Perth hardcore mob Statues have recently released their noisy-ass full-length Together We’re Alone. Here, vocalist Jim Keulen and guitarist Scott Kay go through it track by track to reveal more about each song…
All Fears Are Learned, All Victories Are Earned
Matt: “The intro! We wrote this track originally to be the start of our live set and have been playing it in a few different iterations for a while now. We wanted to make something that was straight-up, exciting and had a bit of a build up to allow punters time to wander in from the beer garden! I’m also a little attached to this track because I got to try and pull a Tim Commerford bass sound at the start of the song, two wah pedals probably would have made it better though.”
Always Building, Always Breaking
Jim: “Lyrically, this song broadly addresses the main themes of the album (mainly addressing the frustrations and thought processes of being told how to conform to the behavioural/social norms within our society, that are assumed to be a ‘one size fits all’). But personally, the pace and aggression of the track gives it just the right amount of angst and frustration and chaos, to give the words a far more personal, emotive, ‘train-of-thought’ kind of flow.”
Oh Precious Commodity
Jim: “When I wrote this song, I wanted to delve more into the thoughts and emotions that are created when you’re told you’re not something, or what or who you are is wrong. I wanted to address the frustrations of pretending to be something or someone you don’t want to be, but I also wanted to capture the idea of not being destined to be something you’re not forever, that there can be release and freedom from it too.”
Forseeing The Cloud And Not The Rain
Scott: “A little nugget of inspiration for this song came from another Perth band, Karnivool. Goliath, from their second album Sound Awake, has this awesome riff at the end that then drops a key, making the riff heavier. We decided to do the same thing at 1:59 in this track, in our own way. We also got Alex Shom from one of our tightest brother bands, Foxes, to come in and do a guest vocal spot. His vocal/lyrical style are amazing, and I highly recommend you check his band out.”
Affliction Prescription
Matt: “This track I wrote to spite Scott after he wrote Burning The Truth At Both Ends, which for some reason I found incredibly difficult to learn, so this was supposed to bey my way of getting him back. Ironically, the song is much easier on guitar than bass, hence the working title ‘Semiquavers’. At the time of writing I was listening to a lot of The Arusha Accord whose bass player Luke Williams has been a huge influence on my playing and he and the band really shaped this track.”
I Want Peace (Interlude I)
Jim: “The honesty and rawness of the blues has always been a huge inspiration to my writing. When we were discussing an interlude, we thought this would offer a beautiful reprieve, while retaining cohesiveness on the album. The lyrics ‘I want peace in me’ came from the previous track on the album, Affliction Prescription.”
Abide
Matt: “Abide was the first song that Scott and I wrote after our original vocalist and drummer decided to part ways with us. In a way it was a bit of a cathartic experience with Scott and I realising which direction we wanted to take the band with our new line-up. The second riff of the track uses a few techniques inspired by a composer called Arnold Schoenberg, famous for creating some really disturbing sounding music and looking super creepy in the early 20th century. He uses a technique where he’ll invert and play a melody backwards to create different ideas which we wanted to try (because apparently we’re wankers).”
Burning The Truth At Both Ends
Scott: “I don’t know what frame of mind I was in when I wrote the opening riffs for this song, because they’re probably some of the weirder ones on the album. I remember bringing it into jam and Matt telling me that it needed a half-time groove in the middle a la Stray From The Path/Rage Against The Machine. The riff at 1:20 is what eventuated from that.”
The Wanderer
Scott: “The Wanderer was originally on our split 10” EP with Adelaide band, Life Pilot. It became a staple in our set and felt that deserved to be on the record. The a cappella scream ending was something we felt was risky, but we also wanted to break a boundary and create something that was very exposed. I now love performing that part live.”
Hard Words, Softly Spoken
Matt: “Hard Words, Softly Spoken was originally based on an idea Scott wrote way back in around 2011 that we found whilst trawling through demos on his computer. We had decided we wanted to write something a little more melodic to change up the record and also pay homage to bands like Touché Amore and Defeater who we all love. However we’re all super hyperactive and change our minds easily so we decided the song needed a big rock riff in the middle, hence originally naming this track ‘Sandwich’. Crunchy light melodic bread with juicy riff filling.”
Hope Is
Scott: “Joss Whedon is an absolute legend, and wrote one of my favourite shows, Firefly. When we were talking about what we wanted as interludes, I Want Peace was something we were already set on including. We wanted another reprieve on the album, so I decided to go and buy a glass slide and practice. Hope Is is a little homage to Firefly’s untimely ending, and we felt it suited the record’s vibe overall.”
Within Arms Reach
Scott: “The working title for this was ‘Scott’s Song’, and I think that was because I wrote the first half of the track almost entirely before coming into the jam; usually we write collaboratively from the start. The latter half of the track was compiled as a band, and offers a cleaner, more melodic element to the album. I write for another more ambient project called Absent Hearts, and the clean section from this was sort of a token nod to that project. We couldn’t pass up ending the record with a huge, slow, doomy riff though!”
Statues’ album Together We’re Alone is out now. Order it from iTunes or on a signed CD.
