it with everyone else’s, that’s what makes the band.”
“It’s hard to explain, when you consider what I’ve been listening to lately,” Nick gives his point of view, “I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop, and a lot of house.”
“I just wanted to mention, Frosty our singer,” James continues, “he writes all the lyrics, he’s probably the main songwriter. He’s big into Coldplay, but he’s just Top 40. Christina Aguilera, he loves all that stuff. It gives him a pop sensibility to his songwriting,” he laughs.
This melting pot of seemingly divergent influences can be heard on the band’s brand new EP, which is being released this week, and launched at the Ding Dong Lounge this Friday evening. The band are understandably thrilled to be releasing the EP, especially since it’s their debut fully professional recording, and are happy to discuss it’s recording and evolution. “We recorded it at The Base Studios, in South Melbourne,” James explains, “with Phil Threlfall. We spent, what, six days?” he queries of his bandmates. “Seven,” Will replies, “seven straight days. Probably the best week of my life!” he enthuses.
“It was 15, 16 hour days,” James continues, “just insane. Lots of coffee!”
“We wrote two songs in the last couple of weeks, and we really wanted to put them on the EP,” says Will, picking up the story again, “Phil’s a genius in his field. Every single riff and song was something different when we walked out of the studio. We couldn’t have got nearly as good a recording if we’d done it all ourselves… it really took on a professional edge. You really don’t realise [the extent of it] until you’ve done a proper release. It’s great to be a part of watching that come together over the whole week.”
“If I could do it every day, I would!” Nick adds.
Melbourne rock punters are urged to make their way down to Ding Dong Lounge in the city this Friday evening, to catch this dynamic new band launch their debut EP. They promise a highly energetic, even cathartic live show. “It’s a new look Sunset Circus,” Nick offers, “we were real, real raw when we first started out.
“It’s real electric,” he adds, describing their live show, “we go ‘off-tap’. It’s energetic, we jump around. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
“There’s a lot of emotion in our sound,” James says, “and (singer Frosty) has a great voice too…we don’t want everyone talking to each other, we want to look out and see all eyes on us. We’ll do our best to manage that, and we’re just doing a very short, punchy set.”
So what does that entail, around 40-45 minutes? “Less,” James states definitively.
“We’re just doing the EP cover to cover,” Will expands, “which is just a bit over 20 I think. There’ll be some crowd interaction and stuff, so it’ll probably take us a bit over half an hour. So, short and sweet!”
The band are leaving the EP launch as their final show for the year, to maximize interest and attendance. However, 2011 has much in store for this enthusiastic and talented group.
“That’s it for the year,” Nick says. “But there’s a show in January,” Will states, “down in Revellers in Fitzroy.”
“More shows and more writing” says James, regarding further plans for 2011, “and generally trying to expand our horizons.”
“Getting some radio play,” Will adds, “and we’d like to tap into a publisher as well. I think a lot of our stuff is good for film. Just the emotion of it, and that epic sort of sound. And then we’ll have to start thinking about a second EP or an album.”
One gets the distinct feeling these boys have only just begun their journey.
SUNSET CIRCUS will be launching their long-awaited self-titled debut EP at Ding Dong Lounge on Friday November 19. Their EP will be available on iTunes from November 19. Support comes from The Final Cut, Arkayan (WA) and A Broker’s Night Sleep. Check out myspace.com/sunsetcircusmusic for more info. Doors 8pm.
