Self Talk

Domestic La La is pleased to release the latest single from Melbourne indie-rock outfit Self Talk, a punchy, nostalgia-soaked bop called Food Court alongside its music video. Following a couple of years on the down-low on this project, while various members pursued success with local rock favourites Ceres, Self Talk now return with new music and a wholesome video packed with live and studio footage and plenty of dogs.

Food Court was produced by Domestic La La label-head James Tidswell (whose other production credits include the likes of Dune Rats and Dear Seattle), and discusses the weight of blame we can carry before realising that it might be up to us to look inward to fix something. Sitting on more new music and a swell of energy, Self Talk are poised to make a lot of noise in 2020. Stacey Cicivelli answers a few questions for Hi Fi Way.

Congratulations on the new single Food Court, is it a relief that it is finally out?
Thank you! It’s a big relief! We’ve been sitting on some new songs for a while now and it was a bit frustrating to feel like we were just stuck in one spot for while. So it’s amazing to finally be here.

What’s the story behind the single?
I don’t want to be too specific because I love the idea of people finding their own meaning in a song. For me, it’s about blame and the weight of it, how it’s easy to do but very heavy to hold. It’s basically me telling myself to grow up, move forward, and take some responsibility.

We’d chatted to James Tidswell from Domestic La La about potentially recording new music with him after he included our song Old Habits in the Domestic La La record club. We sent him the Food Court demo and he (thankfully) loved it, and here we are. It’s so good to work with someone who shares a passion for your music and wants to put so much time and care into it.

Has the current health crisis slowed down the band’s momentum?
It has a little bit. We’d obviously usually tour or at least play a launch show with the release of new music, so it’s been strange to just put it out into the world and kind of watch from a distance.

Has the band kept working on new material during this time?
Yeah! It’s been different working on music exclusively online rather than jamming in a room together, but we’ve tried. I’ve been writing heaps personally and it’s been important for me to remember how much I need that. I think I let myself get too busy with other things for a while and I really wasn’t writing much. So this time has given me some space to get back to that, and it feels good to be back.

Have you learnt any new skills or taken up new interests during isolation?
I’m sure I had plenty of good intentions about learning new skills but really I’ve just used the time to read through my enormous list of books. A couple of us have started rollerskating though! It’s fun and terrifying.

Is Self Talk building towards an album?
Quite possibly. We’re definitely building towards a bigger release. We have a lot of music in the works so there’s plenty more Self Talk to come.

For those who haven’t heard of Self Talk how would you describe the band’s sound?
I always find it really difficult to describe our sound. If I was going to try and label it, I’d call it guitar pop with big choruses, lots of energy and lots of hooks – a bit of a long winded label, sorry. We’ve got a pretty eclectic list of influences as a band and I think that comes through, but the pop and the punk rock probably come through the most.

Who would you say has been the biggest influence on the band?
For me personally (Stacey) there have been some really specific influences on my song writing. Tegan and Sara are a huge one – the first songs I learnt on guitar were their songs. An Horse is another. I was really drawn to these awesome women playing guitar and singing about their feelings and making a kind of music that I hadn’t really heard before. They really opened me up to the music I felt I could make myself. I also grew up on a lot of pop punk and emo which I’m sure comes through in our songs as well.

Are you looking forward to getting the green light to tour and play shows?
Yeah, it feels strange to go so long without playing a show! Plus, the four of us who live in Melbourne Miss Xavier who lives in Sydney, so it’ll be so lovely to be on stage together again.

What’s one thing about the band that fans wouldn’t know?
Two members of the band are married to each other. Do people already know that?

Interview By Rob Lyon

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