Pacific Avenue Take ‘Lovesick Sentimental’ On The Road

Australian indie-rock favourites Pacific Avenue have released their highly anticipated second studio album Lovesick Sentimental a week earlier than expected, available everywhere now. The release follows a recent creative and heartfelt new album date reveal, when the band surprised fans on Valentine’s Day with a unique outdoor activation on King Street in Newtown, Sydney. A large billboard was completely covered in handwritten post-it notes, each featuring messages inspired by Lovesick Sentimental. Fans and passers by were invited to peel off a note to keep or share with someone they love. As the notes were gradually removed throughout the afternoon, the billboard underneath slowly revealed the band’s new album release date Friday February 27. With the album out Pacific Avenue will take their latest music straight to the stage with a national Australian headline tour presented by Triple J kicking off this week. Drummer Dom Littrich talks to Hi Fi Way about the album and tour.

Great to be talking to you. I’m not sure if this is going to be set up like an episode of Inspired Unemployed or not???
You’re safe on this one, mate, don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behaviour!

Congratulations on the second album, it’s an absolute ripper. Is it true what they say, that the second album’s often the hardest?
I think so, yeah. I think it has been the hardest, because you don’t want to repeat yourself, you want to branch out a little. The hardest part was the length of time it took to make, going back and forth between LA and here. There were a few things that were out of our control. We had the fires in LA, which pushed everything back, and then Harry got sick for a bit too. But it’s finally here, and we’re stoked with it. Super happy.

Is there a bit of second album blues in there as well? You see so many bands that come on really strong on the first album, and it’s a little bit more challenging the next time.
Yeah, I think it was more exciting. We knew we had branched out a little with the next one, going with a slightly different sound but still keeping those elements of classic rock in there. I think we all found it exciting, it gave us an open slate to take things in a new direction.

Was that hard with all the back and forth?
Not living there, we were just going back and forth for the recording. We recorded with a guy called Doug Bowen in LA, in this little place called The Hobby Shop. We spent about two months there all up, and then recorded some of it back in Sydney as well. It was great being over there. We were there for South by Southwest, so we teamed it up with that, and we were also there for a tour, so it all lined up nicely. It’s cool being over there, you can feel the creativity in the air. And it feels pretty surreal recording overseas, too.

Being in LA, is there something about the place that you might not have got if you recorded the whole album here in Australia?
I think so. The space itself has been there forever, and some of the gear we got to use, the old Hammond organs, the wacky guitars, all the bits and pieces, added something really special. I think you’re naturally inspired by the area you’re in. There are so many creative people coming through the studio, and it has this romantic feeling to it, not just being somewhere down the road at home

Did you have a vision for the album in terms of what you wanted to do with it? Or did that come as you started recording in LA?
Harry had written some demos and some verse‑chorus ideas, but they really got fleshed out once we were over there. Doug is a great producer, and he had a way of weaving everything together and creating a consistent sonic feel across the songs. We had bits and pieces to start with, and once we were over there, we got inspired and encouraged, and shaped it all into a proper body of work rather than a collection of random ideas.

Do you feel more pressure this time around? There’s probably already a weight of expectations with what you achieved on the debut and the impact it had.
Personally, I didn’t really feel that much pressure. I’m sure Harry maybe did a little bit, I think it gave us a chance to kind of try out some new sounds we’ve been working on a bit, like, a slightly new direction which opens up a new world.

It definitely seems like a massive step forward for the band. You can hear it sonically. Was there anything you were consciously trying to push or evolve, or did that just come naturally?
We had a lot of the same buzzwords coming through, stadium rock, aiming for those big stages, something anthemic with big sing‑along moments. Less of the classic rock angle and more of that stadium feel. You can hear some of our more recent influences woven through as well, a bit Fontaines‑y, branching into the punky, rocky world. With this one, we were different from the first album, where a lot was already set from our demos. The big change was how hands‑on Doug was. We had weeks of pre‑production, a lot more time, and the whole process was more spread out. That gave everything space to fit together as a broader picture, rather than just a collection of separate ideas.

