About
Formed in 2003 and comprised of Birch, clean vocalist/bassist Ahren Stringer, drummer Ryan Burt and guitarists Troy Brady and recent addition Dan Brown, the band have steadfastly refused to alter their sound to accommodate current fads. However, with each successive release they have built upon this, and Let The Ocean Take Me is the biggest, richest, and most sonically varied record the band have delivered. “We’ve always strived to write songs that stick in your head and punch you in the face at the same time,” says Stringer. “That’s what we do, and I know it’s such a cliché to say going into a new record you want your heavier parts to be heavier and your catchier parts to be catchier, but that is what we always want to do. However, that means nothing unless the songwriting is the best it can be, and I think on this record we’ve achieved everything that we set out to.” Both Birch and Stringer credit this in part to Brown, formerly of Melbourne bruisers Confession. While the four core members have remained consistent since prior to tracking 2008’s Severed Ties, and Brady and Stringer have been the principal songwriters, each time they have entered the studio it has been with a different second guitarist, and all agree that Brown has brought something special to the band. “It’s good to have someone fresh to bounce ideas off other than a producer, and Dan brought a lot of heaviness with him but he also really knows melody and harmonies, and that brings out the best in us.” Likewise, the combination of producer Will Putney (Winds Of Plague, Upon A Burning Body) and tracking the record at Brady’s Evergreen Studios in Brisbane contributed to a positive atmosphere conducive to performing at their very best. “Will is a down to earth guy, and really on the same level as us musically, having done this shit for a long time. He’s our age as well, and it was like recording with a friend, and the whole time we were in there we were really relaxed. In fact sometimes it felt a bit surreal! We’re used to going to the States to record, and it often felt like we weren’t recording an album at all because we were close to home and everything was so chill, and that made the experience so much better for us. The record that came out of that process reflects that.” On “Pittsburgh” the band adds an extra dimension to their sound with the inclusion of a children’s choir, drafted from a local high school. “We’ve always wanted to include something like that, and as we were writing this song the section just had an eerie vibe to it, and we felt the choir would take it to another level. It turned out amazing, the kids came in for a day and sang and just blew us all away.”
