When bands break up and members leave, as fans and listeners, we`re often left with the ambiguous, recycled publicist`s statement riddled with annoying cliches like ’artistic differences`. However, Aussie rockers Children Collide, who in February endured the departure of drummer, Ryan Caesar, left behind any vague sentiments and chose to tell it like it is. As is the case when any group of people who spend extended and intense amounts of time together, tensions arose between front man Johnny Mackay and Caesar. For the sake of the band, Caesar chose to move on, leaving the current Children Collide line up at a cosy two.
But fear not, Caesar`s departure in no way spells the end of the band as we know it, and we can breathe easy at the avoidance of the demise of yet another beloved Aussie rock band for 2012. Instead, the change in line-up coincides with the release of the band`s most sophisticated album to date, Monument. Mackay says their recent ’Sword to a Gunfight`tour, which marked the end of Caeser`s time with the band, could only be described as bittersweet – which is better than just plain ol` bitter.
“It was actually a really fun experience and we all got along better than we have in a long time,” he explained. “Maybe that was the release of tension, there was none anymore because we knew it was resolved and coming to an end. It was kind of sad, but kind of nice at the same time. I had a good time and I`m sure Ryan [Caesar] and Heath [Crawley] did too. We ended on a really good note.”
Monument, the band`s third album following 2010`s Theory of Everything, seems fittingly dark and introspective on the part of songwriter Mackay. It`s easy to deduce that any dark connotations drawn from the lyrics or the slightly menacing sound of this album are directly derived from existing tension amongst the band. However, such assumptions take Mackay by surprise and he laughs at the idea of his apparently ’darkest` work, actually coming from a pretty happy place.
“The tension was probably more present when we recorded the second album,” he reflects. “We figured out a way we could work together without the tension coming into it. It came into it a little in the decision making process with which songs made it on the album and what changed in the studio. But I can`t really hear the tension there, I just went in and did my job, and he did his. We`re all in it together that way – we weren`t letting any hang ups or any kind of tension get in the way.
“It`s weird, because this was probably the most happy I`ve felt, writing and recording this album. I don`t really know how it came out so dark.”
Any introspection, however, is more likely to be due to Mackay penning 11 of the 12 songs alone in his room in Brunswick, with a small amount of writing done while travelling in Istanbul. Mackay says this process allowed the songs to lend themselves more directly to his own record collection, creating some strong international influences by way of a recent German Krautrock obsession and a dabble in Turkish psych. He admits the international sound on the album is also a bit ironic, as Monument was recorded solely in Melbourne with long-time producer Paul ’Woody` Annison, whereasTheory of Everything was recorded between four different countries.
“It was natural to experiment for this album, and it was written a lot differently to the last two, which were the result of jams in rehearsal,” Mackay explains. “With three people jamming in a room, you end up compromising for each other a little more. For this album, once everyone was back in the studio, everyone brought their own thing to their own instrument when they were reinterpreting the parts.
“We stayed in Melbourne to be with Woody. Bands are very transient and used to be transient and working wherever, whereas for producers it`s important for them to be in their own environment. It happened to be rather convenient to get out of our own beds every morning and record. This album definitely sounds more international, which is a bit funny considering we recorded this one here and the other two in all different countries. It`s hard to pin down what influences your music when you`re the one making it.”
Three albums and now a drummer down, it`s not surprising Mackay agrees that Monument exudes a level of maturity in comparison to their first two. Working through undeniable tension and differences to continue to make music that they can be proud of and sees them grow, is perhaps the very catalyst Children Collide needed to make their most sophisticated, mature, and experimental album yet.
“There`s a musical maturity to it I guess. There`s not as much big dumb rock on there as we`ve had before,” he laughs. “We`ve had a couple of people whinging about that, ’why isn`t there this song or why didn`t you do that`, but you know what? When you`ve already written those songs, you don`t really want to write them again. Some bands spend their whole career rewriting the same songs. We`re definitely not that kind of band.”
Monument is out now through Universal.
Kayla Clibborn
