UPTEMPO SWAGGER

The EP 'Bottle Shop' dives into the gritty realities of retail liquor. Can you walk us through the production process? How did you capture the essence of these experiences in your music?

The band and the EP were created with the vision of bringing the experiences of working in retail (particularly in a bottle shop) to song. Anything from the cliché, frustrating customer lines and interactions, the big shifts where you’re on your feet all day, and the beer that has been smashed on the cool room floor that you’re about to clean up. As all of us work or have worked in the liquor industry, it feels like a great avenue for us to vent, and relate to other current and former retail workers who have similar experiences. If we tell a customer something that they might not want to hear, maybe that their favourite product is out of stock or that they’re being refused service due to showing signs of inebriation for example, we only wish that sometimes we could follow it up by saying; “don’t shoot the messenger”. The EP dives into alcoholics, delinquents, people that lack manners or common sense, and even Ernst Wanke Road. Songs like ‘Got Any Out The Back?’ summarise the warped reality of a backstock room within a retail store being a magical place where dreams come true, and ‘FAQs’ simply answers frequently asked customer questions that feel relatively self-explanatory from our perspective. The songwriting and recording process was really enjoyable, and we have a release that we’re very proud of.

Your sound is described as a blend of 90s grunge and punk influences, mixed with the energy of bands like You Am I, Idles, and Press Club. Can you share more about how these influences shaped the songs on 'Bottle Shop'?

It often feels easy to write music in the styles of bands that inspire and interest you, and we felt that the raw garage rock / punk feel of the band matched up to the lyrical themes. Noisy, drone-like guitars and synths in the likes of ‘Can’t Claim It On Tax’, backed up by spoken word verses and a different structure to the song is where we feel the likes of Idles and Fontaines DC are big influences, coupled with the 90s-2000s Australian sounds and chord progressions of the likes of You Am I. Even Toby’s synth and keyboard work gives us a bit of a new wave flavour on some tracks, which is always welcome. During pre-production for the EP, I sent Declan White (mixer & engineer) ‘Headwreck’ by Press Club as an example of the type of raw sound we were looking to base the direction of the recording on; vocals with slight distortion, guitar tones and everything in between to help create an unrelenting energy throughout the EP. 

Within your circle of musical friends, who are two artists you think are on the cusp of great things, and why should we keep an eye on them?

Raging Hormones for sure. They are fronted by Nick Manuell, who also fronted a great Melbourne punk band that I loved called The Sinking Teeth who are sadly no longer active, but when I heard this new project from him, I couldn’t get enough. Infectious, catchy pop rock, great guitar riffs and raspy vocals with some fun harmonies. As cool as the sunglasses they wear on stage, and I’m almost always in a happy mood when I see them live or listen to them. They have two EPs out (Public Fun - Part 1 and Public Fun - Part 2) which you should definitely check out wherever you get your music. 

I need to shout out Hot Tubs Time Machine as well! Whacky lo-fi synth pop (adjacent to the sounds of Jack Stauber) with bogan-like spoken word parts of generally relatable topics over the top. We had them play alongside us at Bad Decisions Bar in April and they suited that room so well. They’re also just finishing up a tour of Japan, and I’m genuinely curious of how they were received over there. Check out their album ‘Double Tubble’.

Your recent shows have been met with sensational, energetic crowds. How have your latest performances been, and what can we expect from The RSA’s in 2024?

The band officially came together in November 2023, and we have played three gigs to launch two of our singles and the EP in February (Old Bar, Fitzroy), April (Bad Decisions Bar, Fitzroy) and the first day of June and Winter as well (The GEM Bar, Collingwood). We like to aim for great venues with a capacity of around 100 people to give it an intimate atmosphere and to make it feel more packed. We’ve really enjoyed all of our gigs and feel that we’re getting tighter each gig, with more presence, energy and on-stage chemistry. We’ve even had a small group of people that have managed to attend all three of our gigs and have had a great time (you know who you are, big shout out to you), and even those that have come to one or two have had a blast. Gives me a great feeling to see that people are enjoying what we’re doing, and it only motivates us more to write new songs and book more shows. I can only imagine that 2024 for The RSA’s will feature a lot more of that, and I’m excited to see how it all unfolds!