Blood Brothers

"We just kind of wanted to round it out and, you know, finish up the album for the end of the year kinda thing, 'cause the first single came out this time last year.” Jordan Malane clarifies Bleeding Knees Club's decision to release single number four, Let It Go, from their debut Nothing To Do set. “It's had a pretty long run even though it got released in March so, yeah! It's done pretty well. We're just like, 'Yeah, this is the last song,' and then we'll have a tour. And then we've just been demoing heaps and that kind of thing. Um, like, just looking to go and record next year and, you know, release another album.”

Let It Go is “all about keeping your cool, and not stressing out”, according to a presser quote from the band's frontman Alex Wall, which is sound advice, but something this scribe can't imagine the members of BKC ever requiring. “No, we're pretty chill,” Malane agrees. “I think we don't try to take things too seriously, 'cause we started this band for fun and, like, it's always been about that. So I don't really stress out about things, Alex doesn't either.”

A bevy of doo-wopping beauties assembled in the studio to supply BVs for Bleeding Knees Club's latest single. “Because we did [the album] in Brooklyn, Dev [Hynes, producer] had heaps of friends that were in other bands and stuff just, like, girls.” Tennessee Thomas (“she used to drum for that band The Like”), Yasmin Kittles (“she's in this band from LA called Tearist”) and Frankie Rose (“she does her own stuff now but she used to drum in Vivian Girls”) all dropped by. Did they put down their vocals while Bleeding Knees Club were still in the studio? “Yeah, yeah, we did it all in the studio with them in there, and it was pretty fun.” So how would the guitarist suggest they top that experience for the band's next recording stint? “Um, I don't know,” he ponders, “record on the moon maybe?”

On how his band snared Hynes for their last effort, Malane explains: “We toured with him at the start of last year when he came out as Lightspeed Champion and he liked our band, and our manager was like, 'You should produce the album,' and he was like, 'All right,' and then I don't know if he thought we were being serious, but then we were like, 'All right, sweet, we're coming over there now in June. Let's do it!' So we just did it.”

When asked whether they'll recruit Hynes for knob-twiddling duties again this time around, Malane replies, “No, we'll work with someone different. That was cool to work with him, he was [in] pretty much one of my favourite bands ever, since high school, and I really liked all his Blood Orange stuff as well, which has just been released over here.”

Malane estimates Bleeding Knees Club already have “probably about ten” songs written for album number two. “Well, we write pretty quickly – they've already been demoed and I think we've already got one that's kind of ready to be a single, so we recorded that a couple of weeks ago. So, yeah! We're just slowly working our way. Like, we'll probably do another ten [songs], you know, before we go in to record an album, I reckon. It's just good to have a few options.” Trainspotting BKC fans may have noticed one of these new songs being roadtested in recent live sets. “We wrote this one song called Young & Dumb and we played that the other week,” Malane confirms. “We played in the Valley in Brisbane. It was pretty sick. It's a lot different. It's a lot more punky, kind of, drums, like – I dunno how to explain it. It's a bit more technical, you know, I think we just got a bit better at our instruments and writing and so there's more going on,” he laughs.

When it's suggested the band's new(ish) drummer, Brett Jansch, probably had something to do with BKC's evolving sound, Malane concurs: “Brett, yeah, he's really good… Our live set's a lot different and he even plays differently on the old songs, so it's a lot more upbeat. He's like a Travis Barker-style drummer – it's really good. It's pretty cool to see.”

Bleeding Knees Club have a few underage gigs slotted in for this touring stint and Malane points out: “It's so different playing in front of underage kids compared to normal people, because they're just so excited and they watch every single move that you make. They're, like, mesmerised [laughs]. It's so funny. In Sydney as well kids were getting drunk before the show so they kind of like – not that they should be, but they were. There were kids going nuts and heaps of pashes going down.”

On that, Bleeding Knees Club are undoubtedly desirable to the ladies, so what's the weirdest thing a chick's ever done to get their attention? “Before this show, these two sisters came up to me and Alex and both just blatantly told us that they masturbate to our music,” Malane (over)shares. Really? “Yeah, I was pretty shocked, hey. They were pretty rough.” So they weren't tempted? “Haha, nah, nah, not at all.”

Turns out that this particular show in Perth also resulted in Wall having a close shave with an agro bouncer. During the show, Malane tells, “Everyone was getting on stage and the security guard was not happy about it. Alex is just like, 'Let 'em on!' Like, he was just kind of yelling at the security guard over the mic, and then the security guard tried to grab Alex as he was playing. And Alex, like, kicked him away. Then the show was finished and the security guard was wanting to bash Alex, and we had to, like, run him out and hide him in our room 'cause the security guard was looking for him. [The security guard] was getting so fired up, and the other two security guards came and got this one guy and were like, 'Dude, what are you doing? Get out of here!' They made him leave for the night.”

To be fair, Wall does enjoy razzing up bouncers during gigs. “Yeah, I think Alex kinda liked it,” Malane allows. “But after it, like, he was pretty scared, hey,” he chuckles.

Continuing success has made Bleeding Knees Club, the 'accidental' band who loved music but “never thought [they] could actually play an instrument and be in a band”, identify what works for them. “I'm still not very good at my instrument, but I'm doin' it!” Malane marvels. Does he think this probably makes bands that have been busting their chops waiting for that all-important break, year after year, a little annoyed? “Yeah, probably,” Malane considers. “Well, see, that's another thing is, like, people taking it too seriously as well, and I think that's kinda like our view anyway: we just keep it simple and [don't] try too hard and that's what works for us, I guess.” Bleeding Knees Club: masters of managing their expectations. “Well, yeah, our expectations are never high at all, you know? Like, everything's a plus.”

Bleeding Knees Club will be playing the following shows:

Sunday 18 November - Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 22 November - Entrance Leagues, Entrance NSW
Friday 23 November - The Standard, Sydney NSW
Saturday 24 November - Transit Bar, Canberra ACT
Sunday 25 November - The Lair (U18), Sydney NSW