VacationsAustralian band makes it big and then conquers the USA market after grafting hard back home. It's a pretty common narrative for Australian artists, but Vacations have flipped the script here and call the USA home, touring frequently and even creating and hosting their own festivals, with trips and tours back to Australia less frequent.
Although that’s kind of Vacations’ bag – doing things their own way and chasing down their craft like a science, finding the perfect home for their sound.
For Campbell Burns, that’s New York City, and it’s from there that The Music recently spoke to Burns about their upcoming Australian tour and their new album, Pursuit Of Anything, which is set to be released on October 2nd.
Having to wait some four months for new music to be out there sounds uncomfortable to Burns. "I'll be a different person by October as well,” he notes. “I've already processed all my thoughts and feelings. I know who I am, but by the time the record's finished, it's months before the record actually comes out.
“But when people hear the record, they're like, 'Oh my god, are you okay?' ... I'm like, 'Oh, that already happened, like, we're done.'"
"A lot of this album is like inner child, younger self, past life; that whole thing,” he adds. “And it's really what I would have loved to have written when I was 20, but I just really didn't have the skills, or the expertise, or the life experience to do so."
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The track list for Pursuit Of Anything reads like a group of pretty self-actualised artists, exploring themes ranging from realising your parents are the best people you know to the heavy weight of expectation as an artist.
Vacations' most recent single, Holy Grail, was actually inspired by a Zoom call that left the group feeling stuck in a position where they knew they had to keep touring to bring in money, but had to also pause and get in the studio to make music and have a reason to tour.
The Holy Grail track itself is a dreamy, introspective song, with the urgency of the lyrics at odds with the slow, vibey pace of the song. “How can I fool myself again?/When the magic starts to fade/Do we say goodbye, or find another way?“
These questions underpin the song, as the group lament their position of running out of time, but feeling the need to hold on to something solid. It’s that trademark deep reflection that Vacations has come to be known for.
"A lot of the material is based off just our experiences navigating the music industry as a group of four best friends,” Burns admits. “Trying to figure things out, having an idea of what things should be like, and then having a different outcome versus the expectation."
Of course, Vacations have their feet rooted in the USA, with Burns living there and performing on-ground often, which makes their return to Australia for a tour far more newsworthy to them than just another show on the East Coast.
Burns admits that touring Australia and playing at venues he remembers attending as a punter himself feels like a trip.
"I think because I also live in the US and that we tour so much in the US, I sometimes now think that we're just a US band,” he explains. “Not that I forget that Australia exists, I could never, but it's funny to see the venues and go, 'Oh, this is like a really large room.'
“I've seen so many bands at some of these venues when I was a teenager and now we're playing it. It almost feels like surreal in that sense."
"For me, it's almost like this reverse culture shock,” he continues. “It's like, 'Oh, this is what it's like being in a room full of Australians or something.' Just like, not hearing like, [in an American accent] 'Hey man, that was a great show!’."
Vacations will of course be returning to their home turf for an Australian tour, kicking off on July 11th in Perth, and rounding out in their hometown of Newcastle. Burns says that a hometown show is something they are looking forward to experiencing as a group.
With three albums behind them, a fourth on the way, and Platinum records to their name, Vacations are the epitome of hard work. With each milestone and accolade they reach, they recalibrate their goals and pursue a new, higher ground each time.
"I used to only think of our music in the context of Newcastle where we came from,” Burns notes, reflecting on the band’s success. “I didn't expect anyone to listen to it in Sydney or Wollongong. And then I, for some reason, forgot that the internet existed and that people could just upload your music and then it just went viral time and time again.
"I know that if I – when I started out saw where I am now, living in New York and being in a successful international touring band... [that younger version of me] would be so happy,” he adds. “They would be like, 'You're done. You don't have to do anything else.'"
Tickets to Vacations’ Australian Holy Grail tour are on sale now. Their forthcoming record, Pursuit Of Anything, is available to pre-order now.
Vacations – Holy Grail Tour
Saturday, July 11th – Freo.Social, Perth, QA
Sunday, July 12th – The Gov, Adelaide, SA
Thursday, July 16th – The Triffid, Brisbane, QLD
Friday, July 17th – 170 Russell, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, July 18th – Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Sunday, July 19th – The Act at Earp Distillery, Newcastle, NSW
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
