Sydney five piece hardcore act Endless Heights are giving the music scene some buzz as they continue to blow away audiences across the country as well as internationally, having toured with the likes of Hellions, Turnover, Luca Brasi and Taking Back Sunday. The band are set to release their latest album “Vicious Pleasure” on February 16th which is described as being their most personal and daring effort yet so we caught up with guitarist Jem Siow just before their just recently completed acoustic tour with Hands Like Houses to talk about the new album and more.
Andrew: How’s things with you and the band?
Jem: Been really good man, really busy actually! We’re driving out to Melbourne tonight to start off our acoustic tour with Hands Like Houses and that’s going to be our first time really performing live acoustic which is something different but we’re keen for it.
Andrew: Yeah and acoustic is a whole different ball game I guess, you kind of have to be on the ball so to speak as it’s technically a little bit more involved I guess?
Jem: Well we’ve done acoustic stuff before in the past and we’re kind of lucky in that our songs can kind of translate that way. We’ve done acoustic stuff in the past for video things but we’ve never actually performed for a crowd specifically and this time we’re doing a full band acoustic. We’re playing with amps and stuff like that but it’s going to be a stripped down version so more than anything it’s just rearranging some of the songs to fit this environment. So it’s not something that’s hard or anything, it’s a bit different but at the same time it’s fun man.
Andrew: Sure and what sparked the idea to do that?
Jem: We got asked by hands Like Houses to do this tour, so we’re always keen to try new things. We’re not the kind of band that’s pigeonholed ourselves into one mould, we’re always trying new experiences and bring new elements into our field. So the acoustic thing for us is just a great opportunity to try something different and kind of show what we can do in that realm, so we were keen to do it when we got asked.
Andrew: Sounds like a fun one to do then! And obviously you have the new album coming out next month, “Vicious Please”. Tell me a little about the recording for this one and what were some of the things you wanted to achieve with it?
Jem: Well we went into “Vicious Please” pretty much knowing that to give it 100 percent and not only make the best record we could possibly make but also have the best and most varied experience that we had. We didn’t want to go into the studio doing the same record and having the same experience, we didn’t even want to track it the same way. We didn’t want to work with the same people, not because we had any bad experiences in the past at all but just because for us as a band we wanted to get more out of committing to another album in every way possible. So we tracked the record for two weeks at Jungle Studios with a producer called Lachlan Mitchell who has worked with bands like The Vines and did all of Jezabels records and Something With Numbers, The Amenta I think? A lot of big Australian pop rock and even some metal bands as well.
Andre: So quite varied and a lot of different mixes in there.
Jem: Yeah but he’s most well known because he did all the Jezabels albums, he’s a bit of a pop type of producer and that was our first time working with a producer. Especially for a band that typically comes from a hardcore background, it was different for us as I said because we wanted to try something different. So we spent two weeks with him and we did about six weeks of pre-production with him as well and it was a very different experience for us because we tracked the record live with all of us at the same time and we had someone who was completely outside of our circle coming in with the experience that he had to help us kind of shape this record. For us we just had the intentions of doing something different and trusting someone else with our creative vision and I think that really came through because as hard as it was to let go musically and follow someone else’s guidance, he really helped bring out a lot of songwriting elements and a lot of creative vision that I didn’t know we actually had. There were things that, especially coming from a hardcore background, we thought weren’t possible for us to do in terms of songwriting but we just went with it and I’m really happy with the product. I think it’s the strongest we’ve had to date and also the most honest because we’ve really been able to delve into ideas and elements that as I said, we didn’t think we could bring out in this band. So that was part of the “Vicious Pleasure” experience and I’m very keen for everyone to hear it.
Andrew: I’ve been lucky enough to have a preview of the album and it’s quite a varied album, there’s a lot of melodies and there’s even some dark moments in there like the song “Toxic” which jumped at me straight away which is a dark, atmospheric kind of song. Do you have any favorites on there that has jumped out at you after the album was finished?
