Southern Boogie Band Sweet Talk On Debut Album ‘Switch On’

Sweet Talk are a six-piece southern-boogie band from Melbourne founded over a bond of late nights, 70s grooves, classic song writing, and improvised jams. Gaining a loyal live following since forming in early 2023, Sweet Talk have been journeying across Australia with appearances at some of the country’s favourite festivals including Byron Bay Bluesfest, Queenscliff Music Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Gympie Country Music Festival, Out On The Weekend, and Groundwater, along with live rooms, pubs, and barbecues across cities and states.

2024 was a huge year for Sweet Talk as they toured the country with Texan Charley Crockett, and appeared at Riverboats Music Festival and Byron Bay Bluesfest – where the Queen of Australian Country Music, Kasey Chambers, surprised fans by joining the boys on stage. Since their launch into the scene Sweet Talk have enjoyed widespread acclaim from industry and fans alike. Fastr forward to now and the band has released their highly anticipated debut album Switch On. Soren Walker talks to Hi Fi Way about the album.

Congratulations on the album. I’ve been playing it non-stop since it came out, and it’s absolutely fantastic. You must be really proud of this one?
Oh, thanks a lot, mate. Yeah, we certainly are. Those are very kind words. It’s been a long time coming, a labour of love, certainly, but we’re really happy with how it all sounds.

With everything happening this year, you must feel like pinching yourself, Bluesfest, supporting Red Clay Strays, and all the other festivals you’ve played in amongst that as well?
Yeah, mate, it very much feels that way. We finished the run with Red Clay Strays on Sunday and flew back, and having the last weekend with them tied up with the album release felt massive. It was surreal, the experiences we had with them, and then rolling the album release into it, having their support on the release, it’s been a wild year. Bluesfest too, as you mentioned, quite a few bucket-list ticks have been accomplished.

Playing Bluesfest, was that beyond your wildest imagination? Obviously, it’s different when you’re there as a punter, but did performing exceed your expectations?
It definitely did. A few of us grew up on the Gold Coast, so my brother and I went to ten consecutive Bluesfests back in the day. We spent a lot of our formative music years at that festival, watching our favorite artists grow. That’s where we originally set the intention of wanting to be on those stages. To finally achieve that has been amazing. When we started this band, we wrote out the things we wanted to achieve, and Bluesfest was right up there. So now we’ll have to write a new list, mate.

Have you been blown away by the feedback and response to the album since its release?
Yeah, absolutely stunned, to be honest. You get caught up in your own little musical bubble, working hard to create what you think is an amazing body of work. But ultimately, the listeners decide. As happy as we are with what we’ve produced, it’s just a really great feeling to know that some listeners feel the same way.

I was blown away, I like to think I’m on top of most of the new bands coming out, but I just couldn’t believe how Sweet Talk flew under my radar.
Yeah, we’ve gotten that a bit. To an extent, we have flown under the radar. The band has been together for four years, including some interesting COVID years, which hindered our ability to get out there and play live, which is what we do best. Without a full-length album, it’s easier to stay under the radar, but now that we have a complete body of work, hopefully, we’ll land on more people’s radars.

For a debut album, did you feel more pressure to make a statement to define your sound?
Yes, but I think that pressure mostly came from within. We hold ourselves to a very high standard, and I think we’ve achieved that with this album. Hopefully, it’s being received the way we intended and that means the world to us.

For people who don’t know much about the band, how did you all meet?
I met Tane when he popped out of mum, he’s my little brother and the lead singer, so I’ve known him for a minute. Dave, our other guitarist and chief songwriter alongside me, and I met in high school on the Gold Coast. The three of us, Tane, Dave, and I moved to Melbourne about eleven years ago in search of like-minded musicians and a stronger scene for playing live music. At the time, the Gold Coast wasn’t exactly fertile ground for that. We always felt that if we were serious about music, we needed to move to what we see as Australia’s musical mecca, Melbourne. That informed the move. Down here, we picked up Craig, James, and Nick, and after trying a couple of different rosters, we found the right lineup. It was a no-brainer, everything just clicked.

