Taking The Music’s call in the tour van en route to Innisfail, roughly an hour south of Cairns, vocalist Fergus Linacre is enjoying the journey, literally and figuratively, that his band Kingswood are on right now. The rock quartet have just pushed through the Sunshine State after playing the main stage at Splendour In The Grass – where they stayed all weekend camping behind the Amphitheatre with Violent Soho and Art Vs Science – and with a headline slot at North Queensland’s Jam In The Jah the only thing between them and the release of their first record, the focus has already turned to how they’re going to bring their decorated  debut, Microscopic Wars, to life.

“We had no restrictions when we recorded the album – we just did whatever we felt like [doing] on the day, and it’s straight to tape so it’s just done, whatever you did that day, that’s the song,” recalls Linacre. “But now we’re in the position where we’re going, ‘How can we get a grand piano? We need a piano and a Wurly [Wurlitzer electric piano] at the same time here.’ They might even let me play an instrument, which is something they don’t like me doing,” the frontman sniggers. “They may let me play keys at one point.”

“If you went into the studio and it was all just a breeze, I kinda feel like maybe it wouldn’t be daring enough,”

Experimentation and vintage sounds kinda went with the territory for the four-piece, who cut their debut at Blackbird Studios with Grammy Award-winning producer Vance Powell. Linacre goes in all different directions when talking about sonic touchstones: the drums in refrained jam So Long are closed off with an “Alt-J vibe”, while he reckons Daft Punk’s Lose Yourself To Dance could be played over the back half of Eye Of The Storm. But having differing opinions and inspirations, and butting heads is all part of the fun.

“If you went into the studio and it was all just a breeze, I kinda feel like maybe it wouldn’t be daring enough,” Linacre agrees. “We went in a new direction with every song, and I think that’s great, and if you’re unsure about it then that’s the cool part. If it was all too easy and you’re all agreeing on everything straight away, then maybe you’re not doing the right thing.”

Conceptualised in their Melbourne hometown, the bones of Microscopic Wars were then taken to Nashville where the guys spent three months together living and working. With initial delays pushing back recordings and more than enough money saved up for the trip, their first days in the city played out “like Schoolies Week all over again”, but they quickly moved past the “cheesy” main strip to find Nashville’s real gems.

“Our favourite thing was [The 5 Spot’s] Motown Monday – [Keep On Movin’!], which is this Monday night dance bar, it’s awesome,” Linacre gushes. “And the place was full of musicians – not in a bad way, but like the waiter at the cafe was a musician, and she’d give you a CD. Everyone we’d hang out with we’d talk about music and we’d play each other music, and we’d go to these big house parties and there’d be a band playing... and we fitted in with our beards – there’s a lot of beards around.”

Though as much as Nashville became home – the band are already talking about returning when it’s time to cut a second record – it was the Apple of the north-east that stole Linacre’s heart. “Stereotypically, in the most cliché way possible, I fell in love with New York,” the vocalist enthuses, adding that Kingswood played ten NYC shows during their time in the US. “It took me minutes to know it was really special; [it’s a place where] you don’t even need to have a target, you just wander.”

“Stereotypically, in the most cliché way possible, I fell in love with New York,”

All these experiences and more can be imagined through the songs on Microscopic Wars. It’s an album that holds an adventurous spirit, and it’s as accomplished an Aussie debut as you’re likely to hear all year. But just as their namesake suggests, it already feels like Kingswood have been around a lifetime; it’s a fact that makes this anticipated album release all the more sweeter for Linacre.

“You’re not a real band until you get a [full-length record] out,” he says. “We’ve done really well not having an album out – we’ve played all the major festivals in Australia, but you’re playing with bands like Soho who have a few albums out, and we’ve only got an EP so... It’s going to be a big relief when we bring it out, and we’re so excited for hopefully good things to come.”