After releasing second album Make It Feel Like the Garden in July of this year, Queensland’s Eliza & the Delusionals are gearing up for a tour through North America with The Frontbottoms. We were lucky enough to catch up with lead singer, and the band’s namesake, Eliza Klatt to chat about hand injuries on the eve of a tour, touring and writing in America, and even the reuniting of Oasis.
First things first, so I know you hurt your hand right before you were about to go on tour through Australia. I wanted to know how that happened, how is it now and what was going through your mind when it happened?
Yeah so, bit of a drama! I injured it playing sport and I when it happened I was in a bit of denial like “oh its just sore” but it was very swollen. I went to see the fracture clinic and they told me we had to do surgery. I kind of didn’t know how severe that was going to be initially. They told me sometimes its fine to go on but because I play guitar and have shows coming up if I don’t get surgery its not going to heal straight and will take months and months to recover. So we fast tracked it.
I had to have 4 screws and a plate put in my finger with 11 stitches. But now its just getting my movement back, and I haven’t been able to play for a month which is weird. It’s on is way to recovery but its a slow process. Its a strange feeling having a part of your body that can’t move in the way that it used to. Especially with the chords we use and changes we’ll have to make, but we’re on the way.
As a person who plays guitar myself, the thought of that stresses me out so much.
It was horrible. And especially because when you have surgery like that they say “we’re going to do this but we can’t guarantee you will have any movement”. And because it happened so close to the first show of the tour it was our only option. But what do you do in that situation. It was pretty scary, lots of anxiety. Kind of like relearning in a lot of ways now.
I’m very glad to hear you know that its all gone well, that’s great to hear.
Thanks!
I’d like to talk about Make it Feel Like the Garden. How has the response been so far?
I feel that it’s been good. It has been kinda weird with the album release lead up and then the tour being postponed. Its been really good though, I’ve received a lot of positivity and we’re really proud of it. I’m just looking forward to playing it and hearing these new songs live.
So now you’re gearing up to go to the United States with The Frontbottoms which is cool. But being no strangers to that part of the world, I wanted to know how did America or California shape the way this record came out from the song writing and production perspectives?
Yeah I think just being in a different environment and a different part of the world like having that perspective from being on a tour and travelling across the country kind of gives you a bit of energy and a little bit of inspiration as opposed to sitting at home.
So yeah, just being in a different environment with myself and Kurt (Kurt Skuse – guitar) we had like set aside a few weeks to write the record and finish the demos. So I feel like because we had that time and a different location we were really able to get the whole idea. When you’re at home its easy to procrastinate or have other people that I need to do stuff with. But when you’re in a different country you have a lot of focus so that was really cool.
It was good working with Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, CLEWS, Amy Shark) because we just love his work and he was able to bring a lot of ideas and the sounds we were imagining to life.
I was going to mention that, “Make It Feel Like the Garden” has this Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” thing about it. It feels really big but it doesn’t sound overly loud if that makes sense. I wonder if that had any of Butch Vig’s fingerprints on it because I know he was involved at some point.
Yeah so not for that song but Butch was a part of “Lately” with Brian Aubert (Silversun Pickups) so he recorded the vocals which is really sick.
Yeah that’s crazy
But a lot of things he’s been a part of have influenced us a lot, that’s probably where you’re getting that from because we love so much of the music that he’s been a part of so that’s an interesting connection.
America is a polarizing place but as a musician and even a music lover, America is a really important place. I was interested to know what you enjoy about it and what you don’t like.
Yeah I think that’s a good question. Its kind of is…there are a lot of things that are the same but different. I think now you don’t have a choice if you want to have a career where you do a lot of touring you kind of have to push into the US whether you get lucky enough to get on the radio or make your own way over there. Either way you have to.
So, yeah I love how much passion people have for music there and they care a lot about it. And, like touring culture you’re wherever on a Wednesday night and the audience is there. I feel like in Australia it’s play Friday and Saturday, maybe Sunday and Thursday. It’s just kind of what it is. But in America is like any night you could go to a gig and its going to be the best time. That was something.
There is a lot of things I could say that I don’t like but the thing that makes it hard for us right now is the exchange rate actually! That sucks.
Yeah no even as a tourist for fun you feel that, it hits the back pocket pretty hard.
Oh its brutal but you push through.
I guess that’s an interesting thing for my next question. What goes through your mind when you wake up in another country and you think “I’m writing an album in another country”. Does it feel like a dream or does it become more stressful because you realize “Oh I’m a professional now”.
On paper, its is yeah. If I saw someone else doing that I’d think that’s the coolest thing ever. But because it’s me and I live through my feelings, I love doing it but there is a spectrum of all of the background stuff going on and I worry about this or think about that or you know, I don’t know what’s going on today. So there is a lot of mixed emotions.
