Things Are Different For Raised By Eagles, But It Hasn't Changed Their Classic Sound Any

In the space of about five years and exactly three albums, Melbourne country/rock outfit Raised By Eagles have gone from playing for kicks and a few admiring friends, to a touring band with awards, a record label and an audience. That has meant facing a few changes.

"You develop this idea of your audience, which we never had before," says singer/guitarist Luke Sinclair discussing the experience of making third album, I Must Be Somewhere. "So you're thinking about them, thinking about, 'are they gonna like it? Is there enough lap steel on this song? Should I write a song that's more true to the reason that our fans liked us in the first place?' All those kind of things start playing on your mind."

Of course, things that sound radical and risky to the artist might be barely noticeable to the objective listener. I Must Be Somewhere sounds like no one but Raised By Eagles, rich with heart, songcraft, and Nick O'Mara's trademark slide guitar. "I think I realised that as we were working on it," agrees Sinclair. "And especially after we'd finished working on it: we can't really help sounding like who we are. The four of us are still the guys writing the songs and arranging the songs and playing the songs and there's a certain energy that comes from that in itself."

That said, the four-piece had probably more outside input than ever before, with a label (ABC) and producer (Shane O'Mara) both invested in the process. "Well I mean the ABC, the only influence they really had was making an eight-track album a ten-track album," Sinclair reveals. "Because traditionally the first two were eight-track records... So we had to make sure we had ten good songs, because we didn't want to put any filler on there.

"And Shane as a producer, it was great to work with someone who had ideas for songs that I never would have thought of... So the influence was positive. But yeah it was a bit more than just the four of us. It felt like there were other things at play, which were new for us. Which was a reason why I was apprehensive about the record. But I've fallen for it."

It's true. Where last record, Diamonds In The Bloodstream, stepped up and dazzled in the first couple of listens, I Must Be Somewhere sneaks up on you. Sinclair and I spend a good half-hour trading admiration for The War On Drugs album Lost In The Dream, an important influence on the slow-burning tone of I Must Be Somewhere.

"The more songs you have, the harder it is to come up with a setlist," Sinclair considers of how the new album has affected the live show. "Some of those old ones are starting to collect a bit of dust. But now we're doing this headline tour it's going to be good. When you do a headline tour you can play longer sets, so we'll be dusting those ones off. I'm looking forward to playing them again."