Brisbane’s pop-punk upstarts Two Times Shy are soaring lofty heights as they let loose their …
Brisbane’s Waxflower shared their debut EP, We Might Be Alright, just months ago, but now they’ve kicked off a brand new era with their latest single, Soak.
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With their heart still firmly on their sleeves, the band have focused on confessional lyricism, anchored by their experiences with mental health. We got frontman Tristan Higginson to run us through this, the band’s next moves and more.
Hysteria: Let’s dig into the new single, Soak. We love the narrative behind it, so what inspired it?
Tristan: Yeah, thank you. This is the first song I co-wrote with Jordan Beard, who plays guitar and sings in the band. We actually started writing it a really long time ago, probably in 2019, maybe even 2018. We took it in for the last EP and concluded that the chorus was amazing, but we could do something better for the verses. A year passed since we did that EP, and it was time to do the next batch of songs. We were writing and writing and writing, up until the very last point and I was kind of banging my head against the wall. Like, why can’t I figure this song out? And I tagged Jordan in saying I just need someone to write this verse and I’m so glad I did because the song would not be where it is without him.
Thematically, me and Jordan both have had our separate struggles with mental health in the past. Myself, I’ve been down in the trenches with anxiety and panic disorder over the years. And that’s really where this song stemmed from initially. Jordan’s had his own share of battles so he brought that to the verses that he wrote. Our last EP was sort of hopeful and more upbeat compared to some of the previous stuff we’ve done. And, you know, this cycle, when we wrote the rest of the song that wasn’t the choruses. It was mid-lockdown, times weren’t great and we didn’t want to be patronising. That’s something that I hate. I just wanted the song to be down there with you. It’s more like an empathetic hand on the shoulder.
No, we totally get that. It’s that whole toxic positivity thing.
Yeah, it’s definitely the last thing you want to hear when you’re sad, anxious or anything like that. I think it shows a lack of understanding for the most part. That’s not to say that happy music is bad. But I feel for me, when I’m sad, I want to listen to sad music. And when I’m happy, I mostly want to listen to sad music as well [laughter.] Sometimes I’ll listen to happy music.
100%. So this song, coming together in the pandemic and being heavier than what you put out on We Might Be Alright. Did your surroundings inspire that change? Where’d it come from?
Yeah, it’s interesting. I don’t think it was to do with anything that was happening in the world, in terms of the sonics. I think everyone in the band listens to a really broad range of music, and we come from different backgrounds. I’ve dabbled in heavier parts in previous bands, and it kind of all just came together this time. It’s really weird. I’ve spoken to a few people about this track and I tend to think that it’s our heaviest yet, but some people think it’s our poppiest. I think a lot of it comes down to the production choices and that sort of thing. The verses are probably the poppiest thing we’ve put out, but the chorus is more straight down the middle rock. And then there’s obviously a breakdown. So it’s the best of all those worlds. It’s all stuff that I’ve wanted to do in the past. I’ve wanted to have heavier bits, and I think we dabbled in that on the song, We Might Be Alright off the last EP, but we went all in here. The chorus has been written for so long, but the verses kind of shaped the rest of the song sonically. Because the chorus is similar to what we’ve done in the past in terms of heaviness. But then I think it’s the breakdown that really brings it over the edge.
We didn’t want to be patronising. That’s something that I hate. I just wanted the song to be down there with you. It’s more like an empathetic hand on the shoulder.
[ Tristan Higginson ]
Yeah, we think so. It’s probably a little tough to tell now but is this something that’ll continue into your next tracks?
We have the next tracks done, and we know which ones we’re putting out next. All of the singles that we’re going to put out are a little bit different. It’ll be interesting to see what people gel with the most. Soak is the heaviest of the new ones we’ll put out. And the reaction to it has been really cool so far. But it’ll be interesting to see if the people who like it are also on board with the next tracks. They still have that same production style, but there are more pop-punk songs and more pop songs. And then there’s like, more emo tracks. There’s a little bit of everything.
Can you share any details of those new tracks?
We have songs ready, and we have another release that’ll be announced soon. But for the most part, we’re just focusing on Soak. We’re just trying to get everything lined up for the next songs and figure out the rollout. I’m super proud of how the songs turned out. I can’t really touch on the specifics of how many there will be or anything like that. But I’m sure I’ll leak it at some point after a few beers on Instagram.
What’s next for Waxflower?
Soak was the bookend to this year. This is the thing that we’ve been looking forward to for a while. I don’t know; it’s weird because we put out the EP in the middle of the year, which feels like it was a year ago. But we’re focusing on Soak; we have the music video coming out for it next week. We had to cancel our Melbourne and Sydney shows this week, unfortunately. So that tour ended up being one day in Brisbane, a great show, but unfortunately won’t get to the Sydney and Melbourne ones until next year, likely. But we have so much exciting stuff planned for 2022. International travel is opening back up, so it’s definitely on the cards.
We’re just really lucky that we got to record this year when everything was shut down. That set us up for the next year and a half. We’re really grateful for having that opportunity when we know a lot of bands, especially those who don’t live in Queensland, had tougher enforcement on them. We recorded We Might Be Alright when the first lockdown happened. We did it in Sydney with Stevie Knight, and there was a two week period where restrictions just opened up enough for us to get down there and back and then they clamped down again. We thought that’s fine, surely by next year when we have to go back again it’ll be all good. And then exactly the same thing happened. It was like mid-lockdown, and it opened up in Sydney, and we could get there and get back. It looks like it’s going to be fine now, though. If it’s not, I don’t want to think about it [laughter.]
