The Living End - Making Noise

After a two-year absence, The Living End is back with a bang! We spoke to Chris, Scott and Andy about their new album, yoga and Green Day... Interview: Demeter Stamell

It’s been two years between albums. Did it feel like longer?
Chris: It feels like a long time ago we were doing the press campaign, but we have been very busy in between. We always do an album and then we tour for two years.
Andy: We had to get it right though, so it didn’t really matter about how long it was going to take. We got to the point where we were a bit burnt out by the last record. We thought the only way this album was going to eventuate is if we took some time away and actually wanted to do it, and got a love for it again.
Scott: I’m glad it feels like a long time because I’m dying to get back into the swing of playing night after night again. If I’d heard those words come out of my mouth 12 months ago, I wouldn’t have believed them.

Chris, is it true you took up art and yoga to find inspiration for White Noise?
C: [Smiles] Yeah. I’m in a very different headspace now to what I was, and it just got to a point where it was all too much and it felt like I hadn’t done anything but The Living End in 10 years. My life was write, record, tour, write, record, tour. You’ve got to want to do it. It was perfect for me, because the minute I switched off and stopped thinking about trying to write a song, I got inspired.

How would you describe the new album?
C: It’s really anthemic. The songs are epic and they sound large. I feel like every song on this record has something to offer, and it has some really special moments.
A: We weren’t really trying to please anyone but ourselves. We’re all really happy with the album for that reason. If it felt really great to play, it was going to sound great to listen to.

What’s the feedback been like so far?
S: Really good! I think we’ve made an album that sounds like the band live. People have wanted us to capture the energy that we have on stage and put it on a record.
C: There’s a lot of texture on there. We couldn’t ask for a better reaction than we’ve already had, and it’s really great that people want to hear it! There’s nothing worse than going under the radar.

Do you have a favourite song?
A: From a semi self-indulgent perspective, I really like “Make the Call”. [Laughs] I think we really captured something on that. It sounds like rock and roll should sound to me.
C: I’m going to say “Waiting For the Silence”. I really like the melody and I’m just really proud of the way that one turned out. It’s got a real emotional thing about it that I don’t think people associate with us.
S: I’m going to say “Moment In the Sun”. In the last 12 to 18 months, Chris has morphed into a massive (Bruce) Springsteen fan! [Laughs] “Moment In the Sun”, in a real Springsteen-esque way, has a really good story to it. The emotion is really strong.

The first single is “White Noise”. What inspired that one?
C: It kind of grew out of another song. I was just messing around and I stumbled across the chords. The inspiration was that point in a relationship where it just begins to dissolve. You stop listening to the person and you stop communicating. “All I’m hearing from you is white noise” – whether you don’t want to hear what they’re saying or you just can’t, it’s that moment where sh*t hits the fan.
S: It can also be about your relationship with the rest of the world. It doesn’t just have to be a one on one thing.

You can almost be described as Australia’s version of Green Day.
C: We could be called worse! [Laughs] And we do look up to them. They’re a kick ass rock and roll band! They’re great songwriters, great performers. They’re fighters and they’ve managed to stick around. I think there’s a massive difference in the bands though. Maybe there’s similarities in the brattiness and the kind of energy, but I don’t think Green Day write the kind of songs that we do.
S: I think our band’s got a lot more complexity and diversity than Green Day. I love Green Day, I’ve been a fan of theirs since the day I heard them and I don’t think I’ll ever really tire of them, but I think the thing that they do is pretty inviting and straightforward, and they don’t really go outside the box of what they do all that much. I think we’re the opposite. We have an identifiable sound, but we do as many different things with it as we can.

Is it weird to think so many up and coming bands probably look up to you?
C: [Laughs] It’s flattering at times. People will be like, “I listened to you guys in high school!”
A: I think it’s great! We used to do the same thing as kids.
S: I just remember so vividly what it was like to meet and open up for bands we really admired. It’s a really beneficial thing and a really rewarding thing, and I kind of feel like it’s our given obligation to talk to young people in bands. I just feel like we’ve got so much to offer them. It’s a great, natural progression.

Check out the clip for The Living End's hit single White Noise!