With an infectious sound that is bound to make you move, eclectic indie-rock band Creature Fear are back with a brand new single full of their bright signature sound and theatrical fun. Their second track for 2019, “Makeup” is a song about finally releasing all inhibitions and being yourself, whoever that might be.
Having shared the stage with a range of high calibre artists such as Killing Heidi, Boo Seeka, Kingswood, Tired Lion and The Delta Riggs, Creature Fear are a band that are bound to make you sing, spin and grin along to their incredible, energy-ridden sound. We had a chat to them recently about where it all began for the band and how their latest track came to be.
You’ve been hanging around the Melbourne live scene for a few years now, earning your stripes and picking up die-hard fans in every corner. Tell us about where it all began for you as a band?
Cam: I moved to Melbourne from Wagga with the tunnel vision of starting a band and playing music with a backlog of songs I had saved up. Jacqui and I met on the first day of our orientation at our music uni, and with the same ambitions in mind, we ditched the class halfway through and the band was born. Within a week we were doing some now Creature Fear songs at open mic nights with an acoustic guitar and ukulele. Since then we’re been incredibly lucky that Larni, Jack and Jason are with us. They are all the best and we are all family.
The music you create is an eclectic range of 60’s inspired gritty rock intertwined with pop, indie and folk notes. Where does the inspiration for your sound come from?
Jacqui: It’s very hard to pin down. We all love vintage rock, pop and folk music (60’s and 70’s era particularly) but we definitely all have our own niche tastes that influence the direction of the music. For example, I love a slow, in the pocket drum groove, and a soulful melody whereas Larni wants to smash out a loud four on the floor beat and yell about the patriarchy. Both of those things are great but we spend a lot of time negotiating on those choices to do the most justice to the songwriting. We all respect each other very much so it’s usually pretty painless.
Cam: Everyone in the band has their own specialty field. I’m into 50’s rock, Jacqui’s into R&B and soul, Jason the RHCP guy. Larni the Blink 182 girl and Jack knows most about what’s happening currently. Our genre shifts so much song-to-song too. Given our mixed influences and trying to tap sonically to whatever the song is about (lots of character studies and bizarre narratives) we have developed a sound that is hard to sum up!
Now, congratulations on an epic new release. “Makeup” has been playing in my hotel room for the past three days whilst I’ve been travelling and I can’t get enough. Tell us about the story behind this brand new track?
Cam: Thank you! I was in a pretty bad spot at the time. I felt self-conscious and was overthinking everything every day and feeling really insecure. The idea of saying screw it, I want to stand out, I want to be pretty, I want to wear make up and express myself. The song is about the point in your life where you can finally release all inhibitions and be free to be yourself, whoever that is. It’s about having awakening that gives you an urge to want to portray yourself true to who you are.
Jason: What’s funny about “Makeup” is that we always thought it was a good song, but we never considered it to be one of our best. Early this year we got the opportunity to record demos of most of our songs in order to decide which ones would make it to next stage of production. We recorded just shy of fifteen in demo format, however I don’t think anyone in the band would have thought “Makeup” would be the number one choice. But we all came to agree that it was the one we wanted to get out.
Is there a personal favourite track to play that usually gets the crowds roaring?
Jacqui: My favourite to sing is the song, “You’re Wrong”. It’s not really the one that gets the crowd going but the words have a lot of meaning for me and I love the groove of the song so it’s really easy for me to get into to. And of course “Barely Alive” is an absolute cracker, even if it nearly gives me a heart attack every time we play it.
Cam: Standout for me is “Clean Up Man”, which always turns the set around for me if I’m in my head a bit, just being able to get freaky and throw my arms around to Jacks cowbell.
You’re also well known for your incredibly creative and engaging music videos that have been floating around recently. Tell us where the inspiration for some of these great clips comes from and who are the geniuses behind them?
Our first three were done working with Tim Either and he can take a lot of the credit for them. He has been amazing to us and is a wacky man with a lot of insane ideas which no one else would have. His passion and energy is infectious and he really went all out for us with them. For the “Makeup: vid we worked with a different team in Amy Pollock and Tim Williams, they captured the song perfectly in film and I can’t wait for the public to see it soon.
What’s next for Creature Fear? What are the big plans, the goals, the dreams?
Cam: 2020 we are releasing our first EP. So that’s exciting.
Jason: I seem to keep ticking off my goals year by year lately. Last year my goal was to play a large venue in the CBD, which we did when we supported Aunty Donna at The Max Watts. This year my goal was to play an interstate show and as of writing this, we already played Wagga Wagga and Sydney with our last release and in less than one week we will be heading back to Sydney. As for next year, I want to be touring nation-wide as a support or even headline band. We keep progressing with every year that passes and 2020 will be no exception to that.
What are the details for the next few upcoming shows? Where can we catch you playing this epic new single as well as all of our other favourite tracks?
The two main dates for right now are October 11th for our single launch at The Catfish in Melbourne, and then October 12th at The Workers Club in Geelong. There will be more dates to be announced soon too
Want to hear more from Creature Fear? You can find them on all great streaming services. Be sure to check them out on Facebook HERE or you can chuck them a follow on Instagram HERE. Be sure to check out some of their fabulous music videos on their YouTube channel HERE as well.
