I Feel Used is the latest high-energy pelter from fuzz-rock legends Lucid Hoops. Here, we learn how the track surfaced, and plenty more.
Ash, Luke, Connor, and Jack are Lucid Hoops: a fully-charged team of Sydney alt-rockers known for their fearless live shows and charisma. Sourcing inspiration from the no-holds-barred pop-rock anthems of the ’90s and ’00s (think Paramore, The White Stripes), Lucid Hoops know how to make a track stick. Their latest, I Feel Used, certainly fills the quota.
While it’s easy to focus on their dirty tones and sticky hooks, we chatted to the band to learn about the bigger picture. From personal songwriting on mental health to the coining of their band name itself, check out our conversation with the four-piece below.
HAPPY: Hey there Ash, Luke, Connor, and Jack! Whereabouts do you find yourselves today?
LUCID HOOPS: We find ourselves in our studio in Stanmore these days. Lots of practice, writing, and recording!
HAPPY: Lucid Hoops: where did this name come from, and how did you guys become a quartet?
LUCID HOOPS: The band formed through our friendships at university, we were all studying the same contemporary music degree at the time and ended up forming through our love of heavy alternative rock and ’90s music. We were searching for a name for a while in our early days but nothing was coming through organically.
We landed on our name at a party we were all at, Ash started talking about how she used to call herself “loosen hoops” when she was younger and our drummer Luke misheard it as “lucid hoops”. We loved the absurdity of it and we ran with that name.
HAPPY: Massive congrats on the release of I Feel Used, tell us a bit about the track!
LUCID HOOPS: The song is about recognising and coming to terms with someone who is leeching off of you but being stuck in that vicious cycle where you still crave approval from them. Being taken advantage of is something that all people face at some point in their lives. It’s this gross, icky feeling that we wanted to turn around and make people think more positively about so that they can recognise the situation and make a change.
Musically the song is so much fun, we have a blast playing it live and the crowd really livens up every time that opening guitar riff kicks off the song. The song started off as an idea by our bassist Jack during the first COVID lockdown in Sydney, he was churning out such awesome ideas during this time but this idea was everybody’s favourite.
The lyrics and melody he had written for the chorus was something different for us, there’s a pop vibe and catchiness to it that we hadn’t explored completely yet as a band. When we finally got to hash out the track in person and as a band again post-lockdown, we all did our thing and put bits of ourselves into the track until we were satisfied with how it sounded.
HAPPY: You mentioned that you’ve held onto the track for quite some time… the track even has little speckles of rehearsal recordings! What was it about the track that made the process so long? Is there a particular part of it that you’re most proud of?
LUCID HOOPS: The first Sydney lockdown absolutely delayed the process, we weren’t allowed to see each other and flesh out the song as a group but I think this worked in our favour as we wouldn’t have the same song that we have today. Another delay to the process was the second lockdown as we were really set on releasing this track when people could listen and dance to the track live so we ended up pushing the release back further into the year.
During the process of recording and mixing all of our songs, we really want to make sure our tracks are polished and meet our standards before we release them, this also gives us more time to experiment! We were talking back and forth with our producer on the idea of adding some sections of our rehearsal. He was super keen to put some of these early recordings we have on to the song which was super fun. We always want to make sure we are putting our best foot forward, so we put a lot of time and care into our songs.
HAPPY: I Feel Used also has a music video set for release!! What was the concept/vision you had in mind?
LUCID HOOPS: The concept we had was a tribute to the ABC youth music show Recovery which aired on ABC from 1996-2000. It was such a great fit because we’re all ’90s kids that love and idolise so many of the artists that were featured on the show, so much of what we do has been inspired by the alternative music of that era. We’re known for the energy in our music and live shows and we feel that we mirror the vibe that Recovery had.
The show was chaotic, intense, and had this incredible fearlessness that no live program in Australia had ever seen before. The presenters and cast weren’t afraid to embarrass themselves or look silly, it was raw and had this real punk and DIY vibe to it which we felt suited us as a band.
HAPPY: What are you hoping your listeners take away from the track?
LUCID HOOPS: Although the themes in I Feel Used are a little dark, we always want our listeners to have fun and feel energised when they listen to our music. The main message of the song is to recognise a crappy situation you might be facing and confront it, even if the first step starts with your own acknowledgement of being used. We try to not leave listeners in darkness and will twist darker themes into positive outcomes to make listeners feel empowered.
HAPPY: What can we expect in the future for Lucid Hoops? When is the music video released/working on anything new?
LUCID HOOPS: The music video for I Feel Used is dropping on December 1st and it’s a must-see video! There’s so much more to come from Lucid Hoops. We have big plans coming into next year, we have a backlog of songs that we want to record and we are absolutely pumped to play as many live shows as we possibly can. With the Australian music scene (hopefully) regenerating and coming back to life we want to be amongst it all.
HAPPY: Thanks guys!
LUCID HOOPS: Thank YOU!
Listen to I Feel Used by Lucid Hoops below:
Interview by Jasmine Kassis
