Q&A: Waxflower Are Back At It ‘Again’ With Latest Track
Following the release of their last track ’Getting Better’, Waxflower have been receiving some serious praise, and for good reason. In February, their debut headline tour saw them play a sold-out show in their hometown, and they have been receiving a bunch of international coverage from publications like Rock Sound, Alt Corner and Punktastic. They were even named hmv’s “Next Big Thing.”
To discuss his, and the band’s, new musical, lyrical and personal direction, I spoke to Waxflower’s frontman Tristan Higginson about their upcoming track ‘Again.’
Congratulations on your upcoming track ‘Again’. Could you tell me about where the inspiration for it came from?
‘Again’ partially stemmed from a place of stress. I was sitting on a crowded graveyard of demos with our studio dates closing in. The song served as much needed reassurance that we were capable of stepping up to this next era of the band. The song is a mantra of hope. A reminder of my capacity to heal when times inevitably get tough. Although it does touch on those times, there is a vein of optimism running through the song that’s new for us.
I think ‘Again’ is the best representation of us as a band currently.
The track features vocals from Caitlin Henry of Eat Your Heart Out, and was produced by The Dead Love's Stevie Knight. What did they bring to this track that makes it special?
We recorded the track with our producer Stevie Knight at Electric Sun Studios in Sydney. We were lucky enough to have Caitlin Henry of Eat Your Heart Out to feature on the song. As huge fans of the band so it was such an honour to have her. We felt it was fitting to have someone come in to sing the male/female dialogue in the chorus and couldn’t have been happier with how everything came out. Working with her and Stevie was an amazing experience - their talent really shines through.
If you could collaborate with any other artist/s in the future who would it be?
I would love to collaborate with Sydney Sprague who has just joined the Rude family. The two tracks that she has out so far have been on repeat in my car. Jimmy Eat World are one of my all time favourite bands and I would kill to have a writing session with Jim!
You guys have quite an impressive repertoire of live shows and support slots for bands like The Dangerous Summer, Between You & Me and Simple Plan, how have you been coping during COVID without being able to play or go to live shows?
We have been pretty lucky all things considered. Our studio dates fell in a short period of time between restrictions easing and clamping down again in QLD/NSW. Writing and recording this release was quite emotionally taxing on me, so although I'd like to say I've been more productive with my writing - I've spent the majority of lockdown reconnecting with other aspects of my life. It's really only been in the last month or two that I've been actively writing again, I think sometimes those breaks are necessary to make sure you don't burn out under the stress.
What music has been helping you get through this time?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Weatherbox, Sydney Sprague and Nothing, Nowhere.
Could you also talk about your musical inspirations- Do you guys have any “holy grail” albums, songs or artists that you always come back to as a band?
I can only really speak for myself, but I always come back to both Dear and the Headlights albums. If I could only listen to one bands discography for the rest of my life, it would be theirs!
And what about guilty pleasure songs?
I grew up on Myspace music, so I have a whole lot, like early Cash Cash, Nickasaur! Breathe Electric and Stephen Jerzack.
And what is the soundtrack to your life? If you had to pick one song to describe your personality as a band, what would it be?
I think ‘Again’ is the best representation of us as a band currently. It marks the start of a new era for the band; we want to push ourselves to be making the best possible art and we want to spread it as far as we can. We’re extremely proud of the track, and would love it to reach as many new ears as possible.