For such a young band, the weight of expectation must have surely begun to take its toll, with the album’s release date continuously pushed back. Yet Hunting Grounds have come out the other side all the better for it and when they did finally enter the studio with producer Paul ‘Woody’ Annison, the result was a record steeped in maturity that belies their years. “Everyone was really on the same wavelength. It was a really easy recording process which is unusual [for anyone], and it’s really unusual for us,” admits Belsar. “A few of the times before that, when we’ve recorded, it’s been a lot more difficult. Like, everyone had their own ideas but it was just a really easy process and we took a lot of Woody’s ideas on board. Everyone just seemed to be on the same page.”
Annison has previously worked with the likes of Children Collide, Black Cab and Young Revelry, and he had a significant impact on taking the band’s initial ideas and concepts and turning them into polished songs. Lead single Flaws is a prime example of the way they worked together in the studio. “[Annison] always wants to take things to the next level, which is really important,” says Belsar. “Originally, Flaws was this really sort of boring rock song – you know, with just guitar and bass and drums. It was really average, but he saw something in the melody. So he had this idea of making it this real tripped-out pop song and that’s pretty much the reason it sounds the way it does today.”
With six members and three songwriters things could have very easily become very complicated when it came to the writing of the record. Yet the ability to meld each other’s song ideas and transform them into one distinct sound is one of Hunting Grounds’ strengths. “Its actually a lot more simple then it seems to be. It seems like it wouldn’t work on paper,” muses Belsar on the band’s writing formula. “But when I write songs for instance, I’ll just write them and demo the whole thing at my house until I bring it to the band and each person plays their own part. At that point I guess it becomes a Hunting Grounds song. It just seems to work because everyone has their own unique way of doing things and I guess it’s those unique parts that make up our band’s sound.”
Hunting Grounds are not afraid to share around the vocal duties either, with Belsar, Galen Strachan and main vocalist Lachlan Morrish all providing vocals on the record. “We didn’t stick to the idea that it had to be two vocalists and it had to go this way or that way,” says Belsar. “We sort of wanted it to sound the best. Whatever worked and whatever worked best for the album. It was strange but it really worked out well.”
With the release of In Hindsight, Hunting Grounds are now busily preparing for their first headlining tour and a chance to perform the new tracks to their ever-growing audience. “Its going to be amazing,” says Belsar enthusiastically. “Its going to be really exciting and new for us to headline our own shows Australia-wide. It’s going to be really interesting to see how it all works out. It’s going to be fun being a headline band because we’ve done so many supports over the last two years it will be nice to be that band that people are coming to see.”
If you’ve been anywhere near Hunting Grounds’ Facebook page recently then you would have no doubt seen that Oprah photo where the talk show queen is holding a copy of In Hindsight in her hands. According to Belsar, the band’s little Photoshopped in-joke have had more than a few people fooled, journalists included. “I have had interviews today where people have asked me literally how Oprah got the album,” he laughs. “We put it up on Facebook and then one of our friends made one with Julian Assange of Wikileaks and we put that up and then fans starting making them and sending them in. So if you go onto Facebook there’s like 20 different random pictures.”
BY JAMES NICOLI
