Tom Myers - Papa Vs Pretty (27/04/2013)
A transformation is often an arduous course of action. This phase of metamorphosis is possibly even more difficult when you find success in one direction and yet, you must venture on to find victory in another. With a music style evolving from the infusion of indie rock and electronica of their first two EPs to a more heavy guitar-driven, alternative rock from their 2010 ‘Heavy Harm’ EP onwards. Papa Vs Pretty has gained notable attention for their phasing and constant adaptability to change. The 59th Sound spoke with the band’s drummer, Tom Myers to discuss the band’s latest album release, ‘White Deer Park’, the role of their newest add-on, Luke Liang and the overall change Papa Vs Pretty has undergone from their eight years of activity on the music scene.
With two albums in tow, Papa Vs Pretty’s latest release ‘White Deer Park,’ draws back a nostalgic experience, harboring back to an era where indie rock reigned supreme. Although brash and abrasive, moments of the album mirror the early exploits of Radiohead and the grand style of Muse. Building up a steady audience base in Australia, Papa Vs. Pretty has received a surge of reception since the release of White Deer Park.
“I think its generally pretty good. We try to stay away from reading too many reviews or anything like that, just in case you get sucked in. That’s generally the case for all of us. But we’re just really happy to have it out there, we’re just happy to have a record out and continue our touring cycle again.”
Originally a 3-piece band, Luke Liang joined the group in 2012, proving himself to be a prized asset. Luke’s arrival in Papa Vs. Pretty saw the group change their sound dramatically. By carving themselves as a 4-piece band, Papa Vs. Pretty were able to branch out to new musical aspects often restricted upon smaller acts. Taking on the role of guitar, keyboards and back up vocal, Liang’s input allowed a new venture for the group as Tom explained.
“There was a big difference, obviously having another member there was going to be change. But at the same time, Luke has really stepped into his role in Papa just so seamlessly and I think it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done as a band, was to get Luke to join. I mean the writing process was different obviously because we now had four-instruments to write for. Luke was also a multi-instrumentalist, he can sing, he can play the keyboards and the guitar. But that’s the difference there as well, having that option there for us, allowing us to hone in on our own craft a lot more. We all went our way and had some lessons; I went back to have some guitar lessons to make sure everything was still going well. So we just really honed in and that was all because of Luke’s happening.”
Releasing ‘My Life Is Yours’ as their first single off White Deer Park, the reception for the new single was well received for veteran fans of Papa Vs. Pretty. Although like all bands, no matter their history or their induction into the music scene, there will always be new fans that come later into the band’s journey. As Papa Vs. Pretty’s musical style has changed throughout their time as a group, Tom explained to me their sound for those who are unfamiliar.
“It’s a hard one to describe, I mean we have a lot of rock elements and it’s rock in the most broadest sense possible. There some casual stuff in there and that’s through Gus doing some string arranging and playing cello. So it just made sense to use that kind of stuff in the album as well. But it’s definitely rock in the broader sense; there are some real rock songs and then some slower rock songs.”
Releasing ‘Smother’ as their second single, the band decided to take publicity further by inducting the voices of their fans into their latest album. Originally conceived as an idea to use the voicemails of classified ads featured in the yellow pages, the band was denied permission, so instead the band decided to do the next best thing.
“That followed on from an idea we made in the studio when we were recording the album. We had the idea, because originally in the smother demo that we were working on, it had a bunch of different voicemails of the classified ads you find in the yellow pages. So these ones featured the voices of all these different American ladies at the start of the song, which were like, ‘I’m 32 and I’m a 34D, blah, blah, blah, etc.’ So anyway, we didn’t end up getting the rights for them or anything like that. So we were just thinking about it when it came to recording in studio, what we were going to do at the start of the song. So we had an idea where we could set up a hotline that our fans could call in and we would ask them questions like ‘What was the most weirdest dream you’ve ever had?’ And we got a bunch of different voicemails messages and we cut them together and featured them throughout the whole album. The way we released ‘Smother’ was followed on from that, which seemed like a really cool idea and I don’t think that there’s been too many singles that have came out with voicemails at the start.”
Having written over eighty songs for White Deer Park, the foursome faced the difficult challenge of ridding the other sixty-six songs and finding the final fourteen before the release of their second album. With that in mind, the band decided to sit down and listen to each song individually. Coming to the point, that if one member saw a flaw in the track, they would wipe it away completely.
