Album Feature | Maxine Gillon
A scrapped album, Melbourne vs Sydney, and reconnecting with teenage music tastes
Noah chats with solo artist Maxine Gillon all about her debut album Girl Songs ahead of the full band launch at Tramway Hotel on Friday November 14th w/ Mystery Shopper (free show).
Firstly, congratulations on the release of Girl Songs, your debut full length which you have written, arranged, performed, and recorded all yourself. That’s quite the achievement! How does it feel to have it out in the world?
Thanks! It feels mostly good, a bit of a relief. They’ve been sitting there all done for about a year. I’m very much like a “on to the next thing” type of person so holding onto things for a long time irks me.
I do get a bit queasy when something is let out of my private little world and it suddenly dawns on me that I’ve written deeply personal and vulnerable songs about my own life and insecurities that I wouldn’t talk to anyone about for the entire world to hear... but that’s also sort of thrilling or exciting!
I think that makes them potent and maybe able to speak more intimately to listeners.
The goal of this album was to present to listeners what I am able to achieve totally by myself with limited resources, personnel and budget, which hopefully shows my potential, uniqueness, dedication and ability to execute a bold personal vision. Hopefully I have achieved that somewhat.
The album is mixed by Wade Keighran (Dust), John Lee (Laura Jean) and Paul Annison (Flyying Colours) and is mastered by William Bowden (Gotye). Can you tell us how these collaborations came about and the reasoning for all the various ears involved?
Seeing as this album was made over two years in a relatively haphazard manner, the reasoning is quite sprawling and circumstantial. I actually had an album I scrapped before working on this one that was very different and I got a bit lost in, it was more piano-based and sort of synthpop and John Lee was at the helm of that who I approached for his work on Laura Jean’s Devotion, a favourite album and a big influence on that scrapped album. ‘Lipstick’ was the song that made me abandon that album and was the north star for starting again. He really got The Go-Betweens memo, and I love the sound of it.
Wade is someone who has been a champion of my work since before I started doing solo music proper. He worked on my last EP ‘Ultra Lounge’ and is part of the Maxine Gillon sound at this point which I found my way back to an evolved version of with ‘Lipstick’. He has the ability and vision to make things sound like a hyper saturated comic book in the mix and understands my sensibilities better than anyone. I’d love to make a more cohesive planned album with him at the helm next.
I approached Paul because of his work with Melbourne band Flyying Colours. I wanted to branch out of my sound and have a quite shoegazey dreamy mix on the more gentle delicately layered songs. I love his vocal treatment on the songs he worked on. William was given the task of tying all that together through his connection with Paul and did an excellent job.
I like having the freedom to experiment and have quite varied sounds and genre nods on the album. Although it might not be apparent genre-wise, albums like ‘Diva’ by Annie Lennox and Sinead O’Conner’s first two albums were an influence on this.
There can be a cohesion of themes, voice or songwriting that is enough to tie a collection together as opposed to a strictly unified sonic vision from solely working with one person, especially on a first album where one is still finding their feet and developing.
Can you tell us about what inspired you in the making of Girl Songs to capture this wonderful blend of - 60’s Wall-of-sound, 80’s ethereal glitz and modern dream-pop? Was it a pre-conceived plan or did in come about in the making of the album?
The nucleus of this album was me trying to reconnect with the music that really dazzled me as a teenager, this was mostly 80’s indie stuff, especially The Smiths and 4AD bands. I’d reached a point with the guitar where I was (dare I say) quite competent... so it seemed like a good idea to study the first music that seemed bafflingly complex and impossible to play. I rediscovered and found a lot of other related bands from this era like The Ocean Blue, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Andrew Brough’s songs in Straightjacket Fits and Felt.
It then became obvious to go back to the artists that inspired that sound so went to The Byrds, The Hollies, Blonde on Blonde Dylan, and The Beach Boys, who were a catastrophic influence. I’d never really delved into them at all and had no idea Brian Wilson was so into The Ronettes and drew upon the Phil Spector sound with his own abilities. Then I was obsessed with Spector’s work with Leonard Cohen, Dion & especially the George Harrison ‘All Things Must Pass’ album. So the 80’s indie was preconceived and the 60’s wall-of-sound was not and was a natural development. Modern dream-pop probably just has always been around or something I’ve naturally gravitated to in my work.
You were born in Sydney but now call Melb/Naarm home. Can you tell us why you made the move and how you think the musical landscape differentiates between the two cities?
The two scenes are extremely different. There is definitely less of an audience for local music in Sydney however I do get the impression that the Sydney scene has blossomed a bit since I left about 3 years ago. Something that is nice about the Sydney scene is it’s so much smaller so if you’re in a band you pretty much know or know of every other band around, you feel like hot shit a bit more if you’re onto something but it’s also quite cutthroat and competitive, maybe because of the sparse opportunities and shows on offer.
