Track By Track: Little Bastard

Sydney punk/bluegrass septet Little Bastard bring their signature live intensity to their self-titled debut LP. Band members JOHNNY TOOK, MATTY TOOK and DAN D’ARCY weigh in on the songs, followed by a stream of the full album.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

‘High for You’

Johnny: A drug-fuelled reaction that follows a confused relationship. It calls [back] to the old-fashioned similarities between addiction of substance and addiction of love.

‘I Just Want You Home’

Johnny: It has a uniquely timed fiddle break in the middle by Ed Rowe that’s definitely a highlight. Fast vocal phrasing in the verses and the chug of Daniel D’Arcy’s blues harp hides the underlying loss, sarcasm and denial in the lyrics. It suggests a point of not taking yourself too seriously in particular walks of life: “If you want the last laugh then you better laugh first.”

‘Just Won’t Do’

Johnny: This is one of the first tracks I wrote when I moved into my apartment in the inner-west. There are a lot of references to looking out my bedroom window to the street, the excitement of a new place and the girls I was living with at the time. It’s about taking your opportunities and making the most of them.

‘Desert Roller’

Dan: About a lost wonderer who is roving about and slowly losing his mind. The song compares the depths of his insanity to the vastness of a desert or an ocean. I wanted to keep it simple, using just four chords the whole way through. I tried to make the vocal line flow nicely with an eerie tone. Once I had the basic idea, the rest of the guys added their layers and the song grew to what it is now.

‘Be My Kind’

Johnny: One of the latest tracks to be chosen for the record. I had it demoed for a while but the song really flourished in the studio. Matty Took and Trevor Davies joined to play electric guitars, the fiddle ran through an octave pedal (to sound like a cello) and the dobro (slide guitar) arpeggiates with a tremolo effect. It defiantly stands out and hints at a potential future sound for the band. More of a Springsteen kind of country as opposed to bluegrass-arranged.

‘Good Explosions’

Matty: I wrote this song a while before we decided to go into the studio to record this album. I’m really happy with the way it turned out in the studio, especially with the choice of instruments available for the solos. This song is fast-paced and lyrically dark but, ironically, it tells a story about empty relationships, where being together doesn’t actually benefit anyone – it is realistically just a waste of time.

‘Crosses on the Highway’

Johnny: This tune is a reflection of the last two years of traveling the band has done around Australia. For me it’s the drive down the Hume Highway, getting out of the Sydney’s rat race, the possibilities of the people we’ll meet, the places we’ll venture to. ‘Crosses on the Highway’ is a reference that life is vulnerable and you shouldn’t forget so.

‘Love I Recall’

Johnny: The collective timbre when the drums come in is one of my favourite moments on this album. This tune reminiscing on old love, and romanticises with possible change, fictitious runaways and lust.

‘Bodies in the Water’

Johnny: An older song of mine, and originally meant to be much, much slower. For me this song is about the frustration of loss and not being in control of it. The chorus lyrics are about the transition period between relationships mixed with a reference to the frustration I felt when my roommate took my only Suzuki ‘Swift’ key to London while leaving it in a two-hour parking spot here. The result: $780 in fines.

‘In the Summer’

Dan: An obscure song that paints a picture of selfishness in a relationship. I wrote it on piano: it was originally a lot slower but when I started jamming it on guitar, the pace sped up a bit to a sort of lazy swagger. Trev and Matty put some cool harmonies on it in the studio. It’s the type of song that will mean something different to everyone – the lyrics are subjective.

‘Where Did My Love Go?’

Johnny: I wrote this song about two and a half years ago, just before the band had properly begun touring. Driving back from Melbourne one time, I played the demo to Dan D’Arcy while everyone else was sleeping. There we decided that it would be a great song for him to sing to close the album.

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‘Little Bastard’ is out now on CD and digital through Four Four. Launch tour dates below.

Fri, June 13 – Newtown Social Club, Sydney, NSW [sold out]
Sat, June 14 –Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
Thurs, June 19 – Prince of Wales, Bunbury, WA
Fri, June 20 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River, WA
Sat, June 21 – Mojo’s, Fremantle, WA
Thurs, July 3 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat, VIC
Fri, July 4 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Sat, July 5 – Baha’s, Rye, VIC
Thurs, July 10 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, QLD
Fri, July 11 – Sol Bar, Maroochydore, QLD
Sat, July 12 – Railway Friendly Bar, Byron Bay, NSW
Sun, July 13 – No. 5 Church St, Bellingen, NSW
Sun, July 20 – Newtown Social Club, Sydney, NSW