Tired Lion are very ready to release debut album Dumb Days

The quartet have spent a lengthy period carting out bruised and bruising tunes that careen between the worlds of grunge, indie, and pop - it's a ferocious, refreshing bombast cocooned around tales of youth and getting older. Tired Lion's Nick Vasey takes some time out to give us the origin story of Dumb Days as they prepare to (finally) get their first full-length out in the wild.

BEST FIT: Can you tell us about Dumb Days - what's it about?
Nick Vasey: Dumb Days touches on a number of different topics in the forefront; the dissatisfaction with mundane everyday life, yearning for idyllic simpler times of youth and subtle inferences to the unsaid. From a holistic band perspective, the album is a release of creativity. We set out to make a record that sounded like something we’d all listen to and enjoy, something we felt cut the mustard of what artists we look up to would create. I think we got there, in the end, there are lots to be proud of on there and it’s probably the most reflective release of ourselves so far.

How did the album come together?
Nick: The actual recording process happened quite quickly over a couple of weeks and in-between touring. Recording was such a small portion of the process; songs like "Fresh" came about years ago when Matt was having an identity crisis and "Cinderella Dracula" when Sophie was younger and experiencing a tough time in her life. The album coming together pulling in these songs we’d kept close to us really was like the signing off of what had happened to us personally in the last few years. In November last year we all sat together and worked out which songs would make the best album; bringing in the older personable songs with spur of the moment new ones like "Camp" and "Hawaiifive0" which musically just seemed to magically pour out of us.

"Fresh" has been around a while - what was it like condensing it into a single recording?
Nick: "Fresh" has been that one niggling song of ours that we wrote years ago that took several forms. We actually recorded a different version of it not long after our second EP Figurine was released but it never saw the light of day. It is a relief to finally have it out though as we always loved the tune but it just never got chosen for a single until now.

What changes have been made during its lifespan? Did it end up like you imagined?
Nick: When we originally wrote the song, it had a completely different chorus, same lyrics but different chords and melody. The first time we tracked it in the studio and listened back it was brought to light that the verses sounded rad but the chorus was lacking in comparison. We tinkered around with it, even tried stripping it back completely, In the end, it didn’t make end up making the cut for our EP. After a little more fine tuning that original chorus became the bridge and we created a whole new chorus that you hear now.

Which was the easiest song to finish? The toughest?
Nick: I would say the easiest part of recording this album was when we tracked "Hawaiifive0". We recorded it all live so we had to have our parts completely locked in before tracking. The toughest is a tricky one... they were all incredibly fun to track and mess around with by adding layers and layers of guitars, harmonies, and noises here and there so it is hard to think which one was 'tough' to complete. I think we all personally had our own struggles with different tracks but ultimately had a sick time doing so; it's like going travelling, no matter how many bad things happen you always look back months later and only remember the good times.

What was the worst studio argument about?
Nick: Probably what to get for lunch and dinner...

It feels like there's a lot of great guitar music coming from Australia at the moment - why might this be?
Nick: I think it's ingrained into every Australian band's genetic code. I mean having bands of the likes of AC/DC, The Scientists, and You Am I coming out of Australia it is hard to not be inspired to create guitar music.

What's Perth like for a rock band?
Nick: Well, Perth can be pretty cliquey when it comes to popular genres. If you are not playing the popular type of 'rock' in Perth at the right time it can be a struggle. However, there is still a healthy loyal following in the more underground scene.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Nick: We have our debut album Dumb Days coming out in September so we will be touring that along with some festival shows around Australia the rest of this year.