Songs Written in an Australian Bedroom, Sung Back in Glasgow: Pacific Avenue at King Tut’s
Written by Lauren Page | @LiveWithLP
Before Pacific Avenue played their first Glasgow headline show, I caught up with Dom, Ben and Jack at King Tut’s. I’d only discovered the Australian band a few months earlier, thanks to my friend Lynsey, and now I was sitting down with them in one of Glasgow’s most iconic venues. Not a bad turnaround.
They’d been to Glasgow before, supporting DMA’S at the Barrowlands. But this time, the show was theirs. They’d already played Dublin and Birmingham, and were still trying to get their heads around the fact that people on the other side of the world knew their songs.
“It definitely never gets old,” they told me. “It’s one of the craziest feelings to step into a new place on the other side of the world and have people there in general, but having them sing the songs, it’s insane.”
Apparently, even when they know they’ve sold tickets, there’s a small part of them expecting nobody to turn up. “Why would you be here so far from here and sing songs that we’ve written in our bedroom?”
Boys, I’ve been playing those songs so much lately that you’re probably going to take over my Spotify Wrapped. Of course people turned up.
King Tut’s was giving them plenty to take in before the show, too. They’d been exploring the venue and looking at the old AAA passes displayed above the stage. When you’ve grown up in Australia seeing your favourite bands’ names on posters for rooms like this, getting to play one yourself is a bit of a moment.
“So we’re slapping a Pacific Avenue one up there, right?” I asked. Oh yeah. As soon as we finish.”
Good. Consider that a verbal contract.
We also got into the band’s changing sound. If you listen to their first album and then put on the latest record, you can hear Pacific Avenue heading somewhere new. They said that shift actually began while finishing the debut, when they wrote three extra songs that ended up pointing towards the next chapter.
“I think it was just a maturing thing where our sound was changing, as it does,” they explained. Their first album leaned into classic influences like Led Zeppelin; with time, different collaborators and a lot more living, they’ve moved towards a sound that feels more their own.
And if they were wondering whether fans had followed them there, Dublin answered that pretty quickly. They tried out some newer songs they hadn’t played much before, only to discover people already knew the words.
That must be reassuring. Or mildly alarming, depending on how well they remembered the words.
They’re already back in the studio, too. Shortly before flying over, Pacific Avenue started recording two new tracks that they hope to release towards the end of the year. Whether those become singles or land on a deluxe album is still up in the air, but I did manage to get a name out of them.
The one to remember is “A Long Way Back.”
It’s the song they couldn’t stop singing after leaving the studio. They were careful not to promise it would become everybody’s favourite, though. As they pointed out, sometimes the track you’re convinced will go off live is the one people mysteriously ignore.
Well, I’ve written it down now. No pressure.
We talked about the artists who’ve helped shape them along the way. Supporting DMA’S on their first UK tour left an impression, while touring with Jet was a proper full-circle moment. They grew up listening to Get Born so much that the CD eventually stopped working in Dom’s dad’s car.
I told them my equivalent was the Shrek soundtrack. They kindly agreed it was a good one.
For this tour, they’ve brought Hot Property along as support. It’s a new connection, but Pacific Avenue loved their music and thought they’d be a great fit. I’d already admitted I wanted to raid Hot Property’s wardrobe, so I was fully on board.
Before they headed off to get ready, I asked what someone seeing Pacific Avenue for the first time should expect. The answer? An “emotional rollercoaster”: a big start, a dip into the ballads, then plenty of rock and roll.
“You’re going to have a good time. Guaranteed.”
“We don’t need to pay for PR anymore,” Ben laughed.
To be fair, if you can travel from Australia to Glasgow and have a room full of people sing your bedroom-written songs back at you, you’re doing a pretty good job of selling the band yourselves.
Read our review of Pacific Avenue in Glasgow here