Interview by Kris Peters
New Zealand-hailing, Melbourne-based heavy outfit Banks Arcade have always been a band who colour just outside the lines of acceptance, believing their fresh and unique outlook on the accepted parameters of music was worthy of stepping into the light of its own volition.
Over a series of EP's - starting with 2018s Endnote - Banks Arcade consistently refuse to tiptoe around the broad scope of musical potential, instead preferring to brush stroke their intentions with haphazard outbursts of musical spontaneity that could quite possibly have isolated them from the increasing pack of promising outfits, but have instead earnt them a reputation as a band who aren't here to push the boundaries.
They are here to smash them.
Not content with the release of the Death 2 EP back in February, which preceded a national tour in May, Banks Arcade recently unleashed EP number two for the year in the shape of A Muse which finds the band shedding the expected and instead flourishing between moments of searing rock, towering hooks, dance beats and fresh explorations into heavy surrounds.
HEAVY caught up with frontman Joshua O'Donnell not long before the EP dropped on June 28 to find out more. We start by asking if it is hard to maintain excitement levels for new releases with so much happening to the band.
"I think the excitement for me… the most excited is right when I am at the start of writing a song, and it's all happening" he measured. "When I write a song that I love I will pretty much be listening to that song every day and by the time it goes through all the process and all the finicky details you kind of get over it a little bit. But, yeah. I am more so of the mindset that you just have to keep on going and be as present and put out as much content as possible, even if you've fallen out of love with it. It's always up and down for me. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm just, like, let's get on with it (laughs)."
In the full interview Josh explains the genesis of A Muse and how it connects with Death 2, the darker nature of the music on the EP and where it came from, the story behind each of the six tracks one by one, how Banks Arcade's music has grown over their career, their hectic touring schedule and more.