A brief introduction for those of you who came in late.....

Powderfinger are big. Let me rephrase that. Powderfinger are HUGE. Alright, let's really pull out all the stops - Powderfinger are the Band Of The Moment.

Since forming in Brisbane in the early 1990s, Powderfinger have constantly re-defined themselves. From the full-tilt rock epics of their earliest releases Transfusion and Parables For Wooden Ears (memorably described in Rolling Stone as containing songs "so precisely executed they're on the verge of disappearing up their own arseholes"), to the more straight-forward dynamics of their breakthrough album Double Allergic to the anything-goes approach of 1998's Internationalist, each release has been a progression on the last. Which brings us to Odyssey Number Five.

Quite simply, Odyssey Number Five is the sound of a band at the peak of its powers. It's destined to become the album of the Australian Summer. And it might, just might, take Powderfinger to the international audience they quite rightly deserve.

Kris Swales spoke to Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton days after the release of the album about the power of simplicity, Queens Of The Stone Age, and their good mate Tom Cruise.....

FIREHORSE: So have you been surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new album so far?

DARREN: Yeah, it's getting really good reviews, feedback, we're pretty happy with how it's going. There's been people at the same time who are saying it's nowhere near as good (as Internationalist) and all that sort of stuff, but there's always going to be people like that. We're not too worried you know, we left the studio happy with what we had, so you know, it starts there for us.

FIREHORSE: We only got our copy yesterday, but it I think that this album is a lot more immediate than your other albums. With those the hooks took a little longer to come out, but with Odyssey Number Five I think the hooks are a little more obvious - was that a conscious thing, to make it a bit simpler?

DARREN: Not really, you know, we just tried to write really strong songs. The hooks, I'm glad that they're immediate, I just hope that they've got the lasting potential at the same time.

FIREHORSE: So how did you approach the songwriting this time?

DARREN: It's kind of like we've done the last couple of records. A couple of us, myself and Bern (Bernard Fanning, he of the golden tonsils) will probably bring in most of the songs as a skeleton form or a completed idea, than the whole band gets into them and runs it full circle. The songs always leave their own mark after having five hands all over them.

FIREHORSE: Have you been working with Pro Tools or any computer based recording or has it all been pretty much organic?

DARREN: It always starts organic, but I've got a small set-up here at home which I record onto the computer using a program called Saw Plus 32 and Vegas sometimes, which are both just basic multi-tracking programs. I've got a pretty good sound card in my computer and a pretty fast computer - it's great, it's so easy to have something like that at home.

FIREHORSE: So did the initial demos of the songs change much when you brought them to Nick DiDia (producer of Odyssey and Internationalist)? What does Nick bring to the band?

DARREN: Nick basically brings like an outside ear to the band, he's not as close to the songs as we are so he can help us take things in directions that we might not have thought of. And since Nick worked with us on the last album, there wasn't much of a settling in period, we just got in to the studio and clicked straight away. We also spent six weeks in the studio this time around, which is the longest time we've ever spent in the studio, so we had a lot of time to let the songs develop naturally.

FIREHORSE: It strikes me that the band is taking a much more restrained approach compared to the early days. On Parables for example, Coggsy (drums) seemed keen on playing the most complex drum lines he could. The songs seem simpler now than they used to be.

DARREN: (Laughs) That's pretty much exactly it. I think we just learnt that the way we do things, our strength lies in letting a song breathe, and the bigness that you can achieve with space, and not filling up every little gap with something. The emotion can be a little stronger when it's got room to stick it's head out.

FIREHORSE: So does the whole group have input into the lyrics, and does Bernard let you know what he's singing about?

DARREN: Bern did pretty much all of the lyrics to this album, I've done some on the last couple of albums but we pretty much left it to Bern this time around. I guess we all influence the lyrics to some degree, because we always talk about them and suggest ideas, and Bern will just take them home and make them so that he's comfortable with them.

FIREHORSE: So do you think it's fair to say that his lyrics are a little more personal than they were in the earlier days?

DARREN: Yeah, I think with this album and the last one he's been a little less afraid to put himself out in the open, and I think that's a good thing, you know, it's what you do with music, you put yourself out there.

