The Mabels: Closest Call.

The Mabels play The Candle Empire Strikes Back at The Zoo on Saturday.

It’s now the best part of two years since Melbourne pop quartet The Mabels released their lauded album The Closest People. But rather than follow up with masses of shows and another rapid fire recording, the band have taken a step back and given their music time to breathe.

“Last year was pretty much a year of in betweens for us,” explains vocalist slash guitarist Anthony. We did the Candle shows, but apart from that we really wanted to take a break from playing live, because we’d never actually stopped for about three years. We’ve been working as The Mabels since about 96.”

“We were looking for a different approach when it came to writing some more songs, rather than play live and the record. Kim (bass, vox) and I went to American about six months ago and did a little tour there, and that was really the only live stuff we did last year at all. Kim and Warwick, our guitarist, both got engaged to their respective partners, and we had a lot of personal things to move into. That’s kind of where we are now. We might do some more recording, or I might do a few more solo shows.”

Do you enjoy playing solo shows; is it something you do often?

“I played one last night, actually,” he explains. “Just a small set in Fitzroy with some friends at a pub. When I first came back from overseas for the first six months other guys gave me shows. I’ve played solo on and off for pretty much the whole time (the band has been in existence). I still want to travel and tour, and it’s easy for me to just pack up a guitar.”

Is performing solo a consideration for your song writing? Do you have to think about how things will sound with just a guitar and voice or do you like to experiment with other sounds that you might not be able to reproduce?

“I think a lot of the newer stuff will be a bit more stripped back so I can play it live. With The Mabels, they’re such good musicians I can write pretty much knowing how they will sound in my head. I know their musicianship and they know the way I write songs. When I’m by myself I just look for basic ideas and when we record I’m hoping to start from the ground up and just start to add things where it’s appropriate. When we go into the studio we’ve pretty much got the song about 90% figured out. It’s more a tinkering process, whereas by myself there’ll be a little more experimenting to see what happens.”

How close did The Closest People come to the idea you have of how The Mabels should sound?

“I’m really happy with that record,” he enthuses. “It’s really close in terms of what I was thinking. I’m really happy with how the songs feel together, and I’m happy with how the themes worked together. Almost the torment of relationships and how the songs fitted into that general theme.”

Well the old adage is you have to live it to play it, so what were the band going through when the record was done?

“There’s a lot of our own personalities and the relationships between each other. We’ve all had things in the past that we brought into the record. I can only really write from an honest viewpoint. I kind of don’t like the idea of blatantly wearing your heart on your sleave, but if you can be honest with yourself then people are going to get something from what you do. The music I love, it just speaks little truths that make you feel more connected. It’s a nice thing.”