I think that this time I go I definitely want to be present and just try and like really enjoy being there. I did last time, but it goes quick. I just want to stop worrying and be present. I do think “That’s really sick that we did that”. I feel like being mindful is something that is really important for that kind of thing.
I guess my last question that will involve America. People either romanticize or demonize touring. Its either sort of the greatest thing ever or an 80’s rock band music video where they’re suffering in a bus. What is that like for you guys, is it still magic or does it feel like a bus and another place, a plane and another place “I didn’t know where Albuquerque was on a map” kind of thing.
Yeah I mean, we’re just keen to be there. Definitely not awful, but there are some places we go or stay that we think this is rock bottom vibes. But you know, it’s fun. I have a fun time. There are some things that in the moment are kind of shitty or I feel like my stuff will get stolen that are usually funny stories the next day. I think its just a great experience. Definitely not glamorous rock start vibes but the shows make it worth it.
Going back to the album I wanted to talk about your songwriting partnership with Kurt. Does it get easier to collaborate as time goes on, or does it have its own challenges?
I think overall its easier because you get into a flow with that person when it comes to song writing. It was definitely a challenge for me initially when we first started writing. I was almost gatekeeping songwriting in my own way. But it is something you have to get used to. But when we started writing together and writing songs that we really loved it was like “this is actually sick”.
Overall its better because you are like oh okay that’s great. And really interesting things happen like I have ideas in my brain but I cannot produce the vibes at all. So we work to each others strengths, I wouldn’t say weakness. I’ll have a bit and he’ll find the chords or I’ll have a guitar chord and he finds a bit. You kinda just work together publicly and it’s not the easiest thing. Songwriting is definitely getting to know each other and what works and what doesn’t work, but it’s an interesting relationship to have with someone.
How do you tell each other when you think something sucks?
You kind of just have to say it (laughs). I’m one of these people that are like if someone is like “I don’t think I’m vibing” I want to ask “What do you mean?”. But on reflection I think yeah actually you’re right we can do better. You know what i mean? You have to accept it.
We (Kurt) kind of have a conversation as well and be like look, criticism has a good side and it’s not personal. Once you get past that, you can be straight up. You can’t spend hour on an idea that’s not it. It is awkward though to be honest.
As long as everyone’s goals are to make the song good I think being harsh can be a little necessary. But it doesn’t have to be brutal.
Yeah! And we’re not sitting there like “Oh you’re shit” you know what I mean? But it’s okay to say you can do better. I think its important if you’re really passionate to be like “No, I like this aspect but maybe we can change it a little.” That’s where that feeling comes out. But you have to learn to not take offence.
On that, how do you decide if a song is going on the album or becomes a single? Do they stand out really obviously or is there a little bit of a battle that goes into it?
Yeah it’s actually pretty hard. At the same time you just feel if its right. And like we try to make those decisions when its laid out even if its just demos. The first record we did i feel like we tried to write as many song as we could just because it’s what good songwriters do. But that is draining. Like you can feel when you’re vibing something, you don’t need to push through 50 to find the pot of gold. But it has an energy to it. Even when we were in the studio there were some songs we were like we think this is a great song, but with Oscar we knew some didn’t work with Make It Feel Like The Garden.
So yeah its kind of a feeling. And then you just never know, like my favourite isn’t always the same as everyone else. We kind of go by gut feeling and what’s going to service the record the best, that sort of thing.
I feel like this record we tried to put forward what would be best for the whole album because we are in such a world of music where we are focused on 30 second songs. But it was hard to cut things because we liked every song. We were like this whole album as a piece all together, is meant to be together.
It was hard because what I like and what we like as a band and what we hear when we listen to the music is different to what the audience hears.
I was going to ask was there anyone critical of it (the album) being 18 songs?
Oh yeah for sure. But at the same time, we’re at a point as a group where we’re like fuck it. It’s our album you know what I mean? (laughs).
And like not to shame anyone but they’d say “It’s a bit long” and I’m like…so? We feel like it all has a purpose. If you’re just putting things on to fill it out just to have an 18 track album for funsies then no. But we had a few people ask us about this when we did an instore session when the record came out. And were like oh we noticed the track list is different and we were like yeah we had to cut the interludes to make it fit on the vinyl because you can only have so many tracks on a vinyl before it sounds weird. And that felt wrong. It still plays fine, but now the album is missing its bits of character and the story and journey.
So I think that’s the difference like yeah we feel like what’s here needs to be here.
Yeah and to be fair I don’t think any of those songs personally…they all vibe. Like one continuous flow and it’s not necessarily a traditional concept album, but in a way it does feel…I don’t know if this was intentional but it feels like “Make It Feel Like the Garden” as a track is the centre of this spiral and everything else fans out from that centre.
