JOHNNY MACKAY OF CHILDREN COLLIDE
The careers of some bands can be measured in time scales that others release albums in. Witnessing the rise and fall of bands is something Children Collide could lay claim to as they meander through their musical life. Taking in their stride the ebbs and flows of time, tastes and side projects. The Melbourne trio have explored wide and far in their individual musical pursuits but it is the pull of their original project that unites its members. Their sound has been etched into the Australian musical consciousness through three brilliant albums and now with Chelsea Wheatley joining the ranks on bass, the band have bequeathed to the public another indie rock classic.
The soon to be released fourth album Time Itself marks a return to form and to their roots as vocalist and guitarist Johnny Mackay explains “I wanted to dive back in headfirst to what excited me in the first place.” Enquiring as to whether there was a new and deliberate change in sonic direction on the album or if it was a case of picking up from where they left off, Mackay remarks “If anything, we tried to get back to the very beginning. There were these raw early 90’s sounds that got referenced in all the early reviews which at the time made me self-conscious about sounding too much like my childhood heroes, so I tried to swim away from them. That led to conversations about where those bands took their sounds from. Which pointed us to the moments where music first started getting ‘heavy’ in the late 60’s and early 70’s.” Harnessing those defining sounds, adding one’s own flavour and brewing a new distinct style is what made Children Collide so popular in the beginning with their debut album The Long Now. An album that catapulted them into the limelight and precipitated a quick succession of albums with 2012’s Monument being their last.
Considering their extended sabbatical, the question around how the musicianship of the band between Monument and Time Itself has evolved over almost a decade is answered by Mackay in that “I spent that time traversing a wide range of musical worlds. If anything, it’s made me really appreciate all that’s fun and free about playing in a raucous three-piece punk rock band. Ryan (Caesar) reckons I’ve gotten better but I just feel more confused...which is great! Musicians should be intrepid explorers not reclining safely in our comfort zones. The industry seems to favour emulators, but it’s much more exciting to be an innovator even if only to amuse yourself.”
The traversing Mackay speaks of is as musical as it is geographical with Mackay largely based in New York and navigating psychedelic explorations under the moniker of Lord Fascinator, and Caesar stepping out from behind the drum kit and taking reins as vocalist/guitarist in the glam-rock group Pearls. Yet the time both Mackay and Caesar have spent away from the outfit that started it all has refocused with laser guided precision what Children Collide actually means to them and what they hope to achieve through the band as Mackay explains “time in our other projects has taught us to have more fun with Children Collide but also made us aware of how special this band is.” To underscore the point, the tracks that feature on the record were not written over a short period of time but rather “the songs span so many years in the writing, but fit together so nicely and why the album is called ‘Time Itself’ is a neat little thematic umbrella I suppose. But if there’s an overall narrative it’s a sonic one. We thought about that moment where punk and metal began to emerge out of psychedelic music like the first Stooges record and early Sabbath. Talking about that era in terms of guitar tones etc. and about how a lot of our favourite artists in the early 90’s would have been referencing that stuff. Coincidentally we arrived at pre-production in upstate New York and there was this old reel to reel tape machine upstairs and the first Sabbath and Stooges albums and Dark Side of the Moon sitting on the shelf. So we’d jam downstairs in the day then come up at night and drink wine and smoke a joint listening to those same records we’d spoken about drawing from. It felt serendipitous. Sometimes people do find overarching lyrical themes joining our songs, but to me they’re all quite self-contained little stories immigrating out of my brain into the world.”
Given the timeframe over which the songs were written between album releases, it is a curious thought if this makes Time Itself a more lyrically mature album? Mackay cheekily remarks “probably less mature if anything, or at least enough wisdom to have fun. Trampoline was the last song written before the album was recorded. I was still working on the lyrics in Diamond Mine studio in New York City and I’m rather proud of those. There are a lot of one-liners on the album that make me smile. ‘Sailing down the river Nihilism’, ‘Like an Emu scratching round in the outback of my mind’ etc. So while I wouldn’t call it maturity, I’ve definitely had time to accumulate a couple of charming little notions here and there. I think we’ve already achieved the biggest goals in that the album sounds great and the live show feels amazing. Now we just want loads of people to see and hear it. And with Chelsea joining us, having three people who front their own independent and quite different projects coming together keeps things in perspective.”
Performing live is the invigorating spark that keeps the fires burning as Mackay passionately states “I’m in a trance from the first note until catching my breath walking off stage so putting the right things into place in rehearsal is important. Chelsea coming in as someone who’d seen us play a bunch and zoning in on what’s cool has been a revelation. Also having a room full of people singing lyrics back to me used to embarrass me but now it’s a bloody joy!” On what should have been a triumph return and barn storming tour in support of Time Itself, Covid put a hold on that but it does afford Mackay an opportunity to reminisce about a memorable gig. “I remember a show in Perth where this security guard had been standing next to me on the side of the stage all whole show then in the final song during the break down I looped some noise and went for a little crowd surf. I got carried back to the stage and went to pick up my guitar and finish the song but he thought I was just a random stage invader and tackled me and started dragging me off until the crowd convinced him not to.” Yet on more recent performances “the few shows we managed to pull off since Covid were full of amazing crowds which actually made it feel like nothing had changed. I also did some Fascinator and DJ sets in QLD that were a big vibe. Brisbane has a really cool scene going on up there. Particularly Yonder festival and people associated with that. We used to give Brissy shit, but there’s something special going on up there.”
Such unexpected diverges and delays provide plenty of time to reflect and with a nine year gap in releases a lot can change in the industry and for Mackay “as far as the “industry” goes, feels like some of the things that people around us used to stress out about don’t matter so much anymore. Maybe they never did. I’m quite grateful for the little family we’re a part of. Feels more family than industry. Which allows you to be a little bit oblivious and just focus on making stuff.” Poignant remarks when considering that at a time when the world feels more distant than ever, the sense of family, mates and an opportunity to create, is more important than ever.
What the record manages to do, albeit inadvertently, is pull the music community together. On the one hand a nod to the past, a reverence for an era that birthed amazing music to the world and through which Children Collide have been a vessel and on the other hand a collective salute to the future. Bringing together fans both past and present, the coalescence of then and now is melded into a record befitting of its title and is Time Itself.
