Image by Alex Wall //
Inner West mainstay Andy Golledge has delivered the record that lives up his raucous live shows in Strength Of A Queen.
And I’m not saying that his debut EP Namoi wasn’t a great release. Winsome and earnest, the 2020 EP drew us in with masterful balladry, but Strength Of A Queen spotlights the Golledge that those of us who’ve attended his gigs will recognise – the guy who can bring a tear to the eye in one song, then have you wildly dancing semi-nude by the next.
Golledge’s swaggery energy is on full display in tracks like ‘Rescue Me’ and ‘Ain’t Nobody’, paving the way for more softly sung songs featuring Caitlin Harnett like ‘Babe I Think You Think Too Much’ and ‘Heavy Hand’ to creep in and pluck at the heartstrings. The live feeling on the album is inescapable, with some impeccable guitar tones and grooves coming from his motley crew of lifers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTCFgSOx3I0
Strength Of A Queen is so pub-ready that Golldege has linked up with Young Henrys for a special drop, the AG Draught which we’re told pairs perfectly with the album’s 11 tracks. It’ll be available at all stops (except fezzys) of his national tour. Check out the dates below along with our interview with the with the Tamworthian below, and head here to buy/stream the LP.
‘Namoi’ was more ballad driven, whereas you’re kicking out some jams in ‘Strength Of A Queen’. What happened to you? Are you angry?
I don’t know. I think after signing with Johann [I Oh You], I just sent him the mixes and they were all the songs that he really wanted to put on the EP. And I was kind of like, “It’s your beast, man, this whole label thing. So I’ll just let you do it.”
It worked out a whole lot better because that EP came out in smack bang at the start of that first lockdown. And then, we just thought we’d wait until this year and hopefully lockdowns would be over and restrictions would be over and it’d be a much better time to release those upbeat songs, and it turned out, it was.
What did you do to maintain sanity during that covid period?
I was lucky that we had the album coming out. I was focusing on doing videos and content and getting all our ducks in a row. So I had that over the last year to kind of really keep me distracted, that and fishing…
We had a whole bunch of rehearsals booked at the start of the year because we were going to play shows in January and February, which got rescheduled. But I kept doing the rehearsals anyway. It’s good to stay in touch with your friends. You can kind of just start isolating yourself, regardless of having to isolate, because there’s nothing to do when you get the shits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HmPaUXLqU
As cliche as it is, I think the album encapsulates the live AG energy. How did you record it? One-takes? Click tracks? Were there any special little things you did to get the sound right?
I think it was just being ready. We did 20-something songs and I was working with my producer, John Vella for four years before we recorded those sessions. We tried taking the band into the studio and recording live because I just couldn’t do the click track. 10 seconds into a click track and I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner or something, I just don’t have the attention span to stay in touch with it.
We were just kind of ready one day. And if we ever got uptight or were getting a bit tense or not listening up a bit, we’d just go to the pub and have a schooner… Have a chat, sit outside for a bit and then go back in. You’ve had a schooner or two, then you’re ready to go again.
If ‘Strength Of A Queen’ was a regular at a bar, what kind of person would they be? What do they drink? Who do they talk to?
I guess I’d liken it to myself, I’m more of a quiet bar drinker. If there’s no one there, I’m there. I don’t like busy pubs, I steer away from the main haunts of King Street. It’s either The Golden Barley or the Marrickville Bowlo. I reckon it would drink a Kent Old Brown just because that’s my favorite schooner. Some pubs have it on tap, but it’s $10.50, which is an outrage because a Kent Old should really cost you six dollars or less.
And I reckon he’d just be a good guy that gets down with the locals. But not often, he’s just a blow in every now and then. Having worked in bars for 11 years, I don’t want to be the guy that drinks at the same bar every day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQIrkM0NnTk
One of my favourite tracks on the record is the ‘Babe I Think You Think Too Much’. I wonder whether you have Caitlin [Harnett] in mind when you’re writing a track like that, or does she just come in and work her harmonic wizardry in the studio?