Yeah no that’s exactly it. Like that was the concept. The idea and the title, everything came from that idea. That’s how we’ve done records. Sort of maybe written a few songs to get a vibe or if something comes up and something sticks everything revolves around that sort of thing. So you nailed that actually, it’s nice that that’s how it came across.
I guess this is maybe a more basic question but do you prefer the songwriting aspect of music or the performing part of it?
That’s actually a good question. I think it depends on where you are in the stage of things. After we wrote the album I personally go into a thing of needing a detox from songwriting. You’re just so in to thinking about it that its like a relief when its done, reset and then you get to focus on the live aspect.
I feel like in music you don’t get many immediate rewards like we recorded the album ages ago and then it’s just come out. So for us, you write this album and internally me and Kurt are like this is sick we love it and you’ll hear it in two years (laughs) you know what I mean? So after all that when you get that live experience its like this is my little treat for writing an album.
I wonder with recording because of the amount of detail that goes into each song and the picking it apart, does that ruin a song or make it better when you get to play it?
I think it depends. It was different when we were doing the first one as a songwriter with notes here and there, but being in the studio with Oscar and having recently released a record as well like you kind of let it be how it is. If there was something weird that someone heard that sounded weird or an issue they would take that out. But I get it if you hear it and and it doesn’t feel right I don’t care if the mic is the crispiest most expensive thing. Like we literally recorded all my vocals with like an SM58. I could be getting that wrong, I don’t know my microphone stuff. But I just held it in my hand and that was the scratch track, but we heard it and thought we don’t need to re record that. It’s got an energy to it. But then you want to make it right, so it really depends. I like to hear peoples opinions because I like to hear things that stand out, but I don’t know if its because I’ve heard it a million times but if they don’t mention it than maybe its just me hearing it 600 times in the last 3 days. I think it really depends on how you want it to sound to. Music you want to hear polished but I wanted our record to be what it was, you know what I mean?
Before you build a following and people start paying attention there isn’t much pressure. But once you have some wind in your sails and people buy tickets and show up, do you find the scrutiny goes up or does it remain the same in the creative aspects?
When we first started writing I just didn’t think about it or what people would think about it. A lot of people talk about like the pressure of the second album. And we used to feel that but I felt it more when the actual album came out because it was like “oh shit people are actually listening to it”. And now I’m like “oh shit I hope people fuck with it”. But then before when we were writing it you just have to write for yourself like write what makes you happy. And I’m glad it didn’t interfere with that. It was more after it came out. All of us were like oh shit like, I hope people like it.
So I’ll move on to a couple easier ones. Does it bother you when you type “the Delusionals” into Word/your phone it considers it grammatically incorrect?
Does it? I didn’t notice that, I guess it’s a made up word yeah. True. I mean that is something that would annoy me so yeah! (laughs).
I’m looking at all the ones typed into my notes and it kept telling me it was wrong and I cross referenced with the album thinking “no it’s definitely right” (laughs).
Oh well sorry about that…
Oh no you’re okay I just wondered if that ever came up and you thought “oh that’s annoying”
No, no but that is actually something that would really irk me for sure!
So my partners name is Eliza and after she heard your album she renamed our share house group chat to Eliza & the Delusionals. I just wanted to know what your current band group chat name is if you can say it?
Oh I actually love that so much. That’s a very specific thing for the Eliza’s out there that we can share and that’s really nice. And oh I think I actually can say it at the moment. We had some pretty classic ones over the years. The band one is I think like…. (note: the call briefly dropped out here, so I guess the universe doesn’t want us to know).
But there is a group chat that we have because we love the St Kilda Saints we have one called the Jack Steve Appreciation Group which is a pretty good one (laughs).
Okay so an inescapable question for the next year. How do you feel about the Oasis reunion?
I actually care a lot. I fuck with Oasis. We actually love Oasis. So yeah no I actually really care. Are you keen?
Oh I had the announcement page refreshing madly the other day
Did you get a ticket? Or are they not on sale yet?
Not until Saturday, but I will fly to the UK if I have to.
Yeah you should do it. Go to the first show because you never know what’s going to happen once they get on stage together (laughs). If they last the 10 shows or whatever. Yeah you should go.
On that, what can we expect when Eliza & the Delusionals return from America and hit the stage back in Australia next year?
Well at this stage, they can expect my hand to be back at full functioning by February (laughs). I would hope. And expect a lot of new songs on the set, it was hard we wanted to add so many in but it was like a 2 hour set. But I want to say it’s going to be different.
Thanks for taking the time I really appreciate it.
Thank you so much this was a great interview thanks.
No problem. Good luck with US tour, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in Brissy.
Thank you so much, see you there!
Make It Feel Like the Garden is available to stream everywhere now. Eliza & the Delusionals will tour Australia in 2025 – get your tickets HERE
