“We went through a weird stage where everyone was calling us dolewave, and every second review said, ‘It’s this new dolewave band from Adelaide’,” lead singer and guitarist Ray Dalfsen says. “We thought it was pretty funny how people throw words around that they think are cool just to add a bit of credibility to things. You know when things get said about you and you find it a bit weird?”
The single itself tackles the notion of romanticising living on the dole. “I’ve lived on the dole before, and it’s not glamorous, but some people on the outside tend to think that it’s really romantic, carefree and that all artists on the dole do is party all the time, drink all the time and do whatever they want without consequence. This song comes from being frustrated by that lifestyle, and from being uncomfortable with a label that attempts to lump the diversity of all the bands living like that into one scene,” Dalfsen says.
As a result, the slacker anthem was a hit, and one that’s thrown them into the mix with other talented Adelaide exports, including Bad//Dreems. But despite the sudden claim to fame and one’s to watch lists the band have featured in, they remain level-headed.
“We don’t have too many tickets on ourselves and we like to have a good time,” Dalfsen says. “I’ve played in a band for close to ten years now and it’s really cool to see we’re taking off now.”
Part of the band’s appeal are the heavy riffs and garage rock sound, made possible thanks to the four guitarists in the band. It’s a challenging element to manage, but one that they’re well on the way to mastering.
“Short answer is very difficult,” Ray explains of how four guitarists work on stage. “Since we’ve been around for a while now it’s gotten easier. Playing live depends how big the stage is. We played on a stage that was so small, maybe three by three metres, and we had to make sure no one got hit by a guitar. But it’s always good fun on the small stages because it’s really a battle of don’t hit the other players with your head stock.”
That’s not to say a collision hasn’t happened before, with Dalfsen confessing there has been a bloody eye as a result of a lapse in spacial awareness.
“I think it was actually Josh who got hit by the other Josh, so they took each other out,” he laughs. “It ended up cutting the top of his eye and he had a white shirt so blood was going everywhere.”
As for the biggest question, how would the band actually describe themselves? “The Pretty Littles already took it, but I’ll do an amendment on it,” Ray says after much thought. “Garage rock for the anxious at the heart.”
BY AMANDA SHERRING