Was that clear from the early days jamming in a rehearsal room?
It was. We’re all obsessed with groove and pocket, particularly the grooves from the ’70s, mid-to-late, early as well. When we found Nick and James, the bass player and drummer, and felt that pocket, we were all in. Then Craig added such musicality, he’s a brilliant musician and he was a great addition.

So the process of making the album, was that all done in the space of weeks or months? Did you have dedicated sessions, or was it more bits and pieces as you had time?
We worked hard at it, mate. We actually went pretty hard. We did pre-production on it for about six months, which involved flying songs back and forth with our producer, Robert Ellis. He’s a magnificent musician and producer based in Texas. We spent six months flying songs and ideas back and forth in anticipation of his arrival. Then, we flew him over to Melbourne to produce the whole album. To be honest, the pre-production was fairly intensive.

Did the energy and excitement come as the songs were taking shape? Could you feel a certain magic happening?
Yes, definitely. Probably more so for some songs than others, some came more easily, while others required more effort. There was always a unique energy to each song that we were chasing down each time. We really appreciate the help and the things we learned from Robert during the process, and I think it will serve us well moving forward.

With six members in the band, does that make decision-making trickier? Things like song direction, what stays in and what gets cut?
Fortunately, Dave and I have led the band since its inception, so there’s a respect for the vision we brought to the group and to the broader musical and aesthetic vision we have for the project. We’re six guys, each with an opinion that’s always taken seriously. But more often than not, if there’s any kind of conflict, everyone’s happy to go with what Dave and I decide in respect to the original vision.

Was the final album close to your original vision for it?
Yes, absolutely, from the music to the artwork, to the sonic landscape we created from song to song. You’re never completely satisfied, you just run out of time. But as far as things go, we couldn’t be happier.

When you first put on headphones and listened to the final version of the album, what were your thoughts?
That’s an interesting one. I’ve had moments where I’m in absolute awe. Honestly, sometimes I have trouble believing that it’s us who created it. I’m really proud of what we’ve done, and the process to get there was both joyous and hard work. I feel like now that it’s out in the world, I’ll have a moment in the coming months to sit back, listen with fresh ears, and take it in from a different vantage point.

Do you get comments like, “Are you sure these guys are Australian?” since the sound has an American influence?
Yes, people often come up to us at gigs calling out our influences, bands like Little Feat or The Allman Brothers Band. They’re usually spot on. For us, touring the U.S. is high on the priority list. Not just because of musical influence but also because it’s the best chance of making the band financially viable for all six members. We love Australia, and if we could do it here forever, we would. But it’s really tough in the current live music industry, especially when you’re a six-piece band. The logistics, travel costs, and accommodation expenses are insane. Getting to the U.S. seems like a necessary step, and hopefully, that will happen next year.

That must make it difficult to maintain momentum with such a great album?
Definitely. The next step is keeping the momentum going. We’ve got an album tour planned that kicks off in August, which will be great. And even before that, we started writing album number two back in January. It took us a while to get this first album out, but our intention is to not have such a long gap before the next one. My prediction is that it’ll be out next year.

Will the tour take you around the whole country, or will it be mostly on the east coast for now?
It’s all coming together now, but we’ve done some great regional runs and want to get back to those spots. We’ll be hitting the east coast, and hopefully, we’ll get back to Western Australia. We love playing there, the fans are really supportive. Fingers crossed, it’ll be a national tour.

What are your early ideas for the second album? Will you explore new sounds, or will it be more of what people already know?
That’s something we’re figuring out now. We have tons of song sketches, some of which didn’t make it onto the first album but might see the light of day on the second. There’s no clear overarching theme or direction yet, we’re letting the songs bubble up, seeing which ones resonate, and figuring out where they naturally take us. Once we have a handful of them together, we’ll probably have a better sense of the album’s direction.

Best of luck with the album, I hope it takes you far and wide. And when the time comes, hopefully, you’ll play in Adelaide again.
Thanks a lot! Adelaide is definitely on the cards for the tour, so we’d love to see you down at a show.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Switch On is out now via Cheatin’ Hearts