The Western Front

Ask someone to tell you five things about Perth and odds are they'll get stuck after “It's really expensive… mining… It's got a good music scene?” The theory of isolation breeding creativity in that cut-off part of Australia has been around since the early-'90s when it spawned rock stalwarts Jebediah and Eskimo Joe. Psych folk singer-songwriter James Teague says not a lot has changed. 

“It's a little isolated city and it's kind of got this sense of community about it because of that fact, so I guess any of the magic that people refer to that comes from the Perth music scene comes from the camaraderie aspect of the scene – people helping each other out and playing in each other's bands. It's kind of incestuous but also kind of cool.” 

In terms of more recent developments, such as Tame Impala's spectacular rise putting psych music and Perth back on the world's radar, Teague is conscious of not being influenced by any of the pressures that this kind of attention can bring. “It's had a big impact on the Perth music scene and people exploring different types of music, but from my perspective as a songwriter, I haven't felt any kind of impact because I'm listening to all kinds of bands from the past, just the same as those guys are probably doing.”

When it comes to being influenced by old music, Teague says there's no hard and fast rule as to where authenticity ends and copying begins. “Everyone draws their lines in different places; some people like to be really authentic and get the style exactly one hundred per cent and some people just let the influences wash over them and write… the latter is definitely where I'm at. For me, songwriting should be something that's natural and your influences are just things you absorb and don't really think about.”

An occupational hazard of strongly referencing sounds of the past is that critics jump to liken you to everyone even vaguely associated with that genre. Teague says this can be weird, but he isn't particularly fussed by it; “I've got some really weird comparisons before – the common ones like Jeff Buckley and the [strange] Joanna Newsom thing, but I suppose the strangest one I've got was in another street press interview and I was likened to Joni Mitchell. Which was totally odd for me to read. But I'm kind of not moved one way or another to be honest.”

Teague is embarking on his biggest tour yet, off the back of his single, Where Sorrow Is Forgotten (In The Great Divine), and says translating the intricate instrumentation of his album, Lavender Prayers, into a live setting has been a challenge, but one he's enjoyed. 

“For this tour I've just got the foundations of the band – rhythm section, guitar and keys – so I don't have anyone playing mandolin or anything. But it's pretty similar [to the album]; I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to rehearsing all the guys and making sure it sounds as close to how I want it to sound as possible. It's pretty accurate but not too accurate; I like to mess around with it as well and recreate it and give it a different vibe depending on how I'm feeling at the time.”

James Teague will be playing the following dates:

Friday 12 April - Mandala Organic Arts Cafe, Gold Coast QLD
Saturday 13 April - South Side Tea Room, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 14 April - The Joynt, South Brisbane QLD
Friday 19 April - White Star Hotel, Albany WA
Sunday 21 April - Clancy's Fish Pub, Dunsborough WA