The arrival of new Psychedelic Porn Crumpets music always lands with a crash; a cacophony of sounds wrapped up in the weirdly wonderful brand of vibrancy only the WA group can harness.
Here, the band presents their latest collection of warped and vibrant ideas - their fifth studio album, 'Night Gnomes'. Following on from 2021’s acclaimed record 'SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound', this record sees Psychedelic Porn Crumpets explore more sonic influences and creative tangents than before. Stemming from the curious brain of songwriter Jack McEwan, the album flourishes upon a foundation of beloved psych and classic rock influences; while threads of contemporary and exciting sounds add elevation to the core Psychedelic Porn Crumpets sound.
Featuring singles ‘Bubblegum Infinity’, ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’, ‘Acid Dent’ and ‘Dread & Butter’, the album throws the listener into a range of different sonic territories and emotional fields. Written in WA during yet another year of lockdowns, McEwan’s sense of isolation and the mania that accompanied being off-road and out of sync with the normalcy he and the band had been used to, is poured into the making of the record. Songs like ‘Bubblegum Infinity’ and ‘Sherbert Straws’ hint towards more melodic pop moments, swapping the chunky distorted guitars with lofty vocals and addictive melancholic-pop hooks. And at the same time, songs like ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’ and ‘Bob Holiday’ take a deep dive into a harder rock territory that Psychedelic Porn Crumpets fans will furiously lap up.
As Jack McEwan explained, “'Night Gnomes' is a bit darker than the other four releases. I don’t know if that’s the bi-product of being locked inside Western Australia for the past two years but it’s definitely given us a lot of time to think. I reckon this record has a bit more of a KID A/Amnesiac vibe to it, it’s a bit weirder, a little left of the ‘psych/pop’ world we’ve been tagged under. I kinda like that though, forever expanding, variety is the spice of life! It starts moody, talks of break ups and new relationships; gets kinda chirpy in the middle and then ends really beautifully, a bit like Jurassic Park 3. I reckon Spielberg might actually rate it, he’s a mixture of a bag, ain’t he."
"All in all I’m very proud of everyone’s efforts, it’s a step up which is a good direction to be stepping and it's a good body of work that I’m happy to share with the world, our little patch of darkness. And if deeper isn’t your cup of moonshine, then at least you know the sixth album will be upbeat as F@!#.”
For 'Night Gnomes', Psychedelic Porn Crumpets recorded at both McEwan’s house and at Perth’s Blackbird Studios with Dave Parkin (Tired Lion, Jebediah). The band also worked with engineers Michael Jelinek and Brian Lucey on mixing and mastering, fine-tuning that essential Psychedelic Porn Crumpets sound can still be felt right throughout the album.
With Night Gnomes following on so close to 'SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound', in some ways, the material on the fifth Psychedelic Porn Crumpets album feels like a continuation of the same narrative ideas - part of the same story that McEwan initially dreamed up. As he explains, Night Gnomes has elements of their earlier material that will appeal to day one fans, while also providing an exciting glimpse of the ways Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have their minds trained on what sounds are coming next.
Jack continued, “I stepped up a few recording techniques and tried to hone in on the production side of things a little more, gave my mental train a fresh lick of paint and tried to make the album step up in quality from the previous four releases, while still holding onto that ‘crumpet’ approach to songwriting."
"There’s definitely a few moments in older albums where I’ve been lazy and tweaked things after we’ve finished recording but with Night Gnomes I made sure to stick with Dave’s ethos and polish every track before it was sent to Jelly to mix. I’m much happier with how my vocals are sitting now, I left a lot of room in the tracks to bring them out rather than adding twenty million layers beforehand, it feels a lot cleaner, the idea for each song is present and accessible without too much ear straining. To me, it’s our best work. I feel like we’re moving forward while still learning and these albums are a checkpoint to where we’re at, and for now we’re happy with our little Night Gnome.”
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