The Thrills interview

I recently interviewed The Thrills as they prepared to tour Australia. Here is the story:
















AS HIS BAND PREPARES FOR ITS SECOND EVER TOUR OF AUSTRALIA, THE THRILLS FRONTMAN CONOR DEASY DISCUSSES THE STATE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WITH ROB TOWNSEND

The Thrills’ vocalist Conor Deasy is eager to get back to Sydney. However, it’s not the stunning harbour views or the sandy beaches that are making him especially anticipatory about heading back this way, but rather the opportunity to right a few wrongs. “Our gig in Sydney still goes down as the most unfortunate gig of our career,” he laughs as he recalls how everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong on their only previous show in the city. With guitars slipping out of tune and amps blowing, their performance was not an experience he remembers fondly. “I think about every ten gigs something goes wrong and we had about a year’s worth of unfortunate incidents in that gig. By the end it probably looked like I was cursing the crowd but really I was just cursing God.”

The Irishmen return to Australia with three albums under their belts, the latest of which, Teenager, deals with adolescence and, more specifically, the loss of adolescence. I ask whether the band consciously creates records with such strong themes or whether it is more of a representation of their mindset at the time of writing. “The first album [So Much For The City] was a grand accident,” Deasy explains. “I knew there were a lot of California reference points but it wasn’t until the very end that I realised it was very much a concept album. I think with the second album [Let’s Bottle Bohemia] I was more consciously trying to bring a concept together but I don’t quite know if I pulled that off. With this record I didn’t really try but for some reason I had the title before the songs, which is an odd thing to do. I wanted it to be simple and very pure and even the songs that didn’t quite go that way still kinda fit. So it is a themed album but it is more by accident I think.”

However, the positive reviews Teenager received weren’t really mirrored by sales. While their first two albums ripped a big hole in the UK top ten, their latest offering struggled to punctuate the top forty. I ask whether he thinks this is an indication of the unhealthy condition of the music industry and the shift in the way people are consuming music. Deasy concurs, saying that illegal downloading is a problem for a band such as his. “I don’t think it’s the album’s fault. I think Teenager is a great record. The industry is in a certain kind of state and the unfortunate thing about illegal downloading is that sometimes you just need those few extra sales to keep you ticking over, to keep the wolf from the door and to keep the label happy.”


















Deasy goes on to talk about how albums don’t seem to have the same significance they once did, now that you can press a button and acquire a band’s entire back-catalogue, rather than having to rummage through dusty old record shops. “I love the notion of an album, but music seems to just be about tracks now. If you think about it, there is so much stuff vying for young people’s attention that it seems unlikely they are going to obsess over when a band like R.E.M. will release its next album. People are becoming increasingly irreverent about music, and it’s hard to be passionate when it’s so disposable and cheap. The sound quality is getting worse and art work is disappearing. The ramifications worry me a bit,” he frowns.

While the changing shape of the industry may be a concern for Deasy as he ponders if “a fourth album is viable nowadays unless you’re Coldplay,” The Thrills continue to excel in the live arena, as they are set to prove on their return to Australia. While in Sydney, as well as playing their own sideshow, they line-up at the Come Together festival, and Deasy is keen to brush up on his geography before he greets the crowd. “I remember going on stage at one of the Australian festivals last time and saying: ‘Hello Queensland,’ and we were on the other side of the country at the time. I guess word must spread fast in Australia because at every gig after that someone held up a piece of paper or cardboard saying We’re Not In Queensland. It became a bit of a running joke for the tour and whenever I meet an Australian who was at any of the gigs I get reminded of it. That was my big faux pas.”