We sat down with Jayden Hebbard in his new Brunswick home to talk about his new Joe Terror album 'Stinky Soul' and picked it apart with him, click below to hear the album as we run through Track-By-Track!
Teething Stink Soul opens with a slinky, strutting bassline under a crunchy guitar that quivers and quakes. The vocals bubble with a tempered vigour that mirrors that unstable introspection of Terror’s immaturity; “I walk into the door and kick stuff around cause I’m a big by now, my grown-up lips are for spittin’”. A scathing assessment of all forms of macho masculinity and insecurity whose erratic undertones of energy feel ready to overflow at any moment. Stinky Soul Straight up rock with an unrelenting rhythm section and overt assertiveness that compels the listener to listen up. Channelling Jack White, Terror’s vocals sound liberated, expressing a newfound freedom and heartfelt angst. Clinging to the raw nature that made prior releases so potent, Hebbard elaborates on how he values the organic nature of recording over anything else; “I’ve never really been too pedantic about mixes or anything. I enjoy accepting things for what they are”. The Weekend Within a jazz rock realm, Terror cuts loose with near spoken word poetry. The free-flowing style coordinates closely with Hebbard’s writing process; “With the last couple of albums, I’d just sorta get home from work in the afternoon. I’d write a lot of poetry on the bus on the way home and by the time I got home I’d have some sort of an image once I got on the track recorder.” Good One The second single to be released contains a heavy glam rock feel through double vocals, contrasted sharply against an evolving breakdown of rapid interjections. Encapsulating his back catalogue, ‘Good One’ explores all the corners of the rock soundscapes previously visited upon. When queried on the catalyst for the track, Hebbard simplifies, “I just felt a good one comin’ on” (laughs). Glam Rock World, Rock ‘n’ Roll time More jazzy movements are added here to venture into an experimental psych territory, repeatedly retracting and propounding itself forward for exciting momentum shifts. “I’m just a multi guy, telling truths and living lies” imparts Terror. No More Maybe’s A ballad driven by delayed acoustic guitar and soulful singing before an acapella harmony arrests. A testament to the beauty inherit in the unprocessed, Hebbard explains his tried and true recording process; “I layer things on and do mixes on shitty software. I decided to just use demos straight up as they were. I didn’t even remix them or touch them up. I just got Aiden for the daisies to master them”. My Mind Before Yesterday’s Evening Nap The antithesis of Terror’s marrying music to emotions, this instrumental track asserts an aggressiveness akin to the Mars Volta. It blends all the aforementioned styles in a stylised breakdown and urgency to expel pent up feelings. Having already recorded another album, Hebbard decided to ride the wave of ‘Stinky Soul, releasing it ahead of his pre-planned one; “I just feel it was important to play ‘Stinky Soul’ before that wears off. If I didn’t do it, it would be very hard to come back to”. The Stars They’ve studied Over pounding bass, Terror closes with an astral inclusion of a Synth Korg M50 workstation. Hebbard's movement into metaphorical lyricism is epitomised on this closing track; “I guess it’s always just been a very personal approach to song writing. It’s usually just based around what’s going on in my life at the time. It’s a lot of stream of consciousness, a lot of metaphorical things and hidden depth”. Joe Terror will be having an album launch party at Yah Yahs TONIGHT June 7th with support from The Rollercanes and Barefoot Bowls Club. ‘Stinky Soul’ is available now through all streaming services.
