NEW GODS
After apologies for his tardiness due to rehearsals, the announcement comes down the muffled telephone line:
“I’m gonna make a cup of tea.”
A statement not out of place from a grandmother, Dominic Byrne, the leader of Melbourne band New Gods has anything but old-fashioned ideas for his latest creation. The ex-Little Red member and his companions have unleashed their debut album Beloved, accompanied by a stunning album of photography.
“Realistically, I’ve got a bunch of CDs in my house and they just take up space!” exclaims Byrne.
“I remember when you would buy a CD and you would open it up and there would be some fucking awesome booklets. You would put the CD on for the first time and, I suppose because you’re a teenager and there’s just infinite amounts of time, you would do nothing but listen and flick through the booklet. So I was kind of making up for that not existing with this release. I had to make up for the fact that there was no tangible thing.”
It’s the stark honesty on the record itself that will appeal to any true music lover. With a vibe so raw and open, Beloved is a beautiful entity born out of Byrne’s passion for music and his ability to have control over his creative process.
“The last Little Red record suffered because the urge to have something be so perfect can really mess with it,” he explains.
“It was definitely the intention for this album to sound raw. I feel that I wanted it to be a bit broken and not polished.”
Translating this unpolished energy into a live setting is also a subject Byrne ponders.
“I’m curious to know how people will respond. So many bands try to structure a set to impress people with,” he says.
“But say you go see Bruce Springsteen; you’re there because you fucking love it. He’s there to get his release. It has to be a mutual connection because music is the window into our hearts. When you hear something beautiful and you understand that it’s another mind that has created that, you empathise with each other.
“It seems like the only way that is sustainable for me, is to live my life, regularly play music and let it come out. I don’t question any songs that I write now and it’s a joy when I am actually doing it.” (CD)
Dec 13, Goodgod Small Club, 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney, $12, goodgodgoodgod.com
Beloved out now via belovedalbum.com
