Talking "Gorgeous" with Gold Coast's IVEY

Olivia Watson
4th Nov 2018

Gold Coast indie band IVEY have just dropped their sophomore EP "Gorgeous" and new music video "Won't Be" after a sold out launch of their single "Always" and ahead of an upcoming East Coast tour.

The fresh young Queensland band has already been making some waves with recognition on Triple J Unearthed and performances as part of the Commonwealth Games, as well as supporting other bands including Ocean Alley, Confidence Man, Montaigne, Middle Kids, Ruby Fields and Cub Sport.

In an exclusive for you Scoopsters, IVEY have given us a track by track run down on their new album, sharing some of the creative process and stories behind each of the songs that make up "Gorgeous".

IVEY are:
Lachlan McGuffie
Millie Perks
Dante Martin
Matthew McGuffie
Riley Smith

Here are the artists' thoughts.

Always

"Always was a wild card in terms a single. It was different to all our previous releases as it had a clear pop vibe, which was a turning point from being Indie to Indie Pop. Always was never in contention to being our first release from Gorgeous, but it just felt right and suited the style we wanted to run with for the Extra Support Act Campaign we did in Sydney. Everything just clicked very quickly and we fell in love with it.

Always was a stepping stone in this in new style that we have undertaken to date. The way Millie’s & Lachie’s vocals interact with each other was the part that made Always one of my favourite songs on the EP. Its lyrics are catchy and relevant to relationships that I have been involved in. Always has that niece aesthetic pop vibe that just feels cool and looks good."

- Riley

All My Friends

"All My Friends started around a year ago as a demo Lachie made of a straight beat accompanied by a bass line. It was brought to the band and we jammed on it for a while but didn’t come up with anything we thought was usable.
A week before we headed into the studio we were running through a bunch of ideas that we thought might make the EP but nothing was clicking. Lachie brought the demo back up and we jammed on it for about 45 mins and basically wrote all the instrumentation for it.

The demo already had a chorus that we were happy with. So once we finished the instrumentation we all focused on writing the verses. We went out and sat on the deck at Lachie and Matt’s house while Dante played the original bass line on repeat and put together the verse lyrics the same day."

- Dante

Stuck

"Stuck is written about a broken relationship. Everyone has been guilty of going back to a bad relationship, I was like that all last year and that is what Stuck is about. ‘You get me stuck in your head again, and then I think that I still need you here’. That line was written over the top of a synth and guitar riff that Lachie and Riley had written in a session a few days before went in to recording.

The best part about this song is that it all seemed to happen so fast. The riff and chorus lyrics came first, and the rest of the song followed. It’s definitely our quickest, and most straight to the point song on the whole album. I think I’m proudest of this one because it’s the first time I’ve really been open enough to put my own lyrics into a song and not hold any judgements about it."

- Millie

Won't Be - watch the music video here

"Won’t Be was the lead single of our latest EP, "Gorgeous". What started as a Ableton live throwaway session turned into one of our most collaborative songs to date. It has the most electronic elements that we’ve ever used, which drives the dance feel.

We love how most of the EP is revolved around relationships of all kinds, and Won’t Be sticks to the same theme, written about a relationship falling apart. Having one of the most dance rhythm sections on the track, it’s cool to hear the contrasting lyrics over the top.

We are super proud of Won’t Be, as it’s something we worked hard and fast on. It came together super quickly in the studio, but came out as one of our favourite songs yet. We can’t wait to play it live, so everyone can dance along with us and enjoy the new indie-pop direction that our EP takes on."

- Matt

Never Alive

"Never Alive is a song that I wrote personally about finally leaving a relationship behind for good and entering another. It’s a reflection on a relationship that I didn’t realise was extremely unhealthy until six months in a new relationship which was extremely happy, healthy and beautiful.

You may not be able to hear it, but when I wrote this song in early 2017, I actually took inspiration from King Krule, I was trying my hardest to find weird and wacky chords on the guitar and form them into some kind of progression. From here I built the surfy guitar riff over the top and the guitar riff followed. This song actually had three different versions before as a band, we finally settled on the one you hear.

I’m really proud of this one lyrically, it’s super nostalgic but also has a feeling of hope, I’ve never been able to evoke that out of a song before."

- Lachie

Gorgeous the EP is out now.
Check out the new music video for "Won't Be" here to sample IVEY's quirky indie delights.
Catch them on their East Coast tour at Waywards Netwown on December 8th.
IVEY's website has more info on tour dates and links to their music.