THE PRETTY LITTLES
- ballpointpressbne
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
Writer: Keeley Thompson
Images: Gabbi Rankin, RC Stills, Greg Rietwyk, Oscar O'Shea
The older I get, the more I realise how few people there are that could genuinely describe themselves as “perpetually alright”. I’d like to say this percentage could be corrected like braces for crooked teeth, but I think if you’re even slightly introspectively-inclined (and all the best people are) then sorry, but you’re doomed.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of splendour to be found in the crevices of life’s canyon. And yet, to quench a thirst outside of these momentary oases requires a decent amount of apathy. Are we really doing alright, or are we just highly trained soldiers of ignorance in a situationship with toxic positivity?
Regardless, the world’s looking pretty fucked, but I wouldn’t say there's ever been a point in history where everything’s been roses. You hear oldies saying “back in my day we never had these problems”. I could rattle off a whole myriad of reasons why that’s inherently false, but I won’t, because I trust you to know what I mean.
One of my favourite things about music is its ability to put a spotlight on the dark corners of our world. My brother (cheers, Blair) recently showed me a song that does just that.
Australian Dream by The Pretty Littles.
An exploration of generational trauma, the hypocrisy of the “true blue aussie larrikin” and the flawed stereotypes surrounding “australianism”, the song stings like fresh ink in an open wound and consistently has the hairs on my arms standing at attention.
There’s a certain freedom to be found in recognising ugly truths. It doesn’t make it nonexistent, but at least you’re not gaslighting yourself daily.
The Pretty Littles rarely shy away from the opportunity to highlight life’s internal and external injustices. Across their discography they show that to not acknowledge the elephant in the room is to welcome its presence, but also offer the occasional thrasher to avoid drowning themselves (and everyone listening) in indignation.
Their music is almost as if you’re playing a game of footy: proletariat v bourgeoisie (no guesses as to which team we’re on dear reader). Most of the time you’re getting your ass handed to you, but at least you’re a team. But every now and then, you throw a hail mary that lands, and you’re all dancing and laughing and singing and, you’re still a team.
*Prior to this, Jack and I were having a fascinating and in-depth conversation about movies and art, but I wasn’t recording yet. It was a real ‘had to be there moment’, and I’m sure you would’ve loved to read about it, but you’ll just have to trust me.
KEELEY: Let's crack into it. I see you've got a show coming up with DZ Death Rays. How are you feeling about it?
JACK: I’m feeling pretty good about it in the sense that I'm excited to play and I'm excited to see everyone.
It's the first show of the year, and it's the first show of a run of gigs we've got coming up, which we're all excited about. We're trying to get stuff together and work out what songs we're going to play.
I was so into DZ when I was younger, it’ll be nice to play with them again. We played with them back in 2011. We opened, King Gizzard were main support and then DZ headlined.
That was 15 years ago, crazy.
KEELEY: I want to have a chat about your newest album, Force. But first, when I was doing some research, I saw you have a Substack, which I think is really cool. What was the reasoning behind doing that?
JACK: It was more of a why not. I wanted to start a newsletter, but I couldn’t because they’re expensive, and I couldn't work out how to do it without spending money.
Anyway, I ended up landing on Substack, and I realised how much I loved writing. It's actually getting me down that I haven't done one recently, but writing stuff makes me feel really good. It’s good for my brain and soul and body and mind.
Once I started doing it got easier, and I found a lot of fun in doing it, plus some people seem to enjoy it. So I kept doing it.
KEELEY: ‘Australian Dream’ has really taken off, and it’s certainly one of my favourite tracks from your newest album. What did (or does) the Australian Dream mean to you?
JACK: I don't think it means anything to me in terms of an actual idea or ideal. As an expression, I think it means lots because it tries to capture something so impossible. All of those expressions - the American dream, the Australian dream, are flawed. It’s this idea of some perfect world, which is often a white experience or a white colonial experience.
I think the song came to me because this concept of the Australian dream, particularly from my male experience, is about being stoic and the whole “she'll be right” motto. It says that to be strong you don't talk about feelings. The archetypal Australian man which is part of the Australian dream and it’s so flawed.
The fact that it’s been sold as something to strive for is so sad and crazy and wrong because what it actually means, and what the song's about, is about not dealing with things and trying to cover things up, trying to look normal and trying to be perfect.
The song is dealing with the fallibility of an idea like the Australian Dream, which is bonkers. It's silly, it makes no sense, but it's referenced and it's used by politicians and people as a way to reference this nostalgic Australia, which was never there. I mean, maybe it was there for a couple of people, but for the most part, that nostalgic idea of the Australian Dream, it's a myth and a lie.
KEELEY: Was there ever a point in time where you felt like you had bought into that Australian dream? And an extension of that, did the song kind of come from a place of grieving or have you always thought that it’s a farce?
JACK: Not really, it's something that I've just thought more about as I've gotten older. I don't think I ever bought into the idea. I think I was blissfully ignorant for a long time of what it's like for others in a young, colonialised and multicultural country that's desperate to be an outpost for the Queen or something.
