“I wrote O Yeah for a bet,” says End of Fashion frontman Justin Burford, of the anthemic first single off the band’s self-titled debut album.
At the time he was playing with another Perth band, The Sleepy Jackson, alongside End of Fashion’s guitarist Rod Aravena. “A friend bet me that I couldn’t write a song at the drop of a hat. Of course I can’t, and I was going to look like an idiot, but my mate was egging me on and I was high on life that day”. He said, “Go on then, write one right here right now. And I did. It’s the only time I’ve written a whole song in one sitting! To shut him up…”
O Yeah is the first single from End Of Fashion’s self titled debut album. With its thumping bass line and stick-in-your-head chorus, it sits between ten equally punchy and unforgettable tunes that make this foursome from Perth, founding members Justin and Rodney, Nick Jonsson on drums and Tom King on bass; one hell of an item to look out for.
End of Fashion spent the start of the year in Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Mississippi recording their first longplayer. “Oxford is a college town. People outside of the studio seemed a bit bemused,” laughs Jonsson, “that a band would come all the way from Australia to this small town they all wanted to get out of. But it was cool. There’s a good feeling there and great music.” After work they saw Model T Ford in Proud Larry’s bar and P Lander Z and King Elementary in a club called Two Sticks.
Aravena reckons if you listen hard you can hear Mississippi on the record, though clearly End of Fashion don’t sing the blues. Producer Dennis Herring, a veteran who’s worked with Elvis Costello and Counting Crows and produced the Modest Mouse record last year, is Mississippi born and bred.
“Some producers can be grumpy old opinionated men, but Dennis is the opposite. He’s a musician’s musician and an artist in his own right,” says Burford. Aravena adds: “In some ways he’s pretty radical in his thoughts because he’s worked with such eminent musicians who are known for certain ways of doing things – Dennis had to be the guy to go in there and shake things up. He made us really think about what we were playing and not get hung up.”
