On Friday April 27th The Rollercanes release their much-awaited debut record Less The Love Between Us. We were lucky enough to get a cheeky listen in, and it hit close to home. The band have captured the livelihood of a twenty-something Australian to an absolute tee, and produced some stellar garage punk to boot.
Just in case you needed another warmup (you do, this shit runs hot), we asked frontman Dan to go deep on every track from the record. If you’re planning to spin Less The Love Between Us first thing tomorrow, consider this essential reading.
Ready to take Less The Love Between Us for a spin? Dan from The Rollercanes takes us through their debut LP, one track at a time.
Chinatown
I wrote Chinatown within about a week of us deciding that we were going to make an album. I remember being inspired to write this song after I had been introduced to someone that I instantly connected with. After about five minutes of good conversation and what I thought could be a cute ‘how we met’ story, she introduced me to her boyfriend. How else do you open your debut album if not with a stupid-fuzzy little love song written about a girl you met at a party that you never saw again?
I guess this song is about deciding whether it’s worth pursuing something that could ultimately be over as quick as it started. I don’t remember actually writing the song, but I woke up one morning and there was a demo of it on my phone and scribbled lyrics in my book. I tried to capture that original demo sound in the production of the track.
I Thought We’d Feel Alright
We wrote this one in about ten minutes. It’s one of those songs that just happened because we were having fun jamming. I remember coming up with the opening riff just before heading to a rehearsal, and I showed Josh and Ryan pretty much as soon as we got there. I just started yelling random lyrics over the top of everything (which became the actual lyrics), and within no time we had a song.
For me the song is about trying to ease tension with someone by having a night on the town and getting drunk with them. It’s kind of like trying to make things exciting and fun again with them, but realising half way through that it’s not going to work. Uplifting, right?
Normal Type
This is definitely the oldest song on this album. I remember we were so excited when we wrote this that we opened a show at Ding Dong Lounge with it the next week, and it wasn’t even close to gig-ready. It’s probably the worst feeling for a musician when you realise twenty seconds into a new song that it isn’t going down well. It’s arguably worse than having your banter bomb in between songs. We’re better at it now though.
Sonically, this track is a little nod to our idols. The bridge in Normal Type is one of my favourite moments from this album. I’d had a few beers and decided that there needed to be backing vocals in this song and I just went to town on it. I’d been listening to The Beach Boys a lot during that time. Thanks, Brian.
FOMO
This is our ‘modern romance’ song. I wrote this song after learning how to roll darts to impress someone. I don’t really know what I was thinking, maybe she’d find it romantic? Anyway, after it didn’t work, I was left with a love song that didn’t make much sense. I changed the lyrics so it was less ‘lovey’ and more about what happened, before taking it to the band.
It’s still one of my favourite songs that I’ve written. I love the story behind it and everything that followed, but also just the way it feels to play it. When it all finally came together with the drums, it was an amazing feeling. It was also probably the easiest day in the studio. Everything just worked, which was surprising cause Josh was running on about three hours sleep and still nailed his part. Great job, Josh.
I Know You’re Lonely
This is another one of those songs that just happened. I wrote most of the music and the chorus before heading to a rehearsal, and in no time we had a new song. I wrote this one after reaching out to a friend who had some shitty stuff happen to her. It’s a song that tries its heart out to be uplifting, but kind of trips over itself. It’s kind of about trying to make someone feel better by being more relatable, but accidentally making the conversation all about you.
We were so happy with this song that we took it into the studio with our boy Caz about three weeks after writing it. We nearly gave up on it because we just couldn’t get the right feel on the day, but out of nowhere we got the winning take. There were plenty of hugs and high tens.
Morning Show
This one is a bit of a political/serious one. Written after a certain incident on a morning television show. It’s a song about how some shows try to pit people against each other for the sake of a story.
I always love playing this one live, it’s a chance in the set for me to catch my breath and sing rather than yell. Ryan and Josh’s parts absolutely carry this song. The bassline in the outro is a highlight of the album for me. Nice one, Ryan.
Headcase
Headcase is hands-down my favourite song on the album. It was one of the last songs written for the album and we definitely let our classic influences creep in on this one. It’s probably our loudest song. Our mate Brad let us record this upstairs at his parents’ house, and we are so grateful they didn’t kick us out – thanks Brad’s Mum and Dad!
My favourite part of this album is the uncomfortable droning guitar bit in this song. I wrote this song during what felt like a never-ending period of unemployment. It’s about convincing yourself that you’ve got redeeming qualities and that you’ve got something good going on. Shout out to our mate Justin who was creating weird sounds with the guitar pedals whilst we were tracking this one.
None Of Us
Another oldie, but in my eyes, still a goldie. This song is dedicated to a certain dickhead that we used to have to put up with when playing shows. I was so sick of this person that I wrote None Of Us. When we were having trouble recording I Know You’re Lonely, we decided to take a break from it and record this one.
We channelled all our frustration into None of Us and got it pretty much straight away.
Every Day’s A Good Day
This was the last song we wrote and recorded for the album. For me this is the song that ties the album together. I wrote this one within a week of writing Headcase. Every Day’s A Good Day shares a similar theme with it, but with the added bonus of trying to understand why someone moved on from you.
I had one reasonably small encounter that set me off thinking about other times this kind of thing has happened to me and people I know. It felt good being able to write about it and mash all the experiences into one. I couldn’t be happier with how all the parts came together. I also couldn’t be happier that I get to sing the lyrics “I talk a lot of shit”.
Good Talk
So here we are! The closing song of our debut album! The song that’s meant to sum up the whole album and leave everyone wanting a little bit more! Jeez. That’s a lot of pressure. This song ends the album kind of where it starts. It’s a song about meeting someone but not being sure if it’s worth the hassle.
I think it’s about looking at yourself honestly and going ‘I’m not ready to be someone else’s problem yet’ – just stepping off on your own and hoping for the best. It’s kind of like liberating yourself from needing anyone for a while.
Less The Love Between Us is out Friday April 27th. Catch The Rollercanes launching their debut LP at The Gasomoter on May 12 – details here.
