Track by Track: Millions

Brisbane quartet MILLIONS recorded their debut album, ‘Max Relax’, between their hometown and a London studio with Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook.

‘Writing on the Wall’

We wrote this the last week we were in the studio in London. A lot of the guitar parts were written by Louis [Tilbrook, drummer] during a late-night jam whilst Ted [Tilbrook, guitarist] was checking on pizza in the oven. We left the mics rolling and you can hear us dribble on about food in between takes ... Dom [Haddad, singer] finished the vocals back in Brisbane and it is now one of our favourite tracks on the album.

‘Always’

Everyone had a bit of a break from each other when we got back from London and this song came about at the start of the year. We were sitting around Ted’s room and it started with the chorus vocal, which is pretty uncommon for us. Campbell [Smith, bassist] played a tasty bass line and once the piano stabs were added, we pretty much had flesh and bones of the song.

‘B Chill’

Another one we wrote in the studio, ‘B Chill’ was originally the working title but ended up suiting the song so we stuck with it. Lyrically it’s revolved around a relationship that isn’t so sure of itself anymore – not wanting it to end, but maybe it should. Ted’s solo is played through a Leslie speaker, which we had a lot of fun playing around with, and Campbell played through a little ukulele bass with rubber strings, which has a really dead and thumpy sound. Chuck a little classic Hammond organ and piano stabs and, ba da bing, you’ve got a Tony Soprano of a track!

‘Harder Than It Should Be’

One of the only songs from early album demos that made it onto the album – originally the song was a lot slower, and it was definitely a song we had almost given up on going into pre-production. We reworked the ending with Glenn [Tilbrook, producer], and in the end it turned out to be a really strong pop song.

‘Clementine’

One of the quickest songs we wrote on the album and also named after a type of tangerine (don’t get your hopes up, Clementines of the world ;) ). Ted brought the idea to rehearsal sometime last year and it immediately felt like a song that needed to be on the album. We added some extra things in the studio that really added to the vibe – Ted’s Omnichord got some good game-time and we even doubled the chorus parts with some vibraphone. It’s got a really strong swing feel to the song, and Dom has a bit of a croon during the verses. It’s also the first single off the album.

‘Unchained’

Ted had the opening chord sequence for the song, Dom sang some words and then the song explodes far away into a really nice place. We really liked the idea that the song didn’t need anything more than the start and the end, that once it had built up it didn’t need to change again. We really liked layering this song and it has a lot of depth, if you listen to what’s going with all the various instruments.

‘Daydreaming’

Written around the same time as ‘Clementine’, this was another song we were really excited about. It’s written in an open tuning, which was interesting because it’s sort of like forgetting everything you know about guitar and starting all over again with a different sequence of notes. There’s quite a lot rhythmically going on, but it’s got a really great bouncy feel. The song is pretty much a collection of thoughts and a lot of questioning decisions about the future that a young guy might have, a.k.a. ‘Have I fucked it?’

‘Allure’

One of the tracks we wrote back in Brisbane with our good friend Mike McAlary from Gung Ho. Another 3/4 ditty that immediately felt comfortable for us to play. This was our homage to clean chorus tone and has a delicious synth ascension in the chorus courtesy of Charles Murdoch’s Prophet 8. It’s about temptation and the associated thoughts and feelings that go along with giving in.

‘Agony & Ecstasy’

We started jamming on this song literally days before we left for the UK and finished it in the studio. The first time we ran through the song in pre-production, Glenn stopped us and said we had the drum take. It may sound nothing like some of our older stuff, but the whole way through recording it definitely felt like a song we would write. We had a great time layering this song and even got to put the studio’s electric sitar guitar to use.

‘Bottleneck’

Another one of the last songs written for the album – it probably takes the cake for tugging at the heartstrings out of the all the tracks on the album. Following a long, drawn-out breakup of epic proportions, this is said someone’s ode to another said someone. We did the drum and bass take for this one with Mike in the middle of the day at a club in Brisbane called Alhambra, and then finished the guitar and vocals at Campbell’s house. We were pretty surprised at how the DIY/pop-up studio came up against the tracks we did in the UK, and in the end it sounded sonically on par with the rest of the album, which was pretty cool.

‘Good Things Never Last’

There’s a demo from mid-2012 with this song on it. It kept coming back but we could never finish it and Ted, who wrote the majority of the track, wouldn’t let it die. We’re pretty glad it stuck around in the end. This one is a lot of fun to play, probably because it’s one of the most unique tracks on the album. The guitar is running through the Leslie again, which gave it that interdimensional, walking-through-a-field-of-sugarcane-underwater sound. It very nearly didn’t end up on the album but Glenn gave us confidence that it deserved to be there. It even features a gut-wrenching, edge-of-a-cliff, wind-in-your-hair guitar solo from Dom. We locked him in a bathroom with his amp on 11 until he came out with that six-phrase beast of an etude.

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‘Max Relax’ comes out today (Aug 15) on CD and digital through Stop Start Music. Launch dates and national tour dates with Ball Park Music below.

Sat, Aug 16 – GoodGod, Sydney, NSW
Thurs, Aug 21 – Workers Club, Melbourne, NSW
Fri, Aug 22 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, QLD
Fri, Sept 12 – Uni Bar, Hobart, TAS [w/Ball Park Music]
Fri, Sept 19 – The Venue, Townsville, QLD [w/Ball Park Music]
Sat, Sept 20 – Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns, QLD [w/Ball Park Music]
Thurs, Sept 25 – Bar on the Hill, Newcastle, NSW [w/Ball Park Music]
Fri, Sept 26 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW [all ages, w/Ball Park Music]
Sat, Oct 4 – The Forum, Melbourne, VIC [w/Ball Park Music]
Wed, Oct 8 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat, VIC [w/Ball Park Music]
Thurs, Oct 9 – Black Swan Hotel, Bendigo, VIC [w/Ball Park Music]
Fri, Oct 10 – The Westernport, San Remo, VIC [w/Ball Park Music]
Sat, Oct 11 – The Wool Exchange, Geelong, VIC [w/Ball Park Music]
Sat, Oct 18 – The Tivoli, Brisbane, QLD [w/Ball Park Music]
Wed, Oct 22 – The Gov, Adelaide, SA [all ages, w/Ball Park Music]
Fri, Oct 24 –Astor Theatre, Perth, WA [w/Ball Park Music]
Sat, Oct 25 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River, WA [w/Ball Park Music]
Sun, Nov 2 – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane, QLD [all ages, w/Ball Park Music]