Something about Psychedelic Porn Crumpets tour and Night Gnomes just feel like a perfect match
NORTH AMERICA 2022 TOUR
26TH APR - DEEP ELLUM ART CO, DALLAS, TX TICKETS
27TH APR - THE PARISH, AUSTIN, TX TICKETS
29TH APR - SHAKY KNEES FESTIVAL, ATLANTA, GA TICKETS
30TH APR - EXIT/IN, NASHVILLE, TN TICKETS
1ST MAY - A&R BAR, COLUMBUS, OH TICKETS
3RD MAY - UNION STAGE, WASHINGTON, DC TICKETS
4TH MAY - THE SINCLAIR, BOSTON, MA TICKETS
5TH MAY - UNDERGROUND ARTS, PHILADELPHIA, PA TICKETS
6TH MAY - LE POISSON ROUGE, NEW YORK, NY TICKETS
7TH MAY - BAR LE RITZ, MONTRÉAL, PQ TICKETS
9TH MAY - AXIS CLUB, TORONTO, ON TICKETS
10TH MAY - EL CLUB, DETROIT, MI TICKETS
13TH MAY - EMPTY BOTTLE, CHICAGO, IL TICKETS (SOLD OUT)
14TH MAY - 7TH STREET ENTRY, MINNEAPOLIS, MN TICKETS
16TH MAY - GLOBE HALL, DENVER, CO TICKETS
17TH MAY - GLOBE HALL, DENVER, CO TICKETS
18TH MAY - URBAN LODGE, SALT LAKE CITY, UT TICKETS
20TH MAY - THE CROCODILE, SEATTLE, WA TICKETS
21ST MAY - BILTMORE CABARET, VANCOUVER, BC TICKETS
22ND MAY - STAR THEATRE, PORTLAND, OR TICKETS
25TH MAY -THE INDEPENDENT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA TICKETS
26TH MAY - EL REY THEATRE, LOS ANGELES, CA TICKETS
27TH MAY - THE CASBAH, SAN DIEGO, CA TICKETS
**ALL NON FESTIVAL DATES ARE WITH SUPPORT FROM ACID DAD
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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are staying true to form as one of the most prolific bands out there today, with the announcement they will be releasing their 5th studio album Night Gnomes on Marathon Artists April 22nd.
“A lot of the album is about trying to work out what the F#@! is going on, in general life and obviously the period of time we've all found ourselves dormant in for the past two years. I started reading a few quotes from philosophers because, hey! They might know what's going on, but mostly it was a bunch of cleverly worded gibberish that was drenched in self turmoil that thankfully, serendipitously, unbeknownst to me was the thing I found comfort in. That nobody has a clue what life is and we're all winging it as we go! Cheers, William of Ockham.”
JACK McEWAN, PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS
Today they are back with another addictive, thrilling double track release to tease the divinely warped and curious sonic mind of songwriter Jack McEwan, in the form of ‘Bubblegum Infinity’ and ‘Dread & Butter.’ The songs show their depth and sonic range and serve as a timely reminder of the ease of which Psychedelic Porn Crumpets can weave many distinctive creative sounds in making something definitively their own.
Just as we saw with the band’s 2021 single ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’, lead single ‘Bubblegum Infinity’ comes layered with rich guitars and a decidedly more rock feel. However, ‘Bubblegum Infinity’ stands apart with its careening melodies and hypnotic vocals; almost as if King Gizzard & The Lizard met up with Thee Oh Sees for a session. You’d think the fusion of these vibes wouldn’t necessarily work - Psychedelic Porn Crumpets prove that it can. For the song the band waded through nearly 50 different variations of the track before a Eureka moment during a rehearsal jam session revealed its final structure. The song itself wound up as a commentary on the often rudderless nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and “taking comfort in the fact that nobody had a clue what was going on,” according to McEwan. “The song used to open with a huge riff that was sidechained to the kick drum so it sounded like it was thumping, but then that's how every Crumpets song starts. I swapped the heavy guitars for acoustics, which made it feel way stronger, both dynamically and sonically. It felt like we'd uncovered the clutter which guides the song to build into that chorus and not give anything away beforehand.”
The release of ‘Bubblegum Infinity’ and ‘Dread & Butter and Night Gnomes in April comes as Psychedelic Porn Crumpets finally make their return to stages around the world. February sees the group embark on their Australian run supporting Ocean Alley, before heading to the US this spring.
