Australian band greenhouse have relaunched their career with their amazing new track, Finally Over. It’s got a bit of a retro indie sound, mixed in with more of a rock and roll vibe, making for one ultimate package overall! I really liked the track when I reviewed it, so I decided to conduct an interview with Mike to find out a bit more!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a single titled Finally Over. What can you tell us about the track?
Finally Over is a tune that’s been kicking around in our bag for a while. We’ve always loved playing it live and audiences seem to think it’s a vibe too. It’s a bit more at the rockier end of what we do, so it’s heaps of fun to play. We figure that if it’s a vibe for us, then it’s possibly going to vibe others too. The tune is about getting to the end, struggling through and falling off the edge, before landing safely. Y’know – to start something you have to end something. Battle through and get to the end, to the finish line. I run a lot and there’s a line that a coach I had once used to say that a finish line is only the next starting line. It’s also about having to face the end of something dear, that step back you have to take to find clarity, because when you’re deep inside something it’s terribly difficult to see things objectively. When you do take that step back… bang! Sometimes it really hits.
How has the reception to Finally Over been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
People are getting into it – there’re a lot of peeps riffing on it having a 90s retro indie sound. I’m into that. It’s got that in there for sure. It’s been picked up by a lot of internet radio shows and community stations here in Australia. The UK and European indie stations are being very kind to us. The single version that’s on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music etc. is a curtailed version of the track on the album. I think we found a fade out point to keep the tune within the realm of acceptable single lengths. On the upcoming album, there is an extended wig out where Jonny keeps throttling the guitar until he couldn’t go any more!
You also released a music video for a song called Pray. What can you tell us about that track?
Pray was recorded on tape at a demo session many years ago. We never digitised it and taped another session over it. For some silly self conscious reason we didn’t want to release it. Tape was expensive, we were poor and we moved onto the next session. During Covid, Jon found a cassette under his bed, unmarked in a shoebox. Turns out Phil McKellar. the engineer, had run off a tape back in the day, with a rough mix on it for us to listen back to in the car. Jon’s (guitarist) brother, Rich, did some restoration and it was still totally listenable. We were able to have it mastered and Australian label Sound As Ever (who specialise in 90’s Australian indie) got hold of it and released it on a compilation album of unreleased tracks called Stuck On The 90’s.
We made the video with the awesome Tony Owczarek and made it a bit a homage to Russian film maker Andrei Tarkovsky and his classic film, Solaris. It’s all about time and memory, past and present all existing simultaneously. About how the past is ever present as memory and how it coexists with our present. We must have had rocks in our heads not to want to release it back then. We were super happy to have it out in the world. I love the music video. Layers of time and memory all photographed so beautifully with a thematic nod to Tarkovsky and a stylistic bend to Anton Corbin. The imagery of the lyrics and the layers of melodic guitars seem to marry really well with the imagery and tone of the clip. We’re quite proud of it. We have pretty cool videos for our other singles Here I Am and God-Like too. Check ‘em out at www.youtube.com/…videos
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
You bet! We will be dropping another single in front of our debut album in July.
Are there any plans to release an album or EP?
We recorded our debut album during the extended lockdowns that we all suffered through. I live in a 20 acre forest where I built a totally off grid home with a studio designed into the house. It was recorded there – Jonny would sneak off route from his wine delivery runs and we would record guitars and then he’d continue on. We recorded all the guitars outside. My studio is small and we wanted to give the amps a chance to hit their sweet spots. They would have blown our heads off indoors so I’d run them outside away from the house and mic them at various distances. I’m in the middle of no where in a place called Mollongghip. They’ve come up wonderfully.
We cant wait to share the album with every one. So excited. It’s been a long time coming and we think peoplewill find it worth the wait. Great sounding tunes. A weighty album full of hooky anthems and chiming, thick layered guitars and textures. Don’t know who else it sounds like. It’s come up Greenhouse and we are stoked.
It was mixed in Kent actually. At Blue Bell Hill Studios by the awesome Barny Barnicott who’s mixed Sam Fender, The Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and even Coldplay at their very beginning!! Pretty chuffed to be added to that list.
Your music has an indie rock sound. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
Lately, I’ve been listening to DMAs a lot. I also listen to a lot of Doves. A lot of Underground Lovers and New Order – I’m also getting into Stanleys from Wigan. It’s awesome to discover new bands via Instagram etc. Jonny has been reacquainting himself with Smashing Pumpkins. They played at a local castle in Ballarat a couple of weeks ago (a fake castle built by an eccentric Australian millionaire…weird). They are still awesome!
Over the years I think our main influences have all been late eighties early 90s indie acts like the Stone Roses, Ride, My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain too. The Cure and The Church, along with The House of Love had a big impact on us. Then there’s Echo & the Bunnymen. Ian Mc Culloch had a profound influence on my singing especially. Then there’s the Cocteau Twins… don’t get me started!
Do you have anything else exciting coming up this year?
Oooh yeah!! We are playing Shiiine On Weekender in November! That’s the big excitement bubbling away in our camp at the moment. To be plucked up and put on that bill is incredible. Butlins here we come! We don’t have anything like the holiday camps you have in England, it’s blowing our minds to be playing the festival.
Am I right in thinking you’re based in Victoria, Australia? How is the local music scene faring at the moment?
Victoria has an amazing scene, mainly centred around Melbourne in the south, but there are also regional centres like Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo that have their own thing going on too. The distances here give rise to a certain separation. Geelong has always been a bit more dirty rock focused – we stood out a bit actually, because we are vastly different to what Geelong has traditionally produced but that’s changing I think. It’s really eclectic now with bands like Paraquay, The Murlocs, Banana Gun and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard shaking things up. All kinds of things are coming out and it’s great seeing bands slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
Shiiine On Weekender in November 17, we just can’t wait! We are so incredibly honoured to even be thought of for an event like Shiiine On and to be included in such an incredible line up is melon twisting for us. It’s like a vindication of sorts as well – to be on a bill that is focused on a scene that we always felt a part of even though we were on the other side of the world. See, over here, we have always been described as English sounding, and a lot of the time that wasn’t meant as a compliment.
We were never the type of pub rock grunge that was the predominant makeup of so many bands at home. But you can’t help your influences shining through and that’s just who we are. So Shiiine On and the UK tour feels like a sort of home coming. Jane Gazzo, who was a DJ at FM and other radio stations in the UK and is a long time fan of the band is helping us put together tour. We are concentrating around the North with Manchester, Wigan, Leeds and Sheffield. And, we’d love to come and play in York! We are going to do a show down in London and maybe a cheeky in-store gig too. The dates are still being locked down, so keep your eyes on the listings cause we are coming.
Any last words for the fans?
Thank you is the big one! Thanks for listening, thanks for picking us up and taking us to your hearts. It means so much to be able to reach the people we make music for. Even more to be invited to be a part of the scene we love so much. I hope we get to see as many of you as we can in York and across the North. And we’ll see some of you at Shiiine On. Cheers, Mike