Plenty Of Horsepower

Brisbane rock expressionists Black Mustang cite their influences as Detroit rock from the 1970s and Australian Pub Rock from... anywhere from the '60s to the '90s, if bassist Dan (just Dan) is to be believed.  His own personal preferences are very much from the wide-legged jeans and paisley shirts part of that time continuum, with favourite bands in both the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and Australia's answer to both: The Easybeats. It's not often you hear a mention of The Easybeats, but Dan's enthusiasm is more than effusive.

“They are the Australian Beatles,” he declares. “I love the songwriting, the production and everything about them. I love Vanda and Young as a production team, the sound of the bands they've produced over the years is where I'd like to be.” Dan's interest in classic pop and rock extends beyond just the music itself, to the way it was recorded and pressed.  Their new single Loaded Gun is being released on the usual CD and download, but released at the same time is a seven-inch vinyl EP containing their previous single Love, Lies, Bleeding and Loaded Gun, with veteran producer/engineer Don Bartley magicking the production, as he has all of their releases so far. 

“We all have a vinyl collection, and so we were keen to get one made ourselves,” Dan explains. “A lot of people buy them these days as collectors, but there's also been a resurgence with lots of people having vinyl players.” The seven-inch serves both wax devotees and Black Mustang's new fans, with both their last and current single, but also some unreleased tracks for good measure. “The four-track vinyl has two previously unreleased tracks as B-sides,” he confirms. It seems a slightly odd strategy, to release both a new single and an EP collecting two singles concurrently. Dan thinks the timing is actually fortuitous. “We wanted to space them apart, but there were delays with the vinyl and now they've both fallen in lap at the same time. I'm just glad it all came together before the tour, and we can put it out in one big package.”

The EP helps demonstrate the 'Beatles and Stones influences on Black Mustang: Dan explains they have evolved from pop to darker sounds, with stoner rock as some kind of strange middle ground. “Our songwriting as a whole, in the current album, shows more of our darker side, whereas the first couple of releases concentrated on a more poppy sound,” he tells. “Our new material, that we've been writing at the moment, is a cross between our pop side and our dark side. Black Mustang is like that, and it means we have a set to suit all occasions. Whoever has more influence over each song means it comes across dark or poppy. “

Giving the single and EP that bit of extra '70s nuance is the analogue recording method Black Mustang insist upon. They only record to analogue tape, and use mostly vintage sound equipment. Dan can be thanked for much of that, as he is the band's classic equipment benefactor, with a massive collection of vintage guitars, basses, drums and amps which has cost him a wild amount he'd prefer not to disclose.  But, he argues, it is cheaper than if they'd had to hire it all the time.

“I collect a lot of vintage gear,” he says understatedly. “I've got a massive collection of amps and drums and stuff, and we use it. As a bass player I've got a lot of old vintage speaker cabinets. I've used the reissues of them, and they sound nothing like the old stuff, they just don't have that tonal quality I'm after. It's a nice rich warm tone, and you just can't recreate it. Timber ages, and the vibrations running through it change over time. I don't know a lot about it, I just know there's a difference and old equipment sounds much nicer.“