One of this country’s most loved and respected bands The Jezabels are today unveiling their highly anticipated new album Synthia and as expected it’s a stunning addition to Australian music in 2016.
The band’s Hayley Mary explains the recording process “This is a record we made ourselves, at our own behest… we just had a natural momentum. We were back in Sydney [from London] in January, got together to rehearse and wrote about four songs in a week.”
She continues, “Previously I’ve shrouded myself a lot in mystery and the language of romanticism; played roles and stuff—which reflected some kind of truth about how I felt as a woman. Now I feel like I can be much more upfront…the truth about how it feels to be a woman has become a more prominent part of the general conversation in the last couple of years…these are exciting times. I think we’ve made an album that celebrates that.”
To get a more intimate look inside just how the album was created the band have penned us a track by track run down which we can check out below.
Stand and Deliver
“We’re gonna see more women in positions of power and responsibility, having a voice. But what we lack at times is confidence because of years of oppression. So many women I know are constantly questioning themselves and their ability. Now you can do it, the pressure’s on. Confidence is going to be key. People are listening. What do I have to say?”
My Love Is My Disease
“I guess that’s the female archetype of being tragic and sad and sick. Emily Dickinson… actually, there’s hundreds of them. It’s playing into the parody of being a victim, but it’s also about owning your stigma; a statement of pride about who you are with all the ailments.”
Smile
“I forget that some men don’t know this, but men are always telling women to smile. Strangers on the street: ‘Smile, love’. I’m not here to be a flower for you. I might be going to a funeral for all you know. I’m happy for people to say what they like or think; try and hit on me, that’s fine. Just don’t tell me how to fucking feel.”
Unnatural
“It’s a bit of Lady Gaga moment, when she plays into the monstrous female. I feel like she takes on the stereotypes of what you expect women to be: a bit crazy, deranged, synthetic, fake, grotesque. It’s delighting in being monstrous.”
A Message From My Mothers Passed
“It’s being a girl and walking the streets and always feeling in danger, but doing it anyway because you refuse to live in fear. This is a bit of an ephemeral spiritual song. My grandma was a witch. Apparently. Thinking about her often gives me faith when I feel insecure or in danger. Sort of like a matriarchal figure protecting me.”
Come Alive
What would you say on your deathbed? What will your regrets be? I think mine might be ‘I was scared’. So take that and act on it now. Now that, for western women at least, some of the real, tangible obstacles are being dismantled, we’ve got to approach the internal ones.”
Pleasure Drive
We’d been through a lot, and had some pretty hard times in the last couple of years. Sometimes those kinds of hard times can defeat you. For me at least, they almost did. But the other thing they can do is jolt you back into living again, reignite your zest for life. This song was about simply enjoying your life while it’s here and living in the moment. It’s not about hedonism, it’s about the necessity of enjoying your own transience.
Flowers in the Attic
“I think it’s a song to a father figure, some masculine archetype that you want to impress, and then realising ‘Actually, I’m not impressed by you, so why am I doing this?’ I guess it’s a coming-of-age thing.”
If Ya Want Me
“The chorus is a call to a man to liberate himself. I feel like a lot of heterosexual men feel oppressed by the inherent power they feel women have, and their desire for them. That’s why institutions have been formed to try and control women. Again, it’s all based on trivialising sex… it’s all good if you want to have sex. Women like sex too. We don’t have to form a patriarchy because you feel guilty about it.”
Stamina
“Love, home, a man, hope… I was trying to think of all the things that people aspire to that don’t quite cut it. A couple of years ago people started talking about resilience being a life goal, instead of happiness. Happiness will come and go. I think keeping going is the aim.”
Synthia is out today via through MGM. To order visit http://thejezabels.com
