When a song grabs your ears and the band then plays your local independent grassroots venue then it’s a no brainer. You have to go, especially when the band is from the other side of the world. ‘Paris Is Gone’ had been stuck in my head when I spotted Australian band Radio Free Alice were scheduled to play Sneaky Petes in Edinburgh – cap. 90. They did not disappoint. Charismatic and commanding the five-piece brought something a little different to the crowded post-punk landscape, but just what that is hard to define. With the band back on home soil CLASH decided to find out more – especially as their second EP ‘Polyester’ has just landed on streaming. Lead singer Noah Learmonth provided the answers – first-up, where does the bands name come from and were there any other names under consideration?
“There’s a good answer and a more truthful, boring answer to that question. The good answer is that in the 60s there were pirate radio stations based on ships and one of them was called Radio Free Alice. I’m not entirely sure if this is true. The more truthful, boring answer is that we ripped it off a record store in Darlinghurst in Sydney of the same name. I’ve been told the owner doesn’t mind. Funnily enough the band name that I was considering for a while was ‘Polyester’, but I don’t think people really took to it so I thought maybe I’ll just save it for an EP or something, which is where we landed. I still think ‘The Suicidal Pussycats’ is a great name but I’m yet to find anyone that will agree with me.”
Radio Free Alice are completed by Maayan Barnatan, Michael Phillips, Jules Paradiso and Lochie Dowd. They formed in Sydney in 2020, inspired by the likes of Talking Heads, The Strokes and HighSchool, and are now based in Melbourne. They have just finished an extensive tour with headlines dates in the UK and Europe as well as festival appearances including The Great Escape, Live at Leeds, Supersonic and Dot to Dot. Noah shares: “The responses were really good, probably better then in Australia, although we obviously have a bigger fan base here. I think we’re more suited to the UK. Surf rock is still the thing in Australia, which is worrying on a few different levels. The standout for me was a festival we played in Amsterdam called London Calling. One of the acts pulled out so we played twice in one day. There was just a massive crowd and it sounded great. Whenever it sounds great I’m happy. I care less about the crowd, I just want to feel like we’re actually a good band.”
Second EP ‘Polyester’ follows hot on the heels of their self-titled debut released in 2023 which includes the aforementioned ‘Paris Is Gone’. CLASH was interested to know what the main difference is between the two EPs in terms of inspirations. Noah explains: “The main difference for me is that Polyester is more subtle. On the first EP every song has these massively cathartic choruses, which will always have a place in my heart, but on this EP it’s all a little more restrained. More tasteful and considered. Probably darker too.”
Intriguingly Radio Free Alice undertook a slightly unconventional approach to the recording of Polyester. It began in Melbourne but was then finished in studios, backstage areas, tour vans, street corners, hostel bunk beds and train stations while on tour. “That sounds extremely romantic but it plays back to us feeling most inspired while on the road. We recorded the skeleton of the tracks in Melbourne but then recorded some extra bits and some vocal things while over here, and then did the final mixes in London. We have a constant conveyer belt of songs and those four were the best of the old ones so it made the most sense.”
The opening bassline on ‘On The Ground’ immediately grabs you, and the lyrics are vivid including: “Dinner’s in the fridge you can eat it on the couch. I slap you on the back and say ‘you can’t afford that, afford that.'” Noah expands: “The song roughly follows the narrative of a toxic man who is seducing, or manipulating, a woman into being with him through his money. Something like that.”
Creatively the music always come first with Naoh admitting: “I often won’t write the lyrics till a day or so before going into the studio and will just sing gibberish at the live shows. That can go on for over a year. I can be very lazy.”
For anyone who saw Radio Free Alice on their recent tour and are keen for more music after the Polyester EP, it’s good to know their debut album is more or less written and they’re currently working out logistics of where it’ll be recorded. One possible plan is to head back to the UK so fingers-crossed that means more gigs. But for now Radio Free Alice will play a run of dates in Australia in support of the EP’s release. “We love playing in Melbourne. It’s our home and there’s such a strong creative community in the Northern Suburbs, it’s extremely empowering to feel a part of it.”
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‘Polyester’ EP is out now.
Words: Julia Mason
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