We recently got the chance to chat with Sarah Jane about her band and their new track, "Daisies."If you haven’t heard it yet, you can check it out on Local Sounds. I asked her how the song actually started, and she took me back to the pandemic days.
Sarah Jane: "I just remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom during 2021 lockdown ruminating about things I had said in the past. Since I had nothing else to do, I wrote a song about it. It always feels way more productive if I get a song out of how I'm feeling."
We asked if the whole "daisies growing through concrete" thing was a big metaphor she planned from the start.
Sarah Jane: "It never really starts out that way. I prefer to just let it come out naturally and let myself write about what I'm feeling at any particular moment. It's not until I need to promote the song where I start dissecting the meaning in the hopes of connecting with others who may have felt the same way."
The music video for the song also has a really cool, nostalgic look. Sarah said, "Our guitarist Marlon came up with the whole video concept and it was filmed/edited by our friend Jack. He was going for a 90s/early 2000s lo-fi home video aesthetic as he thought it fit the song. We shot it at a local park over a couple hours and we had a lot of fun doing it."
The band seems to have a really interesting mix of influences, which I guess is why their sound is hard to pin down to just one thing. Sarah broke down who does what and what they’re all listening to:
"As a band, our influences are all over the place & I do think this comes through in our sound. Matt (our drummer) and I (Sarah) are big grunge fans which probably seeps into our music the most. Harry (our bassist) is a huge post-rock/noise-rock nerd & Marlon (our guitarist) is into a bit of everything from The Beatles to You Am I & Smashing Pumpkins. Our secret ingredients would probably be taking inspiration from a vast number of genres and of course, overthinking."
It’s funny because the band wasn’t even some long-planned project. It happened pretty much by accident when they were getting ready for a show, which Sarah thinks was for the best.
"Definitely. We've never felt any pressure to sound or look a certain way and it's never felt forced. We all clicked immediately both musically and as friends so I think we really lucked out. We're really big on being able to be ourselves & writing songs that we all are really proud of, no matter the genre."
Their new EP has a great title, happiness in rearview. It feels a bit sad but also like moving on. Sarah told me the story behind it:
"happiness in rearview comes from a line in the track 'feels like yesterday' which I wrote following the aftermath of a breakup. The song captures my self-reflection with a new, clearer perspective on the situtation. The line 'happiness in rearview' specifically calls to the moment where I genuinely felt like I would never be happy again which was ultimately clouded by the feelings only time could heal. We landed on it as we thought it sounded cool and we felt like it reflected the overall theme of the EP."
It’s pretty wild to realise that Sarah already has over 40 million views online from her solo acoustic music. I asked if that massive number has actually sunk in yet.
"It's honestly crazy to think about that many people having listened to me play music," she said. "I honestly think the older I've gotten, the more it's sunk in how many people that actually is. Moving from my bedroom floor to the live scene was something that felt inevitable & I'm so thankful to be able to collaborate with other like-minded musicians i.e. my band. We would love to eventually build up our audience to a similar level as just me and my acoustic guitar so cheers for helping us spread the news!"
If you want to catch them live, you won't have to wait long. They’ve got a big night coming up soon.
Sarah wrapped up by saying, "We have our EP Launch show on 29 May at The Burdekin Hotel and after this, our goal is to keep playing local shows while we work on some new music."
Check out daises by Sarah Jane & The Noise on Local Sounds
https://localsounds.com.au/song/sarah-jane-the-noise/daisies
Tickets to the EP Launch
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/b8e67ad5-e0c6-417c-bebe-25b5a4df6e66
SoundVerge Editorial
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