Lachlan Denton is in a bit of a daze. Having just returned from the US the day before we speak, and already gearing up for The Ocean Party’s next run of gigs, it’s little surprise that he’s still reeling from the adventure.
The band was invited to perform at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, along with 1,300 other acts at one of the world’s biggest showcases of new music. Over 100,000 people weaved their way throughout the conference, and while Denton was simply happy to be performing, the format left something to be desired.
“America is a strange place,” he says. “Cool, but strange. CMJ was what you’d expect, just a music conference, so it was not really what we’re used to playing. It’s all really organised. You get there, you go on, you go off. It was a bit unnatural. I mean, it was fun to be in New York to play those shows, but wasn’t how I’d normally be playing them. We played some shows where we were in-store, and there were maybe five people there, and then other shows in LA that were totally packed. It’s kind of the same in the US as it is here, you just can’t really know what to expect. “I found it’s a very corporate place, which is a little depressing. But I’ve only just got back, so I can’t really comprehend anything yet. The last two weeks have kind of been a bit of a blur.”
Now based in Melbourne, The Ocean Party’s roots stretch back to their upbringing in Wagga, gradually learning to play music with an eye on a future when they would all be able to start a band and take over the world. When The Ocean Party did finally form, though, Denton insists that the process was spontaneous and natural; their individual paths simply happened to intersect at the same place. The group’s blend of guitar pop is now gaining attention across the country, and while the press release for new album Soft Focus celebrates “distinctly Australian sounds”, Denton doesn’t find anything especially patriotic about the music.
“I wouldn’t say that we have a particularly ‘Australian’ sound, other than the fact that like a lot of other Australian bands we don’t tend to shy away from being straight up with our lyrics. I guess there’s still a cultural cringe about being Australian, but really all our songs are just about where we are, what we’re doing. Though we don’t put on a fucking hammy American accent, which is really common in a lot of Australian pop music.”
Perhaps the most interesting hallmark of the band’s composition is the shared songwriting duties. It is a fine notion, at least in theory; a variety of different experiences and points of view makes for a richer, more textured record. Yet the need for a diplomatic touch is high, as is the gamble of inviting others to contribute to your song’s direction.
“I think the only time there’s ever really a problem is sometimes you’ll write a song and want it to be a certain way, but when it reaches the band it’ll turn out to be a totally different thing. But in the end, when you look back on that, it’s a positive thing; it makes the band stronger. We try to be as objective as we can about what songs make it onto the record. With so many songwriters, though, we end up with 30 or 40 songs, so it’s a matter of culling those down to what we agree are the best. Sometimes I’ll write a song for one record but it won’t quite work, so I’ll just hold onto it and try again. Like, we’ve started working on the new Ocean Party record, and two of the songs I’m working on at the moment were originally meant for [Soft Focus] but didn’t really gel. But now, they’re working. The other guys in the band have side projects as well and will put their songs elsewhere if they’re a better fit. It’s cool, because nobody has to be precious about their songs, they can always just use them somewhere else.”
With the Sydney album launch just days away, Denton’s excitement for The Ocean Party to perform for a home crowd again is almost palpable (jetlag notwithstanding). But were it not for an actual ocean-themed birthday party the guys attended, it might have been a very different kind of band.
“We’ve had a few people who’ve gone out wearing our T-shirt and everyone assumes it’s some kind of political party,” Denton laughs. “I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of depth to it. I actually don’t really like the name, but I think we’ve had it for long enough now it’s not worth changing. I’m indifferent to it. I think you really transcend the name after a while, anyway. Some bands have really crap names but after a while you kind of don’t even notice. There were some other pretty horrible names we thought of in the beginning. Originally we were going to call ourselves Battered Wives, which, well, sounds pretty bad when I say it now, but it was a reference to a Go-Betweens song. And then people were like, ‘Nah, that’s probably not going to be taken very well.’ So now we’re The Ocean Party. I think we probably did the right thing.”
Soft Focus out now throughSpunk. Catch The Ocean Party alongsideTrust Punks and Day Ravies atLansdowne Hotel onFriday November 28, free entry from 8pm.