FIREHORSE: And I also think it's a little easier for people to grab onto a song if it's something they can relate to.

DARREN: Yeah, exactly.

FIREHORSE: "Like A Dog" is a song which stands out on the album, and seems to explore basic themes of reconciliation - is this something that the band feels strongly about?

DARREN: Yeah, we're all pretty united on that issue. I was actually away when the Walks for Reconciliation were on earlier this year, but I know that Bern and I think Coggsy got involved in those. At the same time we're not a politically based band, so you'll only hear one song that's got that sort of influence in it, rather than an album of songs.

FIREHORSE: That track and several others on the album also feature the girls from Tiddas on backing vocals, how did you hook up with them?

DARREN: We've played with them heaps of times over the years, and they were also on the same record label as us at one stage. They're just great, hilarious girls, and great singers obviously.

FIREHORSE: Did you feel any pressure after Internationalist was so huge from either yourselves or the public to come up with something that topped that?

DARREN: We've actually spoken about this as a band and I think it affected different members at different times. I didn't feel or think about it or focus on it at all when we started recording or while we were in the studio or anything, I've only really started thinking about it now, since I've been doing interviews. I guess there's a lot of anticipation out there, and expectation that we'll do something better than the last one.

FIREHORSE: Given all the sales and awards and critical acclaim you've received, is there ever a sense that you've 'made it', that you've achieved all that you wanted to achieve?

DARREN: I don't think any of us have ever sat back and gone "Aww, look at what we've done, awesome, you know, those ARIA awards, we've made it." We never kind of sit back and think that, we just do what we do and move onto the next thing, it's just all steps forward hopefully.

FIREHORSE: So is there going to be a focus on overseas with this album?

DARREN: We're going to head over in November, over to London, Japan, a bit of the States, so we definitely want to get something out there, and hopefully this record is our best opportunity to do so.

FIREHORSE: Especially now that you've got Tom Cruise on your side!

DARREN: Yeah, Cruisey is one of our biggest fans! (Laughs)

FIREHORSE: So how did that all come about? ("My Kinda Scene" is featured on the Mission Impossible 2 Soundtrack.)

DARREN: Well you know they did the movie in Australia, Tom and Nicole (Kidman) spent a lot of time in Australia and they wanted an Australian band to be on the soundtrack. They approached us and we sent them a couple of songs and they decided to go with "My Kinda Scene".

FIREHORSE: So did you get to go to the premiere of the movie and all that sort of thing?

DARREN: Well, all the other guys did, but I was actually in Bali at the time! (Laughs)

FIREHORSE: Well that's much more Aussie anyway!

DARREN: Yeah, well I'd already made plans, but I would have loved to have gone!

FIREHORSE: So how are the rehearsals for the upcoming tour of Oz going? What do you think the response of the punters is going to be like given that the songs aren't as up-tempo as they have been in the past?

DARREN: We're just about to start rehearsals. I think the response is going to be good, most of these gigs have already sold out, so people are at least keen to come along. Hopefully we'll make them leave happy.

FIREHORSE: Will you be taking any other musicians on the road with you?

DARREN: We are taking a keyboard player this time. In the past Bern and I have tried to play keyboards and play guitar and sing, but I think this time around we're just going to try and focus on what we do best.

FIREHORSE: On a slightly different note, what music are you and the rest of the guys getting excited about at the moment?

DARREN: I think something that we've recently all got our hands on is Queens Of The Stone Age.....

FIREHORSE: Aww mate, those guys and Kyuss (QOTSA's forefathers) absolutely rock!

DARREN: Well I don't have any Kyuss records, but I really like this Queens Of The Stone Age stuff. Just the way the album flows, the songs link up, it's really good. And I love the crazy guitar stuff that the Kyuss guy (Josh Homme) does, it's nice and loud and really obnoxious.

FIREHORSE: Alright mate, that's about it, I'll let you get five minutes of rest before the next interview rolls along.

DARREN: Thanks Kris, I'll see you some other time.

- Kris Swales

Click Here for our review of Odyssey Number Five

Click Here for the PowderfingerWebsite

 Q U E S T I O N    E V E R Y T H I N G    T R U S T    N O T H I N G    B E L I E V E    I N    Y O U R    I N T U I T I O N