Album Feature | Screensaver
From power dynamics to gluing the sound together and The Tote as a rite of passage
Noah chats to Krystal, James & Chris from Screensaver to get the low down about the new album and upcoming launch at The Tote on Saturday Nov 15th.
Firstly, congratulations on the new album, Three Lens Approach your third full length and most ambitious to date. The expanding out of synth sounds, heavy lyrical content, frenetic guitars and beat heavy backbone make for a very dynamic record. How does it feel to have it out?
James: Thank you! Feels great to have the record finally out, it’s been a journey to get it there, but here we are - it’s released! It can feel a bit like you’ve got time displacement when you’re putting out a record, hard to believe the first recording sessions were back in April 2024. You “can’t rush art darling” or so the saying goes? There are quite a few moving parts in screensaver, so for that we really wanted to zoom in where we needed to on Three Lens Approach and make sure, we were maximising the available frequency range so that all the parts and instruments worked together. This does take time but for my ears certainly worth it, it sounds punchy and yes, dynamic.
I can get a sense of the reference to the late 70’s and early 80’s for the album and in my mind, I immediately go to Joy Division, early New Order, PIL, Blondie and OMD but I’d love to know who you are channelling collectively as your inspiration?
Chris: Definitely mid 70s art rock is in there, early Eno, krautrock and the crossover with glam. I’ve been listening to a lot of Bill Nelson lately, and very underrated Mancunian. Also, the early art punk output of Wire, Swell Maps and The Fall.
Krystal: I’m really into Molly Nillson, Anika, The Green Child, Self Improvement, & The Serfs. We’re really drawing inspiration from a real variety of genres, from dance-punk to minimal wave to outsider pop and disco. It’s really kind of all over the place tbh!
Using power as your theme, I am really interested to know how you have managed to harness such a major subject and bring it to life creatively on the album. Was it a reduction from too many ideas or did it naturally come together as you systematically worked through all the ways power is perceived in your lives?
Krystal: Great question. I don’t generally sit down and decide to write a song, or decide on a lyrical concept for an album. When we started writing for this album, Permanence was the first song we wrote and the lyrics that came out were about roadblocks in life, hitting your head against a brick wall constantly, metaphorically, not literally haha.
It’s really about the psychological and practical barriers that we can experience in life when trying to move forward, that feeling of powerlessness.
From memory the next few songs were Solid Facts and Upstream. Solid Facts is about misinformation, the twisting of facts to suit an agenda/narrative and Upstream is about a personality type that perpetually thrives on being difficult. The theme of power basically revealed itself. Power is ever present in our lives, whether in a macro or a micro sense. A power dynamic exists in every relationship you have: you and your family, you and your work, you and the government. Human relationships and dynamics are incredibly complex.
I am quite blown away by the production and polish on the record. Can you tell us about working with Julian Cue and Casey Rice and how they have complemented what you do?
Chris: We’ve worked with Jules on all three of our LPs and at this point I’d say his personal touch is a big part of the sound. He’s able to keep each instrumental element well defined while keeping the whole sound well glued together. Definitely hoping to keep the streak going into album 4!
This was our first time working with Casey who I reckon knocked it out of the park with the master. She’s got a great pedigree and was super easy to communicate with and we’re stoked on the result.
I am really intrigued about this Kosmische-style stream of consciousness way of working with Julian that you used in the recording process. What exactly is it? and how did it impact the sound?
Chris: I would say the Kosmische influence is more a part of the writing process, I’ve long been a fan of 70s German music and appreciate the repetition and minimalism greatly. I think the Michael Rother solo LPs were cued up often at my work as we were writing the songs. A lot of my demos start in the fashion á la La Düsseldorf and NEU! and are sometimes molded into more traditional structures with the whole band. This time around two songs maintained the stream of consciousness structure, Context Is Everything and Drip Feeding are good examples. For his part I think Jules did an incredible job capturing the dynamics of what could potentially bore and lighting up the right elements to keep it engaging.
Poison City has released the album on a super fancy looking vinyl. Can you tell us about the connection you have with them and what it’s like to have them back what you are doing?
Krystal: We are very grateful and lucky to have Andy from Poison City putting out this record. He’s a genuine music fan and a pleasure to work with. He’s been in the scene for a long time, both in bands, and running his brick-and-mortar store and the label. We got to know him better when we were on tour in the USA in 2022, he was playing bass in Michael Beach’s band, and we played Gonerfest with them and another show in New York. It was a tonne of fun. Andy works extremely hard and has big output for a small label, he’s been incredibly supportive of us and it’s a real privilege to be on a roster with incredible bands like Mod Con, Michael Beach, Palm Springs, Frenzee, & Jess Ribeiro.
You are launching Three Lens Approach at The Tote on Saturday November 15th with a stacked line up made up of Tongue Dissolver, Lothario and Armour. Do you have a special connection to the venue, and the support acts?
James: Yes, indeed the launch party is imminent! We have a good time at the Tote and have played quite a few shows there over the years.
Some of our very earliest gigs were at the Tote, which is a bit of a rite of passage I’d say. The lineup for the launch is a real coup, they’re all excellent bands and performers, it feels like we’ve been spoiled really!
Tongue Dissolver are an absolute force, and I’m pumped to see what they do, as well as our mates from Lothario and Armour who always deliver the goods. I think each band on the night work really well next to each other, punter satisfaction guaranteed.
Krystal: I think it’s also worth mentioning that both Léna and Annaliese are two of the best front women in Melbourne, they write compelling lyrics and deliver them with their own special brand of intensity.
Finally, who are your favourite local Melb/Naarm bands at the moment or who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
Chris: Always love catching Kosmetika, Lothario consistently blast, Voice Imitator when they’re playing. Brown Spirits too!
Krystal: Simona Castricum, The Green Child, Armour, Bitumen, Dr Sures Unusual Practice, Our Carlson and really enjoyed seeing Solar Cells, & Mat Watson’s solo project recently when we played a show with him and Brown Spirits show. Honestly, I could go on, Naarm has an incredible scene!
SCREENSAVER THREE LENS APPROACH ALBUM LAUNCH
The Tote - November 15th
w/ Tongue Dissolver, Lothario and Armour
Get your Tickets
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