After spending a number of years abroad The Panics return to Australia to celebrate the release of their fourth full-length album, Rain on the Humming Wire. Recorded at Dreamland Studios in the isolation of the forests just outside of the infamous Woodstock, the band spent over a month without any company but themselves – resulting in an introspective and intimate sound of bittersweet heartache, while simultaneously managing to be a grandiose, sweeping panorama of the Australian landscape.

How would you describe Rain on the Humming Wire in comparison to your last release, Cruel Guards?

Well, I think it’s a more insular and a claustrophobic kind of record – the lyrics are more personal and enclosed. There’s a lot of looking inwardly, but it’s far more full of energy and hope; it works together in some kind of way to create a dark space, but it’s still got a lot of hope in it.

It’s been four years since Cruel Guards was released, what has the band been up to in the meantime?

We’ve been doing a bunch of stuff! It did take us by surprise when suddenly we realised and it’d been a few years – but we’ve been making music together since high school. This is our fourth album, plus we had a few EPs so we’ve been pretty consistent. Cruel Guards has done the best for us so far and kept us very busy. We were offered lots of tours and we were so energised by all of the things that were happening to us – huge crowds at festivals, people wanting to use our songs, putting us on television... We took that feeling, then we went to England for the best part of the year and wanted to replicate that kind of thing. Suddenly you realise there’s a whole world of people out there, and why shouldn’t your music be popular in all of these other places? So we did that – a lot of travelling, a lot of touring, we went to America a couple of times. We’ve been writing songs, piecing together music and slowly figuring out how the songs were going to come together. It’s just how long it has to take.

What’s the hardest thing about constantly being on the road?

Not that anything’s hard, I mean nobody forces us to do it, but it tests a lot of relationships. You have to be away from people for a long time and learn to exist in that world. There’s a lot in this record about realising that world of being out there and dedicated to your band, your music, spending a lot of time alone – that’s the path that I chose, it’s who I am and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

So there’s obviously an upside to it as well, right?

[Laughs] At the end of the day, there aren’t many better ways to see places and meet people than being in a band. When it’s a band you’re really proud of it’s a lot of fun. I’ve got great memories of going around Scotland last year playing gigs; suddenly you get to go in and play in some old venue full of people. It’s a great way to see the world, meet locals and spread new music. It’s a great feeling, seeing your CDs in peoples’ hands way over in Northern England and your song comes on the radio. It gives you a lot of energy.

Which place would you most like to go back to?

Well, not so much revisit – there are lots of places I’d still like to go. I’ve been to America a few times, would love to stay there and live.

I have to say, I fell in love with San Francisco at first sight – have you been there yet?

I haven’t been there, but everyone that has, starts annoying the hell out of you for about a year saying how great it is! I can imagine it’s excellent.

What was the last album you put on repeat?

A lot of old stuff, my favourite old people like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. I’ve been listening to Jay-Z a lot actually; I’m a big fan, I think he’s great! I like a lot of hip hop music. I like confident, crazy lyric writing, and things that make me laugh. I get a lot out of that.

What about the last really memorable gig that you went to?

I really enjoyed Splendour in the Grass. There were a few bands there that completely blew me away – especially Pulp and Kanye West. I’ve got endless amounts of time for people that put on a show that is just... huge. So far, they were the slightly life changing gigs of the year for me.

The Panics have been playing together for over a decade now – what’s the secret to launching a career while maintaining the friendship you share?

In all seriousness, it’s probably just to make sure you put the friendship first. It’s very healthy to be focussed on your career, to work towards something and have goals, but at the same time keeping respect for one another. If we get along and things are good then we’re gonna be able to keep this situation going, because it’s a good combination. If we can keep this up then I look forward to seeing what we’re capable of achieving in the future. The main thing to keep it good – have a nice time. You don’t want to spend too much time stressing.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Well, I’ll be rehearsing and then I’ve gotta go down to the ABC and do a couple of acoustic songs for some programs. Then it’s Friday night! So hopefully I’ll have some wonderful friends around to buy me a drink, or I’ll buy them one.

How do you feel about the future of Australian music, where do you think it’s all heading?

I’ll tell you what, it’s very active and creative right now. It can only get better. I grew up in Perth and only occasionally would a band from Perth get recognised and played on national radio, but now – through a lot of hard work – there’s about twenty bands doing that. I think that’s a good example. I’ve seen a lot of groups make music of great quality; as long as people stay creative and do their own thing, create unique music, write about wherever they’ve grown up, their neighbourhood, and make unique observations about their country.

Are there any up and coming Australian acts that you’re particularly excited about?

Groups I’ve seen at recent festivals, that kind of thing, I saw The Jezabels recently and thought they were great. Tim and Jean were really cool, exciting pop disco stuff – I thought that was great too. That’s just off the top of my head, but there are heaps more.

Are you going to be playing in Hobart to launch the new album, Rain on the Humming Wire?

Yes we are, we’re gonna play at Wrest Point. I know it’s a big one, we played there with Bernard Fanning a while ago; an ambitious choice, but we’ve worked on a really, really good show. That’s on the September 30, looking forward to it.

By Chloe Mayne