“Basically we made up to eighty songs in the writing process and we were really struggling to cull them down as you can imagine. But it got to the point where if we were playing through them and one out of four of us weren’t into it, it was culled completely. So it was pretty brutal towards the end and there were still a lot of great songs that got culled and we also wanted it to be cohesive and have a nice flowing sense to it as well. So there were some songs on there, which perhaps in another time would have made it on. But because of the sound and cohesion of the record, they didn’t end up making it.”
Among this culling regime, the band found it easy to share an unanimous opinion, making the effort of deciding which tracks to get rid of that much easier as Tom explains.
“Generally we share the same vision and I think that’s really important as well. It sort of makes things good, that majority kind of vote, but most of the time we trust each other as well. So that’s another really important part of being a band, trusting each other.”
When compared to the production of their last album, White Deer Park was recorded in the US and locally, in comparison to United In Isolation, which was produced solely in Australia. Shaped in LA, the music capital of the states and in similar fashion as Melbourne, White Deer Park was made with the help of David Trumfio, who’s past works include collaborating with acts such as My Morning Jacket and The Pulsars. Working at Trumfio’s studio to polish off the second album, the band saw the chance to work with Trumfio as an opulent opportunity steering the band to finish off the album with greater effect.
“I think it made a pretty big difference, just being in LA and it being a real music city and having a rich rock atmosphere. Having our producer, Dave from LA and going back to his studio to do the final touches that was a luxury which was amazing. To go back to his studio, called ‘King Size’ in LA was just fantastic and to just have that facility. Tom and Gus ended up going there, while Luke and I finished some parts in Australia and they said it was just an absolute brilliant experience, with just some really awesome options over there for people who just do some whacking instrument parts. I think the record kind of shows it as well and it’s got Dave’s amazing production on there as well. Having him involved in the whole process was a real treat.”
Tom went on to further explain the role David played in the final production of the Album and how it acted accordingly to their posed idea.
“All the songs were written by us and we did a small three-day pre-production, where we just got together in a room with Dave and talk about the sounds that we wanted on each particular song and what we were going to go for and what kind of sound he was thinking of, just so we could share the same vision. But during production, he was heavily involved in engeering as well, alongside some other guys. So we just had a great team around us and Dave was just fantastic, he was really great with us in the studio. I mean he gave us the room to experiment, which we really like to do in a studio setting and also really give his opinion in, like any good producer does.”
Jason Cheung
With two albums in tow, Papa Vs Pretty’s latest release ‘White Deer Park,’ draws back a nostalgic experience, harboring back to an era where indie rock reigned supreme. Although brash and abrasive, moments of the album mirror the early exploits of Radiohead and the grand style of Muse. Building up a steady audience base in Australia, Papa Vs. Pretty has received a surge of reception since the release of White Deer Park.
“I think its generally pretty good. We try to stay away from reading too many reviews or anything like that, just in case you get sucked in. That’s generally the case for all of us. But we’re just really happy to have it out there, we’re just happy to have a record out and continue our touring cycle again.”
Originally a 3-piece band, Luke Liang joined the group in 2012, proving himself to be a prized asset. Luke’s arrival in Papa Vs. Pretty saw the group change their sound dramatically. By carving themselves as a 4-piece band, Papa Vs. Pretty were able to branch out to new musical aspects often restricted upon smaller acts. Taking on the role of guitar, keyboards and back up vocal, Liang’s input allowed a new venture for the group as Tom explained.
“There was a big difference, obviously having another member there was going to be change. But at the same time, Luke has really stepped into his role in Papa just so seamlessly and I think it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done as a band, was to get Luke to join. I mean the writing process was different obviously because we now had four-instruments to write for. Luke was also a multi-instrumentalist, he can sing, he can play the keyboards and the guitar. But that’s the difference there as well, having that option there for us, allowing us to hone in on our own craft a lot more. We all went our way and had some lessons; I went back to have some guitar lessons to make sure everything was still going well. So we just really honed in and that was all because of Luke’s happening.”
Releasing ‘My Life Is Yours’ as their first single off White Deer Park, the reception for the new single was well received for veteran fans of Papa Vs. Pretty. Although like all bands, no matter their history or their induction into the music scene, there will always be new fans that come later into the band’s journey. As Papa Vs. Pretty’s musical style has changed throughout their time as a group, Tom explained to me their sound for those who are unfamiliar.
