Word jockeys are used to talking trash about musicians, but perhaps not as prepared for the reverse scenario.
Critics have got thin skins ya see, so a song like Ausmuteants’ ‘Music Writers’ is a counter-punch those in the media don’t often find themselves on the recieving end of. A spasmodic, twitchy little number, the tune speaks of the discomfort bands feel when they come to be written about by, you know, hacks, and the work has an acerbic, cheese-wire taut wit hiding underneath that funky synth-line.
So, was the song born out of any kind of personal experience? “It isn’t based off a particular incident,” says the band’s Jake Robertson. “I just think it is kind of funny when you can tell that the journalist put in less effort for their slagging piece than the garbage that they are reviewing. Everybody gets no stars.”
Robertson has admitted in previous interviews to “ly[ing] through his teeth”, so maybe he’s having a laugh when he speaks of the ridiculously quick writing period behind the group’s brilliant new record. “It was a piece of piss to write Band Of The Future,” Robertson says. “Like two days to write, one day to record and one day to mix master.”
But there also exists the strong chance he’s telling the truth. The group have a grubby DIY crudity all of their own and one can imagine a song like ‘Mr Right’ or ‘Struck By Lightning’ being written quickly, on the fly. It’s unsurprising then that Robertson says the group’s writing style is admirably stripped back. “[We] think of shit and make it rhyme,” he says, simply. “Our songs are usually too easy to need help with writing. Try and play one: it’ll take ya 15 minutes, max.”
The band were formed formed in a similarly ramshackle manner, arising in the midst of Brisbane’s exciting live music scene. “[Our first gig] was at the Waiting Room in Brisbane, 2012,” Robertson says. “We had two practices.”
Such a lax rehearsal schedule might explain how Robertson finds the time to play in so many acts, though it’s equally possible that his musical heritage means playing live is simply in his blood. “First time I ever played live was either in my dad’s band, belting out ‘Wipeout’, or in my brother’s band playing ‘Paranoid’,” he says. “I was like eight. I killed it. So yep. Natural.”
That kind of natural ability is prominently displayed when the band perform live: so, often. Ausmuteants are a heavy-touring outfit, and are relentlessly prolific – they’ve released something every year since 2013, and have played shows in all corners of the country. Isn’t maintaining that level of output exhausting? “It gets exhausting for anybody around us having Shaun [Connor] talk about Netrunner, Marc [Dean] talk about fashion, Billy [Gardner] talk about food and me talk about comic books,” Robertson says, simply.
Ultimately, Ausmuteants have a very simple approach to playing gigs, and never overthink the fine art of live performance. “Eh, [crowds] are just people like you and me bud,” he says. “They can dance or they can stand or they can sit or they can leave. Prefer the first two to be honest.”
Ultimately, Robertson is energised by the live scene around him, and has a strong connection to the ever- burgeoning Australian music circle he finds himself smack bang in the centre of.
“[The scene] is great,” he says. “There are plenty great bands putting out stuff independently. I don’t think the Australian music scene that I identify with is defined by genre and is mostly conscious about gender balance in live music.”
An interview with a band who wrote a song about shitty music writers ending on a positive, upbeat note? That doesn’t feel right. Luckily, a more satisfying conclusion comes when Robertson is asked to reveal something he’s “never told a music writer before”. The musician’s response is swift. “Nup. Up ya.”
Reverse Charges #2 Festival takes place at The Bald Faced Stag on Saturday October 1; andAusmuteants’Band Of The Future is out now through Aarght.
