IT’S ALL FINALLY HAPPENING FOR BONES AND JONES

WORDS BY ALEX CALLAN

“But it’s kind of funny talking about the changes on this album,” he states, “because we just recorded a bunch of new stuff last weekend for the next release and quite a few of the elements that are new on Love You – that were added towards the end of the recording sessions – are much more prominent on the newer music we’re currently working on.”

“Like, Masch [Tom Maschio] got into playing the synth towards the end of the last recording, and I had only just started dabbling with pedal steel guitars, so we are largely just playing around with them on Love You, but they are definitely sounds that are seeping through with a lot of the stuff we’ve been writing now.” This will surprise some of the group’s purists, who will undoubtedly be upset to hear that their favourite blues-rock outfit is changing up their tried and tested formula. But for Jolley, it all comes as “a natural progression”.

“I think it’s stemmed from the luxury of having our own space to record,” he remarks, about his Wallington-based home studio Big Fridge Sounds.

“It essentially means that we can duck in at any point and because we’re not paying for the time, we can sit around and be a bit more experimental, which has been a lot of fun - especially the synth, that’s opened up a lot of doors and Tom’s fallen head over heels for it,” he laughs. “This has been cool because he bounces off Bailey [Bates], who does the keys. It’s been sick to see how both bounce off each other and experiment with different sounds and tones.”

It’s not just synth’s that the group have been experimenting with for this release, with Love You also boasting Jolley’s newfound skill of the pedal steel guitar.

“It’s kind of funny because, in a way, people are hearing me learn how to play it, which I think sounds really good…but I’m sure there are a lot of really talented pedal steel players out there who would be wincing at the sound of it.

“But it’s an instrument that you can play around with tonally and get some ambient soundscapes, so it’s been a lot of fun to toy around with. It’s just super versatile.”

Æ With two albums and a collaborative EP with Folk Bitch Trio to their name and having scored a nomination for Music Victoria’s Best Regional Act in 2022, the local trailblazers have since gone on to sell out their largest headliner shows to date– performing to packed band rooms nationwide throughout their summer tour. But before the lads could even sit back, cheers a beer and go, ‘Pfft how’s it we sold out the Brunswick Bandroom?’, they have already one-upped themselves, announcing their largest-ever Aussie tour in support of the release of their fourth LP, Love You, kicking off in Melbourne in July and finishing up in Torquay in November. So how do they feel about it all?

“Honestly... it’s terrifying,” laughs the group’s vocalist and primary songwriter Jasper Jolley, “But it’ll be a lot of fun. We’ve never played in places like Perth, Freo or Tassie before, so we aren’t expecting a massive turnout or anything, but hopefully, we can get some people together in a room. Then hopefully the next time we go over we can get a few more people in a room.”

“That would be great, but in all honesty, we’re just stoked that we get to experience some nice parts of the country together,” he humbly states.

With the tour coinciding with the release of the group’s forthcoming LP, Jolley also touched on the group’s new material and what led to its surprising (but welcomed) change of style that sees the upstarts’ migrate into a world of psychedelic synth tones, lap steel harmonics and swaggering rock and roll riffs.

“I don’t know if I could pinpoint exactly what led to it, but it’s probably the first time in a couple of records that we’ve actually been able to make a record together because of all the lockdowns and everything, so I think everyone was feeling really good about that.

“It was also written immediately after playing a bunch of shows so we wanted to keep that same energy that we have when we play live.

“But, we’re still very singer/songwriter focused,” he contends, “I don’t think Bones and Jones will ever step away from that.”

“I mean, we’ve only just started to get a bit more jammy… we’re probably still a little while off doing our Eno thing.”

Bones and Jones new album Love You is out on 23 June via Bonsai Records.