Poor Little Things On ‘Deal Breaker’

Let there be rock! Poor Little Things are an Australian retro rock band featuring singer Tina Jackson and guitarist Dave Talon who are based in Bern, Switzerland. Dave is familiar to most being in other awesome bands including Rollerball, The Marlboro Men and Kings Of The Sun.

Their debut album Disco’s Burning dropped in 2019 and it has been onwards and upwards releasing their second album DEAL BREAKER last month. Written, performed, produced and engineered by the band their sound is a mix of 70s, 80s rock with a touch of Oz rock, pop and glam. Both Tina and Dave answer some questions about the album for Hi Fi Way.

Congratulations on your second album, is there a feeling of relief that it is out now?
Tina: It’s always great to get something new out there. You set it free to have a life of it’s own.

Is the second album blues a thing and is there more pressure with a follow up?
Dave: We are a totally independent studio project so we have absolutely no pressure and focus purely on creating the kind of thing we want to hear with no worries about pigeonholing ourselves into a particular sound or style.

Sonically, how would you describe Deal Breaker?
Dave: Crisp ,open and energetic.

What was the biggest challenge you faced creating “Deal Breaker”?
Dave: Creating a full album of tracks that we believed could stand on their own as potential singles. No filler.

Was there any learnings from your debut album that you were conscious of not repeating when making Deal Breaker?
Tina: We wanted an Album cover that stood out more from the visual blur of the scrolling social media landscape. Hopefully we have achieved that?

Did COVID force you to work any differently?
Dave: Lockdowns gave us a lot of time but in that situation, it wasn’t always the inspiring quality time that’s needed to be creative.

What did you think when you played the final mix back for the first time?
Tina: You hear an album with fresh ears once you have sent it off for distribution. You’re no longer thinking about “what if”. You’ll never hear it as someone else would but you separate yourself from it more and more over time.

Which artists/bands would you consider to be some of the biggest influences in shaping the album?
Tina: We have drawn influence from many Bands over the three releases but DEAL BREAKER definitely has more of a focus on Australian Radio Bands from the early 80’s like DIVINYLS, MONDO ROCK, THE SPORTS and MEN AT WORK. A period in time when hard guitar driven pop ruled the airwaves.

What’s next for Poor Little Things?
Dave: We love the process of creating an album and enjoy working together. There will definitely be a third P.L.T release. As far as direction goes, it will depend on how we are feeling at the time.
What’s for certain is, there will be distorted Guitars, Hooks, Melody and a Party Vibe.

Interview By Rob Lyon

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