Beaches

Tue 6th Oct, 2009 in Features

It’s been a busy two years for Melbourne quintet Beaches. What started as jamming with friends after a few beers has led these ladies away from the suburbs and into the ears of many. With support slots with Mogwai and Nick Cave’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, it doesn’t seem things are likely to slow down any time soon.

A band never to do things minimally, the ladies also hail from other notable Australian bands such as Love of Diagrams, Panel of Judges, Spider Vomit, and more recently for bassist and vocalist Gil Tucker, Dirtbag. The Beaches résumé also brags a photography teacher, a graphic designer, international student relations worker, a Masters in painting and a qualified jeweller.

“We didn’t really think we’d have as much success as we have,” concedes Tucker. “It just came from a bunch of us hanging out one night and the girls decided to play one of the guys shouted, – œWhat are you going to be called? Bitches?’ and I said – œNo! Beaches!” We were kind of just born from that. We’d all been friends for a long time before then anyway, playing in different bands and partying after shows and just we became friends that way.”

When the friends, hailing from all different cities of Australia, things moved rapidly. The first nine months was dedicated solely to writing material. While Gil says there was no clear goal, the outcome has been somewhat triumphant, with their self-titled debut being lauded by all who cross their path.

“We got to a point where we had 12 or 13 songs and decided to lay them down and put the record out there. It wasn’t because we felt we had to do it or it was time to, but it’s harder to write new songs if you’re still stuck on the same ones, so at least if we did that we could start to move forward with other stuff.”

With plans of an EP and another full length over the next 18 months set to be bigger and busier for Beaches. “We’re also trying to organise a tour throughout the US for next year which will be really great,” Tucker says.

The sprawling jams, hypnotic landscape and sporadic vocals are painted by Beaches in the most sonically delectable way. “Honestly, the vocals are missing on a lot of the songs because half the time we’re jamming so loud we can’t hear the vocals. Then we can never find the mic or the PA won’t work,” laughs Tucker. “I don’t think it needs it all the time anyway, it’s pretty sonically full. We’ve never tried and never wanted to try to go about it a certain way or have a distinct sound.

“It’s an unconscious collaboration and I want to keep it that way because once you start thinking about it and thinking about genre it changes things a lot. When you’re writing music you don’t think about genres; its people that write about music that think about it. So, just say we’re every genre!”

Beaches play Beck’s Rumpus Room at Forum Theatre on Saturday 17 October, as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival.