Loon Lake

We chat to Sam from Loon Lake ahead of the band's headline tour for their debut EP, Not Just Friends.

You know you’re onto a good thing if a band this new to the scene has already established a unique brand of sound. There’s that low-fi aesthetic of a twanged guitar, incredibly raw vocals and a somewhat limitless vintage amp.

“Most of our better songs have come really quickly and we’ve all liked them instantly, there are no real recipes.”

 Loon Lake’s sound scratched and broken all over – but in the best possible way. Luckily for us this wasn’t lost when the band translated their demos into their debut EP Not Just Friends,

“We were all adamant that we wanted to keep the sound of those demos. We also wanted to get the same kind of sound, our sound, but have it sound good in headphones. So you can decipher all the parts instead of it being a big jumbled mess.”

“It’s probably easier when I have a song almost formed and done, with five dudes and you’ve all got different ideas – sometime it can take ages and the freshness of it can be gone after a while.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the industry has also got behind Loon Lake, especially after they won Triple J’s Big Sound competition last year – alongside tough competition with the likes of Boy and Bear, Washington and Children Collide.

In particular Triple J presenter Zan Rowe has sent a lot of love their way,

“She just wrapped herself around it from the start, she started playing our songs flat out and then she wouldn’t just play them but give some really nice words.

It struck a chord with her. I’m sure there’ll be someone else at triple j likes someone else but I guess its just taste, she likes us and we’re really lucky that she does. 

Although things seem to be moving quickly for Loon Lake there’s definitely the sense that this is a down to earth band, one with a good head(s) on their shoulders.

“I can only speak for what we’ve done but when we won that competition and started getting airplay we had a lot of people out of the blue writing to us.

I would definitely recommend you do your research, we haven’t signed anything either if you’re a young band and you’ve got all sorts of people approaching you the best thing is to do it on a trial basis.”

Not Just Friends is a record that screams summer more than anything else. It’s sunny, warm and infectiously catchy. Besides, this is the kind of music you listen to at a summer bbq after a long day at the beach.

I wonder if Loon Lake felt the same way, as the last track Wine comes to a close there the sound of applause and someone getting very excited that “the sausages are ready.” 

That aside, next month will see the boys set off to play a string of shows for their first headline tour so be sure to check them out. Are they looking forward to any shows in particular?

“All of it – we’re all really big surfers so anywhere where we can get good waves and I’m really looking forward to playing at Byron Bay at the Great Northern. It will be cool, there’s always a crowd and they love live music.

What can I say? If the records anything to go by, It’s going to be a good time.

Drop in to JB Hi Fi for a copy of Not Just Friends, or any other reliable music store. Also feel free to check it out onItunes.