“It’s a hard one to describe, I mean we have a lot of rock elements and it’s rock in the most broadest sense possible. There some casual stuff in there and that’s through Gus doing some string arranging and playing cello. So it just made sense to use that kind of stuff in the album as well. But it’s definitely rock in the broader sense; there are some real rock songs and then some slower rock songs.”
Releasing ‘Smother’ as their second single, the band decided to take publicity further by inducting the voices of their fans into their latest album. Originally conceived as an idea to use the voicemails of classified ads featured in the yellow pages, the band was denied permission, so instead the band decided to do the next best thing.
“That followed on from an idea we made in the studio when we were recording the album. We had the idea, because originally in the smother demo that we were working on, it had a bunch of different voicemails of the classified ads you find in the yellow pages. So these ones featured the voices of all these different American ladies at the start of the song, which were like, ‘I’m 32 and I’m a 34D, blah, blah, blah, etc.’ So anyway, we didn’t end up getting the rights for them or anything like that. So we were just thinking about it when it came to recording in studio, what we were going to do at the start of the song. So we had an idea where we could set up a hotline that our fans could call in and we would ask them questions like ‘What was the most weirdest dream you’ve ever had?’ And we got a bunch of different voicemails messages and we cut them together and featured them throughout the whole album. The way we released ‘Smother’ was followed on from that, which seemed like a really cool idea and I don’t think that there’s been too many singles that have came out with voicemails at the start.”
Having written over eighty songs for White Deer Park, the foursome faced the difficult challenge of ridding the other sixty-six songs and finding the final fourteen before the release of their second album. With that in mind, the band decided to sit down and listen to each song individually. Coming to the point, that if one member saw a flaw in the track, they would wipe it away completely.
“Basically we made up to eighty songs in the writing process and we were really struggling to cull them down as you can imagine. But it got to the point where if we were playing through them and one out of four of us weren’t into it, it was culled completely. So it was pretty brutal towards the end and there were still a lot of great songs that got culled and we also wanted it to be cohesive and have a nice flowing sense to it as well. So there were some songs on there, which perhaps in another time would have made it on. But because of the sound and cohesion of the record, they didn’t end up making it.”
Among this culling regime, the band found it easy to share an unanimous opinion, making the effort of deciding which tracks to get rid of that much easier as Tom explains.
“Generally we share the same vision and I think that’s really important as well. It sort of makes things good, that majority kind of vote, but most of the time we trust each other as well. So that’s another really important part of being a band, trusting each other.”
When compared to the production of their last album, White Deer Park was recorded in the US and locally, in comparison to United In Isolation, which was produced solely in Australia. Shaped in LA, the music capital of the states and in similar fashion as Melbourne, White Deer Park was made with the help of David Trumfio, who’s past works include collaborating with acts such as My Morning Jacket and The Pulsars. Working at Trumfio’s studio to polish off the second album, the band saw the chance to work with Trumfio as an opulent opportunity steering the band to finish off the album with greater effect.
“I think it made a pretty big difference, just being in LA and it being a real music city and having a rich rock atmosphere. Having our producer, Dave from LA and going back to his studio to do the final touches that was a luxury which was amazing. To go back to his studio, called ‘King Size’ in LA was just fantastic and to just have that facility. Tom and Gus ended up going there, while Luke and I finished some parts in Australia and they said it was just an absolute brilliant experience, with just some really awesome options over there for people who just do some whacking instrument parts. I think the record kind of shows it as well and it’s got Dave’s amazing production on there as well. Having him involved in the whole process was a real treat.”
Tom went on to further explain the role David played in the final production of the Album and how it acted accordingly to their posed idea.
“All the songs were written by us and we did a small three-day pre-production, where we just got together in a room with Dave and talk about the sounds that we wanted on each particular song and what we were going to go for and what kind of sound he was thinking of, just so we could share the same vision. But during production, he was heavily involved in engeering as well, alongside some other guys. So we just had a great team around us and Dave was just fantastic, he was really great with us in the studio. I mean he gave us the room to experiment, which we really like to do in a studio setting and also really give his opinion in, like any good producer does.”
Jason Cheung