Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

S

an cisco’s jordi davieson has

been chatting happily over the

phone for about 10 minutes be-

fore he says something that might

catchfansoffguard:“Ijustcan’twritea

happy song.”

It’sabemusingstatementfromthevo-

calist-lyricist, given that the West Austra-

lianfour-piecehavebuiltacareeroffthe

back of bubbly pop tracks, starting with

breakout single “Awkward” back in 2012.

“ButIthinkthat’skindofthebeautyof

popmusic,”Daviesonaddswithalaugh.

“It’slightanddarkatthesametime.”

The quartet (completed by drummer

Scarlett Stevens, guitarist Josh Biondillo

and bassist Nick Gardner) may specialise

in crisp, nimble pop songs with rhythms

that could spread grins on the toughest

of faces, but within them are some formi-

dable topics – young love and heartbreak,

thefrustrationsofmodernrelationships,

thegradualerosionoffriendships,justto

nameafew.

On this month’sThe Water, their third

full-length recording, they tunnel even fur-

ther into these explorations. Recorded in

FremantlewithlongtimeproducerSteve

Schram,The Waterwas created with one

goal in mind: to distil the San Cisco sound

down to its most pure essence.

“Welookedbackat[2015predecessor]

Gracetownandwentthroughwhatworked

andwhatdidn’t,”saysDavieson.“Wechart-

edeverythingoutandsaid,‘OK,wellthat’s

working, that’s connecting with people –

let’sworkwiththat.’”

Schram urged the band to keep work-

he says. “To be going through something

like that, and then to be going through it

with someone you love and care about more

than your life.”

Thealbum’stitledoesn’tactuallycor-

relate to the track, Davieson stresses. The

band wanted an ambiguous name as a

blank canvas for the stories they were tell-

ing. “The name exacts a lot of imagery, and

isdetachedinmeaningfromthesongs,”he

explains.“Twoseparateidentitiesthatare

beingpresentedtogether–that’swhatThe

Wateris.” JULES LEFEVRE

ing, keep jamming, keep refining. Around

10 completed songs were left off the record,

withanothertwofloatingaroundthatthey

might release at a later time.

The result is their most mature album

to date. Lead single “Hey, Did I Do You

Wrong?”ispeakSanCisco:bright,snappy

rhythms coupled with a classic earworm

hook and lyrics that tug at heartstrings.

The title-track is particularly arresting,

with Davieson placing a love story within

an asylum seeker boat journey.

“I can’t even imagine how scary that is,”

As Screamfeeder’s Tim Steward tells it, the

2011 demise of the beloved Brisbane outfit

(which formed in 1991) started in some ways

with the end of the Nineties grunge boom.

“In the early-Noughties things started to slow

down within the touring scene,” says the

singer-guitarist. “I remember we had a gig in a

small town and no-one was there.” The book-

ings slowed to a trickle, and in 2011 drummer

Dean Shwereb moved to the UK.

Two support gigs in 2013 resulted in the

band (rounded out by singer-bassist Kellie

Lloyd) reconnecting. “We had this crazy

buzz of energy, and Dean (who’d returned to

Australia) said, ‘Guys, I’ve maybe got another

album in me’,” says Steward. “It’s like that

[Godfather] quote – ‘Just when I thought I was

out, they pull me back in’!”

The reunion has resulted in seventh album

Pop Guilt, the band’s first in 14 years, recorded

and funded with the assistance of Pledge

Music. “It’s lovely when you’ve seen people

who’ve been so generous,” says Steward.

“Someone paid to have their name in a song

... now we just have to find some time to
write a track with ‘Samantha’ in the lyrics!”

Thegrunge-erafavesreturnwithoneofthe

strongest albums of their career

Screamfeeder Roar

Back to Life

COMEBACK

Ju ne, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 15

San Cisco’s Dark Pop

The Fremantle quartet tackle some heady subjects

on third album ‘The Water’

FROM TOP: COURTESY; STEPHEN BOOTH

IN THE

GARDEN

San Cisco: not

in the market

for happy

songs.