The album title Lovesick Sentimental, does that mean something different to each of you individually?
Yeah, we had to talk about what it means to each of us. But for me, anyway, it’s just reflecting. I see it as reflecting on youth, the fun, the feeling of love for the first time, and also love throughout my childhood growing up, how you see it with your parents on long car trips, and the music and everything that inspired that. But yeah, everyone’s, when we talked about it, was in a similar vein.

Is there much debate or discussion about how songs evolve, or is it a fairly democratic process?
It’s a pretty democratic really. If one person was dead against something, we wouldn’t push it. We’d have to listen to it, but sometimes people would just be like, “I think this,” and then we’d try the different options. We sometimes have to compromise, but we’re quite a democratic band.

Were there any songs that surprised you in terms of their meaning, or how they changed once you recorded them?
I think Tell Me It Ain’t Over. It’s a big rock number, a bit primal screamy, just balls‑to‑the‑wall. We had lots of fun with that, playing around with sounds and giving it wacky synth soundscapes and that kind of thing. I think even in the demo it was meant to be even crazier rock, but we worked a lot on bringing down the dynamics and making a cappella sing‑along moments, so it had more dynamic up and down. And we also added in a hectic guitar solo. Ben loves doing a guitar solo in the band, and he really got his time to shine in that one.

Is there any particular song that feels like the emotional centre of the album?
I think Working Class Hero, for me. Like I said before, it has that lovesick sentimental thing of growing up. We’re from a small town, Kiama, on the south coast. I feel that embodies it for me, the love, relationships in your small town, your families, and having that connection back to it. We’re all from the same place. So yeah, I think that place attached to core memories and love.

With the studio experience, do you find that brings the guys closer together and you learn a lot more about each other?
Definitely. We’ve had a bit of that with touring, we did the UK and Europe on a bus, pretty much on top of each other the whole time. But with the recording, we have weeks blocked out, and you get the same thing every day, and you learn when to push or pull with stuff. With the band, people get attached to their own instruments and parts, and you get pretty vulnerable as well. You’re giving it everything, and you can notice points of tension, and you know when to sit back and go with it. But often you can be very against something, and then you listen to the producer or other points of view, and you come around to it. I think we got a lot better at actually listening to each other, rather than being like, “I’m right, this is it.”

How do you find touring and being on top of each other in a bus for so long? Does that test things a bit?
Yeah, a little bit. I think we know now, if one of us starts pissing the other off, we give them some space, go for a walk around the city on your own. But because we’ve been doing it since 2017, we know the warning signs when someone’s going to kick off. We know how to work with each other and now it’s a bit different to when we first started, sleeping in cars and all that. We actually have more space, we can look after ourselves better, so we’re definitely getting better at it.

Are you must be looking forward to doing another lap around the country. I still remember that first show you did at Lion Arts Factory. This time it’s Hindley Street Music Hall, a massive step up. You must be excited to play bigger venues?
I can’t wait, man. We’ve played them on support tours, but it’s always been the dream to have it as a headline show. That’s always been the goal. I think I saw my first gig ever when I was fourteen at the Enmore. So yeah, super pumped. A little bit scary with how many tickets you have to sell, but with the album coming out, it should be sweet.

What’s next for you and the band once you’ve done these Australian dates?
We’ve got Europe and the UK straight after us. As soon as this ends, we go over in April. We’ve got about a month there doing that. After that tour, we’re all going to take a bit of time for ourselves. I think we’re all going to travel around Europe and the UK for a few weeks. Then we’ll probably look at America later in the year, we’re working on that now. But yeah, second half of the year is touring the album, getting back into writing, and just keeping on rolling.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Lovesick Sentimental is out everywhere now…

On tour nationally, tickets HERE…