Adelaide four-piece Choosing Sides have just released their latest EP, All I Need. It’s an enticing blend of indie, alt-rock and shoegaze, drawing attention to thoughtful lyrics and artful musicianship. It’s a collection of songs showing great maturity, as the band explores their relationships and place in the world.
Frontman Will Wright explains: “‘All I Need’ explores the nitty gritty of self identity as a young person,” expanding further “Touching on toxic relationships, self esteem and broken promises – the project is a high energy journey through an overthinking brain.”
From the catchy “Impulsive”, the rocking “Piece of Mind”, to the driving bass of “Before You Even Notice”, the EP is an impressive release from the talented group. To celebrate the release of All I Need, the lads have put together a list of ten classic albums that have inspired them. So do give the EP a listen then read on. There are some classics here, and a couple of surprises. Read on.
10 albums that have inspired Choosing Sides
Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Ride
We take a lot of our core songwriting influence from Catfish. Their songs always have punchy hooks and great bridges, but still manage to keep each individual track interesting.
Nothing but Thieves – Broken Machine
We love how Nothing but Thieves take the simplest guitar riffs or drum grooves and turn them into really interesting compositions. Conor’s soaring vocal style also played into our melodies quite a lot through this EP.
Karnivool – Sound Awake
Karnivool are one of our heavier influences which showed through in our bass the most, with a lot of the Darkglass tones and bass parts following their distinct style.
Elliot Moss – Boomerang
When Eli was creating the handful of synth parts for the EP, he took influence from the sounds used in Boomerang and applied them in a more subtle way into our songs.
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
Humbug really stuck with us as a band because of its more unconventional approach to production compared to other Arctic Monkeys albums. The dark rhythm sections and fuzzy leads played into a few of the tracks on “All I Need”, especially coming through on “Before You Even Noticed”.
The Neighbourhood – Wiped Out!
We love the atmosphere The Neighbourhood present on this record, with so many subtle layers and effects creating a huge soundscape to get lost in. The reverb and chorus-drenched lead guitar parts were also a core part of a few of the songs on the EP.
Baroness – Yellow & Green
Baroness have a crazy way of putting unexpected guitar effects into their songs. Most of Michael’s pitch shifted and distorted parts were influenced by Yellow & Green’s memorable lead guitars.
Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown
The way Come Around Sundown works around its soaring reverb guitars was a big part of tracks like Impulsive and All I Need. We implemented the way they switch from rhythmic, choppy parts to more open, patient leads to create a lot of space and atmosphere.
Ghost – Meliora
The drum sounds on Meliora feel huge, especially in the cymbals, yet are delivered with simple yet effective rhythms. Frankie applied Ghost’s way of making each song stand out on its own, whilst still fitting in the project.
Linkin Park – Meteora
Linkin Park set the foundation of Frankie’s drumming style. The intense fills and rhythm change-ups deliver a lot of energy in the heavier songs, while the more laid back parts keep a driving feel and push the song into new sections
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