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Epicure.
 Ballarat-based quintet Epicure are on the cusp of releasing the follow-up album to their indie debut success; but for those expecting a carbon copy of 'The Goodbye Girl', 'Main Street' is certain to disappoint - something lead vocalist and guitarist Juan Alban freely admits. The band, he says, were not interested in writing an identical follow-up but instead opted for a more mellow, slower-sounding record.
"I had some songs that were sort of up-tempo, but they didn't make the album because I thought they sounded too much like we sounded on the last one," says the soft-spoken Alban of 'Main Street's' sound. "I didn't like them as much as the songs on the last album, but [the album's] a bit slower and there's a lot more space in the sound of the songs. It's less of a produced sound and closer to a live sound, I think."
One aspect of 'Main Street' that probably won't be replicated live are the many guest artists, such as Chris Brodie (formerly of Dallas Crane and brother Dan Brodie's backing band), Sianna Lee of Love Outside Andromeda fame, and the addition of a string section throughout the album. Ballarat singer Dani Fry also features on the album simply because, "I just like someone else's voice on there apart from mine!
"I assume other people like that as well. I think it's a bit laborious listening to the one singer for the whole record unless you really love that singer, so I think it's good to give the listener a bit of variety."
The making of an album was a much more enjoyable experience for Alban and his bandmates the second time around. "We had a ball," he enthuses. "The recording process was really easy this time around; we all got along well and all really liked the songs, and just felt really good about the process. Chris Thompson, the guy who produced it, is a really lovely guy and we got along with him really well. It was a lot more painless than the last one, 'cause the last one we had to scrimp and save, and sort of record as we could afford it. Whereas with this one we saved money that the last one had made for us, [it] was just all a bit more structured and a bit more relaxed."
Wouldn't being able to go away and re-evaluate your efforts be helpful in a way in making an album you really love? "I think you're right, I think it's a good thing to be able to do - go away, do a session, have a bit of a listen and see what else you want on the album type thing," Alban muses. "So it might not be really obvious to people listening to it, but I did go away and write songs, a little bit keeping in mind what we had and what I thought we needed on the record."
'Main Street', Alban offers, was written largely about the mentality of living in a small town and needing to get out, or realising that "this is where you're going to die." Alban believes there's a particular mentality about living in a small city like Ballarat that drives people to live in big cities, but then often return to the comforts and familiarity of home. However, there's also a certain mentality to finishing an album that doesn't sit so well with the creative force behind Epicure.
"Now that we've finished it, people have said to me 'do you feel pressure because the other one did OK, to follow it up?' Now that it's finished and it's all done, I think that's when I kinda freak out a little bit," Alban admits, "'cause you can't change it. We made conscious decisions not to have songs too much like what we'd already done, but then a lot of people will be looking for that as well, so I guess the period just before it comes out, you're kind of a bit worried about how it's going to be received, but we're just all really proud of it. I like it a lot more than the first one... I just think they're better songs," he categorically states. "I know a lot of people say it sounds mellow and more relaxed, but I think it'll be a record you can spend more time with. There's more going on lyrically and musically, and I think there's a lot more depth to it - I think, anyway, I can't vouch for everybody."
Ann Marie Sosnowski
 | 'Main Street' is out now through MGM Distribution. |
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