The Brag

Hunting Grounds
In For The Kill
By James Nicoli

It may have been a long and occasionally arduous journey but Hunting Grounds have come out the other side intact, and with their debut album In Hindsight in tow. From winning triple j Unearthed High in 2009 to changing their name from Howl in 2011, to criss-crossing the country on a string of high profile support slots, the boys from Ballarat have, after much delay and frustration, finally unleashed their record onto the world. When I chat to guitarist and vocalist Michael Belsar just days before In Hindsight’s official release, there’s a clear sense of relief in his voice. “It was really a huge relief when we finally finished [the album], because we spent so long on it. It got to a point where I thought that we were never going to put it out,” he admits. “But it’s going to be interesting to see where it takes us. I think that’s the thing we’re most excited about.”

For such a young band, the weight of expectation must have surely started to take its toll, with the album’s release date continually pushed back. Yet Hunting Grounds came out the other side all the better for it and when they did finally enter the studio with producer Paul ‘Woody’ Annison, the result was a record steeped in maturity that belies their years. “Everyone was really on the same wavelength. It was a really easy recording process which is unusual [for anyone], and it’s really unusual for us,” admits Belsar. “A few of the times before that, when we’ve recorded, it’s been a lot more difficult. [This time] everyone had their own ideas but it was just a really easy process, and we took a lot of Woody’s ideas on board. Everyone just seemed to be on the same page.”

Annison has previously worked with the likes of Children Collide, Black Cab and Young Revelry, and he had a significant impact on the band’s record, taking their initial concepts and turning them into polished songs. Lead single ‘Flaws’ is a prime example of the way they worked together in the studio. “[Annison] always wants to take things to the next level, which is really important,” Belsar says. “Originally, ‘Flaws’ was this really sort of boring rock song – you know, with just guitar and bass and drums. It was really average, but he saw something in the melody, I guess. So he had this idea of making it this real tripped-out pop song, and that’s pretty much the reason it sounds the way it does today.”

With six members and three songwriters, things could have very easily become complicated when it came to the writing of the record. Yet the ability to meld each other’s song ideas and transform them into one distinct sound is one of Hunting Grounds’ strengths. “It’s actually a lot more simple than it seems – it seems like it wouldn’t work on paper,” muses Belsar on the band’s writing formula. “But when I write songs, I’ll just write them and demo the whole thing at my house until I bring it to the band, and each person plays their own part. At that point I guess it becomes a Hunting Grounds song. It just seems to work because everyone has their own unique way of doing things – and I guess it’s those unique parts that make up our band’s sound.” Hunting Grounds are not afraid to share around the vocal duties either, with Belsar, Galen Strachan and frontman Lachlan Morrish all providing vocals on the record. “We didn’t stick to the idea that it had to be two vocalists, and it had to go this way or that way,” explains Belsar. “We sort of wanted it to sound the best; whatever worked best for the album.”

What else worked best for the album? A bit of sneaky marketing. If you’ve been anywhere near Hunting Grounds’ Facebook page recently, you would have no doubt seen that Oprah photo: the talk show queen holding a copy of In Hindsight in her hands. According to Belsar, the band’s photoshopped in-joke had more than a few people fooled, journalists included. “I’ve had interviews today where people have asked me how Oprah got the album,” he laughs. “We put it up on Facebook, and then one of our friends made one with Julian Assange of Wikileaks, and we put that up too – and then fans starting making them and sending them in.  So if you go onto Facebook there’s like twenty different random pictures.”

With the release of In Hindsight, Hunting Grounds are now busily preparing for their first headlining tour, and a chance to finally perform the new tracks to their growing audience. “It’s going to be amazing,” Belsar enthuses. “It’s going to be really exciting and new for us to headline our own shows Australia-wide. It’ll be really interesting to see how it all works out. It’s going to be fun being a headline band too, because we’ve done so many supports over the last two years; it’ll be nice to be the band that people are coming to see.”

What: In Hindsight is out now through MGM
Where: GoodGod Small Club
When: Friday August 10