MELODIC and exuberant, Melbourne indie folk auteurs Pierce Brothers have unveiled their latest single, Wilder featuring LULLANAS - the fourth release from their newly announced upcoming third studio album Everything Is Bigger Than Me, due out March 28.
Not a pair to do things by halves, the brothers, Jack, and Pat Pierce, have also kicked off their extensive tour of Australia that will take them around the country over eight consecutive months – arriving in South Gippsland on April 13 to perform at the Riverview Hotel in Tarwin Lower for the very first time.
In an interview with the Sentinel Times, Jack shared that the brothers have grown up visiting South Gippsland. “Wilsons Prom is our favourite place on earth and the Bass Coast have always been so incredibly good to us in music, so to play somewhere new down that way, where we haven’t played before is so exciting!”
Everything Is Bigger Than Me is a record that encompasses everything the brothers have learned about their craft over the last decade, and the lyrics in the track ‘Everything Is Bigger Than Me’ focusses on a dream about feeling overwhelmed.
“A lot of what we write is about our personal feelings on love, loss, anxiety, and hope, and these lyrics can be taken both as a dark statement, somewhat melancholy, but also as a jubilant expression of optimism and joy in the world around us.”
This is the first time the brothers have stepped into a producer roll for an album, (co-producing with Phil Threlfall) and recorded at Jack’s home studio - a very personal achievement.
“This record was recorded out at my studio in Cockatoo,” said Jack. “Produced by ourselves alongside the brilliant producer and engineer Phil Threlfall. Recording at my home not only meant that I was home for dinner every night but also that we could mull over the days takes, talk about them over evening wines, and really immerse ourselves in the process. We had an absolute blast recording this one!”
“Being able to bring the team out to us and set up shop for a month without having to do setups each day or even really travelling to the studio was so freeing!” says Pat.
“It was the best way for us to explore what we wanted to share!”
The latest single on the album, Wilder is a beautifully intense build, opening with dramatic melodic hooks in acapella, and blended perfectly with Philadelphia based singer/songwriter sister duo LULLANAS.
The Intricate guitar riffs and delicately layered harmonies intertwine, mirroring the ebb and flow of the passage of time as the track builds to an eruption of wild exuberance.
“Wilder is the name of my youngest. My first-born girl, Ro, had a song for her named One from the last record. I wanted to write one for Wilder as well, and this one came together in record time, written in the span of about five minutes, but then I toyed with it for months before bringing it to Pat,” said Jack.
“The build and crescendo in this track is something I’m so immensely proud of, I think it reflects the best that Pierce Brothers do live, something that we’ve been working to get down on a record for years!”
Joining in on the song are LULLANAS, a sister duo from Philadelphia that showed interest in the track and just lifted that opening section with their incredible timbre and harmonies!
Jack shared that the brother duo ‘Pierce Brothers’ came from the fact that it was always easier for them to play together. “We found we were always searching for the same thing. We both had a vision of where we wanted to go, and whether for good or ill, we both had the stubbornness to stick it out.”
The fact that Jack and Pat both became multi-instrumental artists came naturally through the busking process, with Jack stating that “we’d pick up things as we go, knowing that they’d accompany the sound that we were looking for.”
“Acoustic Guitar was the first instrument I learnt to play, but I love playing electric live. I never learned drums properly - that came naturally as we started busking and adding in more and more pieces, so I think I’ve got to say that drums are a favourite live. I play them more standing up and dancing, and I don’t have to think as much about the drums as I do with a guitar or mandolin!” said Jack.
The brothers found a passion for music just before high school when they started to learn the guitar, mostly copying their older brothers or uncle while camping. “Lots of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Paul Kelly were the first tracks we put down,” said Jack.
“We found a passion for performing by the time we were 14. We were performing at the local sports bar in Croydon called the Dorset Gardens Hotel. It was pretty rough back then; a fight broke out halfway through our first set, but the bouncers (while holding the guys) urged us to continue on,” laughed Jack.
Once their passion for performing grew, the duo started singing lessons. “We always found that harmonising came naturally to us, and when we realised that - we thought we should probably hone it up a bit and ended up in lessons until the end of school!”
Marking 10 years since their acclaimed EP The Night Tree threw them in to the spotlight, the brothers have toured all over the globe with some of the best indie artists in the world. During this eight month tour the Pierce Brothers will perform live with Flynn Gurry. “He’s an absolutely incredible folk musician with a massive future ahead of him!
“We’re very lucky to have him on for this one, he blows away every single audience we’ve shared so far!” The ‘Everything Is Bigger Than Me’ tour is set to take the Australian indie-folk scene by storm again in 2024, and tickets are on sale now at www.piercebrothers.com.
