Letting The Mongrel Out To Play With THE REVEREND From WEST THEBARTON

Interview by Kris Peters
From humble beginnings in Adelaide, party rock outfit West
Thebarton have spread their metaphorical wings far and wide,
drawing all who listen deeper into their intricate musical web of
enjoyment.
Since announcing themselves on the scene with their 2015 debut EP
West Thebarton Brothel Party, which catapulted them into the
earholes of fans and industry professionals alike, West Thebarton
have continued to grow at their own pace and volition.
The years between West Thebarton Brothel Party and their 2018 debut
studio album, Different Beings Being Different, saw a marked
evolution within the band. Line-up and name changes brought the
group into a new era, one that West Thebarton have continued to
flourish within since.
Which brings us to 2024. West Thebarton have experienced the full
plethora of trials and tribulations life can throw at you over the
last five years with personal life changes: parenthood, love, loss,
moves interstate and moves overseas all having the potential to
derail this rock train short of their second stop.
But fear not, for Adelaide's favourite sons have returned with
their second album Mongrel Australia, which finds the band at the
crest of a particularly high creative peak; focussing on what lay
ahead instead of dwelling in the past.
Vocalist/guitarist The Reverend joined HEAVY to bring us up to
speed.
"We've just got a new record out called Mongrel Australia," he
began. "It came out a couple of weeks ago, but we're heading out on
the road, ready to take on all the East Coast cities."
We ask how Mongrel Australia was received after a lengthy break
between albums.
"Number one, it's been awesome just to be out there, to be honest,"
he replied. "We've been sitting on these songs and playing them
live for a couple of years now with everything that's been going
on. So just having it out there in the world has been a huge sigh
of relief for us. We were super anxious putting them out there and
seeing how they would be received, but so many people have been
telling us how awesome it is to have a new record out there that
they can listen from end to end. Also, there's been a bit of a
change of tone on some of the songs on this record. We were in a
bit of a different place on the second record compared to the first
record, and so some of the content and themes are a little bit
different. We've had a bunch of people reach out to say this is
awesome to hear some of the slower songs. We've got a song called
Slow on there which is very stripped back - it's not very chainsaw
to the throat West Thebarton like (laughs)- but people are really
loving it, which is awesome to hear. That's one of the things you
always worry about as a musician is are your fans going to enjoy
the stuff you put out."
In the full interview, The Reverend discusses the process of going
into an album and internal talks about the possible direction,
Mongrel Australia from a musical perspective, which three songs he
would advise people listen to from the album to best get to know
the band, how it differs musically to their debut album Different
Beings Being Different, what has changed in the band between
albums, the early days of the band, their upcoming tour, what to
expect from West Thebarton live and more.


Become a supporter of this podcast:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.