“Living through a reality TV show” is how Expatriate’s frontman Ben King describes their relocation to Berlin. Three years ago Expatriate were swept up and away from their beginnings in Australia to the heady heights of the European summer festival circuit. It’s a fantasy shared by many, experienced, tragically, by few – King only adds to the allure of such a lifestyle by explaining how “you get to meet people you’ve idolised, it’s very communal and relaxed.” Expatriate, then, are living the dream – four chaps from Sydney who have an international record deal, a trans-continental lifestyle and now a second album due for release in March.
Entitled Hyper/Hearts, a refreshingly unaffected King discusses Expatriate’s latest effort: “it’s a reaction against our first record – we weren’t happy in the sense that we didn’t feel it represented another dimension of the band: the sonic fuckery, and the sounds that we loved.” These unfulfilled visions, then, have influenced the second record greatly. “We’ve really gone and done all that on this new album – painting the background in a bit more. We threw everything at the wall and tried to see what would stick.” Recorded in Wales, Hyper/Hearts was particularly hard Yakka to complete, King says. “We didn’t have any mechanisms to step back and look at the work – we realised it wasn’t finished and wasn’t good enough.” Another three months of nips and tucks prepared it to their liking, and consequently it’s to become available in the coming months, along with a national tour.
A laid back approach to being cool
In the meanwhile the odd Expatriate gig here and there has sated a fanbase that has suffered three years between drinks. The East Brunswick Club played host to Expatriate’s first Melbourne gig since a sold out show at the Corner many years ago, and was very clearly a welcome return to a captive audience. Expatriate give the immediate impression of being a band with their shit locked down – an impression that at no point wavered as the night went on. Tight percussion provided an effective framework for a lovely full-bodied sound from the rest of the band. Tempered vocals were well-matched to excellent interplay between lead, bass and synthesiser, producing rich musical textures with a surprising amount of onstage intricacy.
Expatriate give the immediate impression of being a band with their shit locked down
Strong pulsing introductions to songs were exciting and full of anticipation, let down only by a rather jarringly overdone synth presence – the synthesisers fell into place once songs had been properly developed but at times became a blaringly unfortunate distraction when not placed well. Highly engaging and sophisticated drum-work was compounded by steady and impassive bass lines that never wavered in their suitability to the overall tone – it was incredible to see how the band nailed the stripped-down sections of songs that are so often a band’s undoing. There were strains of Death Cab anthems, with liberated vocal harmonies underpinning very strong instrumentation and glorious instrumental sections that showed a lot of focus.
It was clear to see just how synchronised the band was – they played as a unit, all parts of a very well-oiled machine. While it’s always good when a band never threatens to shoot itself in the foot by overdoing it, Expatriate erred too far on the spectrum’s opposite. There wasn’t an enormous amount of energy onstage; for all the exceptionally well-handled changes in tempo and tone, the band wasn’t doing enough in the way of performance to draw the audience in completely. The music was there, it was well-executed and was a pleasure to hear – but it never took hold. As obvious as it was that Expatriate knew their shit backwards, the awkward breaks between songs and unengaging stage presence spoke of a band that is all-too-used to a studio setting.
Nonetheless, if what they produced onstage sets any sort of tone for their forthcoming record, then it is fair to say that Hyper/Hearts will be a proper rip-snorter. Expatriate are capable of polished music that is tightened beyond belief – and if their live act can be enhanced to include the passion they obviously have for their art, then Expatriate are the complete package; a band whose hard work has a very obvious testament produced every time they pick up their instruments.
Hyper/Hearts is due for release in March, through Universal Music.