Our vocal ranges are very similar. I’m probably just a little under Caitlin just for the fact that she’s female. So I mean I don’t [have her in mind] because Caitlin always complains that she has to try and hit a high harmony when she can’t do it. So I’m never really thinking about Caitlin, but Caitlin’s one of those naturally good singers who’s always able to produce a harmony. Whether it’s lower or whether it’s a strange one, she just has an avenue for finding where it is almost immediately.
People tend to associate the Inner West with cool cafes and hipster music, but we’re starting to see a lot of American vintage popping up, along with the odd urban cowboy/cowgirl. Do you think this look/style is in vogue right now? Have you noticed a shift. Please let loose:
I got no problem with that. Inner West cowboy thing has always been a pretty big thing. You’ve had all these kind of country punk bands that were here in the early 2000s, late ’90s. So it’s all there… Working at somewhere like the Marrickville Bowlo, or even the Courthouse, they were always popping in. Same old guys wearing the cowboy hats and stuff…
But now I’m on the fence, it’s good because it’s good for what I do and what I’ve always been doing. Then sometimes I get a little bit cynical because there’s a lot of cowboy hats and not much country music going.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OV-Ja6oGMo
You haven’t had to go Tamworth on anyone’s ass yet?
Oh. A few people. A few people that comment on my aesthetic are like, “Where are you from?” and I say, “From Tamworth.” Then they’re like, “Oh, okay.” Not that I look anything like a cowboy from Tamworth, I can tell you that.
It’s a good little ace to have up your sleeve though!
Yeah, it is… You grow up absorbing a lot of that music, especially during the festivals and stuff. I had no interest in electric guitar or rock and roll. I was just listening to my dad’s greatest hits collections, and it was all acoustic driven music. You either keep doing that or you pick up an electric guitar and try to write indie songs or something.
But I was just never into it, even as a teenager, I wasn’t into what my peers were listening to. I was just into playing acoustic guitar and singing about sad stuff. And then that just turns into country music, really. And I wouldn’t even say what I do is country music or Americana… I don’t know. I don’t really like that term. I hate the term Americana. I’d even go as far as to say I’m just trying to perfect dad rock.
For a lot of people SITG 2022 will be the first time they see the Andy Golledge band. How does that rank in terms of excitement/importance for you? Does that stuff make you nervous?
I don’t really feel as nervous as I would if I was playing the bigger stage. But it’s funny when you play stages like that or big festivals like that it can be really, really good or sometimes you can have a real sense of detachment from your audience because they’re either all munted or wasted, and you’re not really sure if anybody’s listening, and you can make a thousand mistakes and nobody would ever know.
I think it’d be really great because there’ll be a whole potential for audience growth. And the potential to get in the ears of a lot of younger people. With the style of music I play it is very easy to connect with an older crowd, but younger kids love that stuff just as much. That said, I could play midday and pla to a few people. That’s the thing, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNPwjogn-vc
Is there anyone there on that lineup that you’re keen to see?
I have no idea who’s playing. Who’s the headliners?
The Strokes, Gorillaz, Liam Gallagher…
Oh wow. That’s hectic. Okay, cool because I post the things but I don’t actually read them. I saw Liam Gallagher at Fairgrounds right before we locked up and that was really good. It was great.
Anyway, what else is coming up in 2022?
A lot of shows. I’m really hoping to get back in the studio. I’ve almost compiled enough stuff to make a new record. Plus, we still have a lot of stuff from the Namoi sessions. So three quarters of the new album will be from those Namoi sessions. It’s interesting when you get a label because I was just like, “Oh, I recorded all these songs. I’m just going to release them.” And then when you get a label it’s like, “Oh, maybe not this song, not that song.” And you’re like, “What? Wait.”
There was never any intention of me not releasing these songs. So I’m just really want to get in and make another record, make two records. I don’t care. I want to do as much as I can.
