by emma schoors
photo by kyle dobie
Bones and Jones’ latest EP, In Blue, marks the beginning of a year-long project that sees the Australian alt-rockers traverse genres, sift through decades of inspiration, and step outside their comfort zone as an entity with more moxie than ever.
The five-piece got their start as classmates in Geelong, and are now based out of an old apple orchard on the Victorian surf coast, where the new collection of songs were recorded. “The amount of physical space and tranquility that you experience here is a big inspiration to the way we write,” the band says. “Not necessarily in terms of the sonic architecture of a song, but how it can clear up your mind to allow the creative process more freedom.”
Released last November as the EP’s first offering, “Need It” fuses Strokes-y vocals with shimmering guitars, while “In Ya Nature” introduces breezy echo effects and a backbeat reminiscent of early 2010’s indie rock giants. Simple, refreshing, and earnest, the EP exists as an ode to beloved genres of the past, and a crowd-pleasing introduction to the band’s newest and most authentic chapter.
In our recent interview with the band, Bones and Jones dive into the creation of In Blue, from the equipment that helped piece it together, to the lyrics that encapsulate its overarching message.
Before we get into your new material and upcoming projects, we’d love to know where the name Bones and Jones originated. Who came up with it, and is there any major meaning/significance?
Bones and Jones: “Hi, Emma! We had a couple of names that didn’t really stick when we were first starting. We were all trying to think of something cool when our drummer Conor found a CD at his folks’ house. The CD was titled Bones and Jones, and it was a compilation of songs written by Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones. No real meaning behind it other than we love the Stones!”
You’re currently based out of an old apple orchard on the Victorian surf coast. That has got to be the coolest band “home base” I’ve heard of — how does that landscape influence your sound, if at all?
Bones and Jones: “It is a pretty special place. We’re very lucky to live here and have a studio on the same property. The amount of physical space and tranquility that you experience here is a big inspiration to the way we write. Not necessarily in terms of the sonic architecture of a song, but how it can clear up your mind to allow the creative process more freedom.”
Congratulations on the release of your brand new EP, In Blue! When in the writing or recording process did this title come about? Were there any other titles in the running?
Bones and Jones: “Thank you! I can’t give away too much, but the title is linked with a series of EP’s we will be releasing over the next year. We’ve been pretty set on the idea of this project for a while so there hasn’t really been any other names for it!”
Talk to us about the first track, “Need It,” and the influences that shaped it. What were some records or genres you were all listening to in the creation of this EP?
Bones and Jones: “‘Need It’ was a real throw it against the wall approach to see what sticks.
It sat as an instrumental for a couple of weeks, and then I just chucked a melody and some words on it and it all sat pretty well. There have been some parallels drawn to a Strokes sort of sound, which I think comes from the vocal crunch, but that was really something that came out in the mixing rather than being a sonic intention before recording.
For the EP, we didn’t plan out any definite way. We just wanted to shift the sound of the band. Everything was super organic, and we just treated each song as their own and worried about any sort of coherent sound later. It's definitely a bit disjointed in that way.
We just wrapped tracking all the next stuff, and it follows that same formula, really. I think for the EP we had a greater focus on just balancing guitar tones and textures. A kind of less is more approach. The studio is in our backyard so it gives us way less time constraints to play around.”
What equipment ended up at the forefront of this project? Any pedals, guitars, or software you played with to achieve the varying guitar tones?
Bones and Jones: “We’ve become a lot more interested in and focused on the soundscapes of our songs and obsessing over all the little things that fill in the space (or create space) in the back of a mix. Through that we’ve introduced more synthesizers and have definitely been playing around a lot with different effects and just experimenting with anything we can get our hands on. A pedal we’ve been loving at the moment for lead tones is the Electro Harmonix Ripped Speaker.”
photo by kyle dobie
What lyric do you feel best encapsulates the EP and the message you hope to convey to listeners?
Bones and Jones: “Hmm, great question! My personal favorite lyric is from the track ‘Need It.’ Jasper sings ‘Do you wanna be anybody, does anybody know your name?’ The way I interpret the lyric may be different to how it’s intended when he wrote it, but I guess that’s the beauty of art. I think it evokes a lot of thoughts and sparks interest into pondering the question of your own existence. From my experience, it can be healthy to ask yourself these questions to try and make sense of your life and the natural world around it. It helped me to appreciate the smallest of things and how lucky we are to be alive.”
You’re heading out on an Australian tour with The Grogans in late March. What’s the most rewarding aspect of taking your catalog out on the road?
Bones and Jones: “Very excited to be touring with The Grogans again! They’re very close friends of ours and we love them lots. A lot of our music that we’ve released is quite upbeat and fun to dance to, so it always makes us happy to see people dancing. With a few slower, newer songs we’ve released (and a few unreleased ones), it’s going to be exciting to see people hopefully connecting to them in a more thoughtful and meaningful way. Anytime I see someone smiling and having a good time though, is what really makes it rewarding and worthwhile!”