Jem: There’s definitely a few favorites and it’s great to hear that you picked up on the dark element. I think the record is definitely a reflection of us coming into a new stage of life as people, every Endless Heights record I think has changed and that’s not a conscious decision by us to purposely make it sound different for whatever reason, it’s more of a reflection of where we are at in life as people. Endless Heights started when we were jamming with the 5 of us when I was 15 years old and I just turned 25 so the five of us have been playing music for 10 years. Just as much as we’ve changed as people, I think that’s come out in the music as well. Joel [Martorana] has said a lot in the past that he used to go for more of a positive and uplifting outlook in the music and I think this time it’s more of an honest and realistic perspective of our life experiences so far and I think that came across in the music as well. In terms of stand outs I think my favorite would probably be “Run” and “You Coward”. We listen to all types of music, heavy music, pop, indie rock, everything and I think because of that we wanted to bring a lot of those elements into the record as well. We didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves so that’s where a lot of the varied elements across the record come from.
Andrew: Yeah that varied mix keeps the listener engaged and makes for a more interesting listen I think, certainly from my end anyway. One of the interesting things about this album is the album cover, I’m no expert on art or anything but it looks very abstract to me. How does the album cover tie into the songs and where did that idea come from?
Jem: We chose to go with an artist that we had found from Denmark, her name is Tina Maria Elena. She’s a water colour artist and she’s actually an erotic artist, she does a lot of erotic water colour paintings. We didn’t want something erotic for our record but she was able to capture a lot of deep emotion in a way that really resonated with the concept of our record. “Vicious Pleasure” is an honest record about realizing your own faults and taking onus of your own flaws and also recognizing what you inherently want in life and the artwork is a big focus on that I guess in terms of relationships. So even though it looks a bit abstract, it’s actually two people kissing.
Andrew: Yeah that’s what I see as well but I wasn’t sure if it’s like how some paintings have a double meaning or has another way of looking at it or something. Is it pretty direct then or do you like to have it open to interpretation?
Jem: Definitely open to interpretation. It’s a personal record, it comes from everything that Joel has written and it’s the most bold and personal he’s ever been. We’re taking a big leap out here by putting everything on the line, we have not held back at all with this record. Conceptually, lyrically, musically and I think the artwork kind of resonates with the effect that it has but as personal as it is, we’ve created this for people to take what they want from the record and see how they see it. We don’t want to give any direct meaning to the artwork or the lyrics, it has obviously a personal meaning to Joel but people come to us with all of our records and have their own ties to the songs which are very different to what Joel had ever intended with some of these songs. For example “Teach You How To Leave”, that’s a song from two records ago that’s about a break up in his family which is obviously personal but we’ve had people over the years tell us that it helped them get through their own relationships or help them get through their own relationships with themselves, not even with other people. That’s the beauty of what we’re doing here, we like to leave it open so it’s definitely open to interpretation.
Andrew: Yeah very cool and the album cover is very eye catching so it’s draws people to it straight away which hopefully makes people check out the music as well. So after this tour what have you got planned past that for the rest of the year?
Jem: So we do the Hands Like Houses tour for the week and then we just announced a European tour in support of a band called Casey who are from the UK and that’s in April and is also with another band from Canada called Rarities. Then we come back to Australia and we’ll definitely tour “Vicious Pleasure” when we get back which will all be announced soon.
Andrew: I know you were in Perth last year around October/November I believe so how was that show for you?
Jem: Perth is literally our favorite city in Australia outside of Sydney. We love going around all the time but one place we always feel at home other than being at Sydney is definitely Perth. That show was by far the best show that we’ve ever played in Perth as well, it was amazing! Earlier last year we did a tour with Taking Back Sunday and those were massive rooms but the Perth show was actually our last show and the day before that show we were lucky enough to take in a secret house show. So we booked the secret house show and announced it the night before and it was insane, there were people jumping off the staircase and it was so over capacity and was just mental. So we’re so keen to go back and just do a proper show as well as for ourselves, so to be able to go back half a year later and do the show at Amplifier was incredible.
Andrew: We’re looking forward to having you back again! Congratulations on the new album and good luck on the tour overseas and hopefully we will see you sometime this year. Thanks for your time, really appreciate it.
Jem: Andrew, thank you so much. I appreciate your call!