With Melbourne it’s just so packed with bands and venues, there’s so much on every night so it can be very hard to get noticed or cut through, it’s very networky and “who you know”. Both cliquey in their own ways like all scenes I guess!
I moved to make a grand gesture of dedication to my solo work given I left a band I played lead guitar in (Second Idol) when I came here. The Melbourne scene and vibe was really exciting and appealing to me when I’d come here on tour and felt like a good place to pursue music (as everyone else who moved here does). Also on a personal level I felt a bit stagnant or scared my life would be the same forever so a change of scenery was very welcome after the covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. To make sweeping generalisations, Sydney is quite neurotic and rat-racey with Melbourne being more laid back and arts oriented so it suits my interests and temperament better to be here.
It’s exciting to hear you have a brand-new backing band called The Blue Jeans. Can you tell us about the members, the dynamic and how it makes you feel performing together opposed to your solo show?
It’s been a real balm to perform with a band after playing solo for so long, it has really revitalised my enjoyment in playing live. I really missed the sense of urgency, tension and connection that comes with creating every part of the sound live instead of relying on pre-recorded playback or playing solo just with voice and guitar (which I also love doing occasionally). It was reading the Oh Mercy chapter in Bob Dylan’s Chronicles volume 1 earlier in the year that revolutionised my view of live performance and recorded material and drove me to seek out a backing band again.
I’ve had a few shots at a solo band here and have finally landed on Wesley Fahey on bass guitar and occasional analogue synthesizer and Beck on drums. Wesley is a fantastically adaptable and creative musician and Beck has such a snappy style that really suits my love of 60’s beat music and power-pop as well as our mutual love of Sleater Kinney. I look forward to making music in a more collaborative capacity with them than I have previously. I’m always thinking about adding a violinist, strange keyboardist or organist or another guitarist (because I am generally merging at least 3 recorded layers at once...) but I really love the dynamic we have and retaining that 3-piece purity, managing more than three people’s schedules and availability is also maybe a bit too much for me to handle.
Along with brilliant collection of dream pop originals you have also chosen to do a totally reimagined cover of the Tim Buckley track Song To The Siren to cap off your album. What is your connection to that track?
Well I first came in contact with that track via the This Mortal Coil version which is obviously stunningly beautiful and ethereal. Discovering This Mortal Coil was a nexus point in my life that made me see the atmospheric and visual potential of music and inspired me to start making music. In my late teens and early 20’s I fell in with a group of 30ish year-old party/drug scene people who were seriously turned onto eclectic and interesting music. At some kick-on someone played ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ on the tv with the sound down and a This Mortal Coil album on the stereo to watch how it all eerily matched up, this was how I first heard them. He actually died last year sadly, perhaps it was a bit of a tribute in that respect.
But it was also just a song I taught myself to play on guitar, adjusting the guitar hook intro/interlude to a more 80’s indie style came naturally to me and before I knew it the whole thing was recorded and done. It’s also a song I’ve loved so many aspects of various versions; the stunning romance and fantastical elements in the lyrics of the original, the trip-hoppy drums on Sinead O’ Connor’s, the ethereal guitar on This Mortal Coil, the vocal delivery on the Paul Charlier & Paula Arundell version for the movie ‘Candy’, the weird clicky glitz of Bryan Ferry’s version. I tried to draw influence from all the parts I loved from these versions. It was a potent exercise at the time at how much I’d developed and grown technically as a musician and arranger; to reinterpret a song so heavily.
You are launching Girl Songs at Tramway Hotel on Friday November 14th w/ Mystery Shopper for a free show. Do you have a special connection to the venue, the support act and why should people come along?
Tramway is a venue that has always shown interest and support for my work since I first played there when I moved to Melbourne. I always love playing there, it has a great intimate vibe and always an interesting mix of people incidentally there and there for the music.
Mystery Shopper are just a new favourite local band of mine. Ostensibly the project of classically trained pianist and flautist Hank Clifton-Williamson, the live band consists of an unfixed rogues gallery of some of Melbourne’s finest musicians including Geoffrey O’Connor, Emma Russack and Cayn Borthwick. Beautiful and funny lyrics, sophisticated songwriting and beautiful playing.
It’ll be a lovely time! I’d love for anyone to come and let me know what they like or don’t like about the album
I’ve also got some album t-shirts and 7” singles if people would like to commemorate the evening and/or album!
Finally, who are your favourite local Melb/Naarm bands at the moment or who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
Hmmmmm! Signal Chain, Curlers, Daisypicker, The Pearlies, LXRP and CCTV are some cool bands/artists I’ve heard or seen recently! Thanks for the questions <3