But I wasn't really aware of any of that until I got older. It certainly wasn’t taught in my school. It's only happening now that true histories are taught in schools.
I guess I was aware of diversity, but I never really connected with it in a profound way. I had a very privileged and happy childhood. I’d celebrate Australia Day not really understanding what I was actually celebrating.
It's great to feel a love of your country and connected to a place, but I think it often doesn't come with acknowledgement of people who have suffered. That's what I find hard to ignore in a place like Australia.
KEELEY: Did a lot of the songs from this album come from getting older and having moments of realisation or were some of them tracks that you'd sat on for a while?
JACK: It was a bit of a mixed bag. As you get closer to putting the album out, a cohesion hopefully develops. But with this album, it came at such a funny period for the band - five years after the last one and also the band changed. So, there were some songs that were written not long after the last album, and then there were some songs written more recently. A lot of the songs had been kicking around for a while but then changed quite dramatically later.
KEELEY: Was there anything that surprised you about how the songs changed from the first time you’d written them, to how they finally came out sounding?
JACK: To a degree, but not in a bad way. The guys are such brilliant musicians. They're all great singers, songwriters, composers and really talented musicians. The songs became so much better when they became a part of them.
They [the songs] did change, but it was definitely a positive thing. The way they would interpret and approach the songs often left me speechless. It felt so good to be in a collective again, and part of a really enthusiastic group.
KEELEY: Has music helped you learn about yourself and your values over time, and if so, how?
JACK: Yes, and no? I’ve learnt over time that I really love music, and I love making it.I had to go through a really painful, unnecessary feeling of imposter syndrome, and that I didn’t deserve to be a musician. I don't know where all that came from, but it really plagued me for a long time.
In terms of identity, it took a long while to get there, but it's given me a sense of self, and it is really something that I believe in. I believe in the craft, and I love almost every aspect of it.
I mean, it can be pretty painful doing it at times because if something needs to be done, you've got to do it, which is a good thing, but it can feel overwhelming at points. Especially if you want to keep putting records out. The work is never “finished”, but that’s also part of the beauty of it.
KEELEY: If you could go back in time and tell yourself something when you first started, what would you tell yourself?
JACK: Oh, man, good question.
I think one of them would be attached to the identity stuff I was just talking about. But I think I’d like to tell myself to not worry about things as much and to focus on having a good time. I used to worry about getting older, and I think it often got in the way of me enjoying the moments while I was in it. Don’t get me wrong, I did have lots of fun, but I was always stressed about something.
I think the other thing would be to say yes, always say yes to everything. We said no to heaps of stuff and there was a bit of a reluctance to tour really, really hard in our twenties.
All of these things you hear a lot, but it’s kind of hard to hear and doesn’t always sink in. I wonder if my younger self would even listen.
KEELEY: How have your goals or your approach to music changed over time?
JACK: Well, it's weird, isn't it? I think in my twenties, I was taking it really, really seriously while battling all of those unnecessary emotional things, which was sort of a waste of time, but also, we were still learning. Now I feel we're making better music which is really exciting. As I’ve learnt more and improved as a musician, it’s become a lot more fun, but also more considered and intentional. It's the best part-time or less-than-casual job of all time. We're more and more proud of the music we're making and we're having such a good time hanging out.
KEELEY: It’s been eight years since the release of Skeleton Run. How does it feel looking back knowing that Don Dale is still open, and you were singing about it eight years ago?
JACK: It feels sad, really. There are so many instances of injustices and ongoing things like Don Dale, and it's really sad that it's not an exception.
There'll be commissions and whatever else, and then there'll be this series of really reasonable recommendations and then nothing happens, so then the same fucking thing keeps happening. Don Dale is yet another example of misuse of power and oppressive laws, which don't consider intergenerational things and that look to punish rather than guide or support.
KEELEY: One of the most powerful things about music is its ability to create a safe space to explore hard topics. Do you ever feel any pressure to be a person that creates one of those spaces when you're making music?
JACK: Nah, not at all, because it's never intentional.
There's songs like Australian Dream, Force and Don Dale for example, which have more of a narrative or statement, and there’s others like Pillars of Smoke and Nothing to Do are a bit more abstract, but they all mean the same to me. It sort of depends on what I’m inspired by, but no I never feel pressure, I just write whatever comes out. It just feels a bit grim in slower periods when no songs are coming out.
KEELEY: What is your favourite song that you've written and what's your favourite song to play?
JACK: Good Sleeps, which is our new song, is really fun to play live, as is Hills Hoist.Hills Hoist is probably my favourite Little’s song of all time. But also Australian Dream because writing it was such a drawn out and kind of difficult experience, and it’s really connected with people.
KEELEY: What’s the best biscuit in the assorted creams packet?
JACK: Easy. It's the Kingston. Although as I've gotten older, Monte Carlo? Not bad.
KEELEY: Finally, what's next for you guys?
JACK: Good Sleeps, our first song off the next record, came out late last year and we’ve got a song coming out in February, probably. Then a new album coming out at some point. We're touring it in July, so sometime before that.
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