Sydney rock ‘n’ roll crew The Knowgoods have recently gifted us their latest single Bitch on a silver platter, and it’s not too hard to guess at the subject matter. Start with the title and work down from there.
As the band are happy to share, it’s setting the tone for their upcoming debut album due to be released in August this year. Ahead of that record landing in our laps, we caught up with The Knowgoods for the latest.
With a debut album in the works and a ton of shows in the pipeline, it’s never been a better time to jump on board with The Knowgoods.
HAPPY: How are you going? What have you been up to lately?
THE KNOWGOODS: We’ve completed our debut LP and will release it in August. We successfully crowdfunded a run of the album on vinyl which is getting us excited for the release. We released the first single Bitch with an accompanying video.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a little about the track?
THE KNOWGOODS: Bitch started out as a gospel bluegrass inspired track, which is a great basis for a song about heartbreak. There’s a live video of Marlon Williams playing a cover of Your Selfish Heart with Aldous Harding singing backing vocals (pre the breakup that inspired Make Way For Love), and at one point she gazes lovingly at him as he sings the verse. Bitch was born out of the sound of that song and the antithesis of that look.
HAPPY: Where did the video concept come from?
THE KNOWGOODS: Last year we went on tour with East Coast Swag. They brought a videographer on the road with them, A-TEN from Goon Troop Productions. A-TEN approached us with the concept for the video and we loved it so we asked him to direct it. We wrangled up as many of our talented friends as we could and knocked out the shoot in one day. It was a real struggle to leave so much of it on the cutting room floor because everyone who worked on it brought their A-game.
HAPPY: You guys don’t beat around the bush. How important is honesty in your song writing?
THE KNOWGOODS: We’re just trying to trim the fat from our own work. This could have been a song (and album) steeped in metaphor with some vague connecting thread running through, but fuck that, just give me the plain old facts without the accoutrements. No point wearing a suit to a slaughterhouse.
HAPPY: I can imagine your tunes are an experience live. What can we expect?
THE KNOWGOODS: Our live show is a party. Uncle Duke is cooking the snags, Dad has fallen over into the lick bag and is keeping us entertained on the guitar, Bec is singing sweet harmonies in the lounge room. We consider ourselves a family band so we want people to have a boogie, jump on a mic and have a sing. At the end of the night we should all know each other a little better.
HAPPY: How much consideration is the live element in when writing songs?
THE KNOWGOODS: We’ve definitely had discussions when we feel we need a new song to open the set, or to fill a particular moment in the live show, but ultimately songs turn up in the room and if they’re good, they get played. There are some deep cuts on the album that haven’t had a run live yet.
HAPPY: Are you eager to get the debut album out?
THE KNOWGOODS: We’re chomping at the bit to release this album. We started recording in early 2017 so it’s exciting to see the finished product. The record has become special for us because marks a time when we came together to produce an album that said all the things we wanted to say as a family.
HAPPY: Do you think Bitch is a good representation of the record as a whole? Or is there a lot more to be heard?
THE KNOWGOODS: I think the dynamic shift in Bitch reflects the album as a whole. It’s a rock ’n’ roll record that wears its heart on its sleeve. Also, nearly all the tracks have an outro guitar solo so that’s well represented here.
HAPPY: Any other exciting things in the works?
THE KNOWGOODS: We have a few shows coming up in the next month. We’re supporting The Dardi Shades for the launch of their EP Playing in the Dirt at the Lady Hampshire on 14 July.
We’re also playing the Indie Punk Rock night at Valve Bar on Friday 13 July (spooky!) with Rojo Rumble.
We have a video in the works for Styrofoam Bones which will be released with the album on 4 August at Frankie’s Pizza.
