The debut album from Sydney’s Born Lion has been out a couple of weeks now, they’ve just wrapped a tour supporting Yellowcard and Mayday Parade, and have announced a headline run of their own to launch the album.
Hopefully you’ve had the chance to give it a spin by now, but if not, jump on it below while you read about it courtesy of the band answering our On The Record questions. If you like what you hear, order yourself a copy on CD or digitally [Here].
See all their tour dates below the interview.
It’s taken from the title track ‘Break the Curse’. I guess my thinking behind it is that this could easily be the last thing we ever release. Not saying it will be, but with rock’n’roll being so fickle it’s hard to say. I guess that’s just my mentality at the moment. I’m fucking amazed at what we’ve pulled off so far and anything beyond now is just icing.
Tell us about the artwork.
We have a song on the album called ‘None of the Above’. It was written about natural selection and dumb ways to die. Red (lead guitar god) came up with the artwork idea. Then Annie Walter made it look better than we could ever possibly imagine.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
Comes out on Digipak and Vinyl at this stage.
Who will it be released through, and when?
Sydney’s Four Four records are putting it out. Release date is July 3rd.
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We went to Def Wolf studios in Sydney. It’s an awesome space and is where Daave Hammer works his magic.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
The record is produced and engineered by Dave Hammer. We have recorded everything to we’ve ever done with Hammer. We get each other and he’s a good mate.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
Not really. We had a fairly clear direction when we started the band though. Basically just to make the toughest, no bullshit rock music we could. I guess the album is just a large chunk of that. We just wanted a lot of energy and mayhem.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
A lot of mates bands. Captives, The Sinking Teeth, Them Bruins, Release the Hounds, Super Best Friends, My Echo, Gay Paris, The Mercy Beat, Luca Brasi, Grenadiers… Also band like QOTSA, The Bronx, Nirvana, The Drones, Shihad, The Hives get our juices bubbllin’.
Were there any albums you were referencing in the studio to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
We had some ‘In Utero’ and Bronx ‘II’ in there for referencing.
How long did you spend in the studio recording?
About 5 weeks all up.
We demo all the tracks. Listen to them, and then dissect them. We try and make the songs flow as good as possible. Chop out unneeded parts. Look at vocal melodies and see if they can be improved. Look at lyrics and question their relevance to the narrative of the tune.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
Not really, we probably put more thought into than usual though.
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
Yes! Lachlan and Dean from Gay Paris are on about 80 precent of the album. Jesse from Grenadiers does half the vocals on the track ‘Rest in Pieces’ (which sound incrediballs!). All of them did a killer job and we are beyond stoked.
When it comes do naming the tracks, is there any particular approach or process to it all?
Not really, we’re generally just capturing the hook line.. pretty boring, yawn.
Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
We used an amp simulator through a D/I for some fuzzed out guitar sounds. Dave also rocked a black beauty snare for the whole record.
Any memorable studio moments?
Laying down the acoustic track was something really different for us. I reworked one of our tunes into a stripped back acousatic track. It was super fun to get in that different head space for a bit.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
Yeah we had one tune that didn’t make the cut. It’s sung really low and montone. It’s pretty funny; we’ll chuck it online at some point.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
Rest in Pieces will rule and Break the Curse should elicit some sing alongs, which is always nice.
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
I think the song writing has improved. We’re all stoked with the way it sounds.
1. Break the Curse
2. Good Dogs Play Dead
3. Sucker for Punishment
4. Suzie
5. D for Danger
6. Violent Soul
7. Rest In Pieces
8. Good Times Jimmy
9. None of the Above
10. Too Cool To Party
11. Weight of the World
BORN LION
AUGUST
21st – The Workers Club, Geelong [18+]
22nd – The Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood [18+]
29th – Phoenix Bar, Canberra [18+]
SEPTEMBER
4th – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney [18+]
5th – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle [18+]
12th – The Milk Factory, Brisbane [18+]
18th – Brisbane Hotel, Hobart [18+]
19th – Club 54, Launceston [18+]
24th – Prince of Wales, Bunbury [18+]
25th – Jimmy’s Den, Perth [18+]
OCTOBER
2nd – Entrance Leagues Club, The Entrance [18+]
3rd – Captain’s At Mariners, Bateman’s Bay [18+]
9th – Cherry Bar, Melbourne [18+]
16th – The Loft, Warrnambool [18+]
17th – Crown & Anchor, Adelaide [18+]
—> Tickets available now.
—> For more information, visit [Here].