Night Gnomes
Within 11 seconds of clicking “play” on “Lava Lamp Pisco” it’s instantly apparent why Night Gnomes, the latest album from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets might be their greatest offering yet.
The track is a riffy monster that delivers a much-welcome Black Sabbath-style slap to the head. It’s big, shiny, sleek and irresistible. It’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets giving their best and Jack McEwan the band’s fearless leader has the battle scars from the four-second harmonica solo to prove it.
“I hadn’t blown the harmonica in five years. It was just sitting on my desk,” he recalls. “The first thing I did was suck in all this dust, and I couldn’t talk for like a day. Afterwards, the rest of the band was like, ‘You have to scrap that. It’s so cheesy.’ Anyone under 30 hates it, but it has the dad-rock vibe, so I kept it in.”
That devil-may-care spirit is present on each and every song on Night Gnomes. With guitarist Luke Parish, drummer Danny Caddy, bassist Wayon Billondana and multi-instrumentalist Chris Young by his side, McEwan bunkered down in his home studio, creating a sonic pastiche that almost sounds like turning the dial on a temperamental old radio every few minutes.
“A lot of these songs are structured from the beginning, but then we add another part towards the end to really keep it interesting, even if it’s just for ourselves,” he says of the project, which was recorded at McEwan’s home studio in and around Perth. “Like on Fleet Foxes’ “Helplessness Blues,” every song has an ending that is completely different than the first part. That was the idea here.
Hence, distorted synths giving way to and then enveloping the lighter-waving riffage on opener “Terminus, The Creator,” a magnificent string section suddenly appearing on the nostalgic acoustic folk ditty “Dread and Butter” and a dizzying array of sounds linking arms on the title track, which imagines the proverbial creatures frolicking around a campfire in some far-off, mystical forest. “It feels jolly, but it’s also kind of terrifying and disturbing. My girlfriend told me she couldn’t listen to that song,” McEwan says of “Night Gnomes,” adding, “I’ve always liked how some Beatles songs just come out of nowhere, like “Mean Mr. Mustard.” This is our own little jingle that doesn’t fit with anything else on the record.”
McEwan is particularly proud of the dreamy “Sherbert Straws,” which he says “actually has some dynamics in it rather than having nine elements in the same spectrum as my vocals that I’m trying to constantly mix in and out of the track.” The song descends from the proud lineage of Australasian rock acts such as Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra to whom McEwan professes devotion. “When we formed back in 2015, we marveled at how these awesome bands from around here could self-release music on vinyl and create their own stories. There wasn’t any waiting for labels to come knocking. It was all DIY and we loved that concept. We’re still holding right onto those coattails and we’re getting dragged as far as we can,” he jokes.
For all of its varied vibes, the album never skimps on massive rockers sure to delight Psychedelic Porn Crumpets fans across the world in 2022. “Acid Dent” thrashes with abandon, but actually offers a slight concession to advancing age. “When we were younger, we were carefree and living tall, “McEwan says. “You get home with a handful of stuff in your pocket from whatever festival and just munch all of it, until you wake up in the morning so scattered. If we kept carrying on this way, we’d wind up in mental institutions by 35. So this is a nice little story about slowing down a bit.”
“Bob Holiday” pays homage to classic riffs McEwan remembers from his youth, like Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” “We’ve been trying to emulate that sound forever,” says McEwan, who also played in a Rage Against The Machine cover band when he was younger. “I also thought ‘Bob Holiday’ was a really strong name — like, if you were called that, you’d be able to do anything.”
The album comes full circle with the one-two closing punch of the instrumental “In Dreams, Out” and “Slinky/ Holy Water,” touching again on the thumping drums, acoustic guitar flourishes, washes of sound and strange noises introduced on the opening track. With the pandemic having provided McEwan the chance to “get my life together and get healthy,” not to mention move 200 meters from his favorite pub, he and his bandmates will soon be onto their next musical adventure. But exploring the undiscovered territory of Night Gnomes has already made a major impact on its creators.
“I have no idea what I’m doing half the time,” McEwan says. “It’s like, plug in, record. Why does this sound like shit but this other thing works? I needed five albums to get to this point of revealing some golden nuggets of information about dynamics, production and exploring new sounds. Everyone finds fault in their own work, but that’s probably what makes us want to keep creating.
