“Ideally you want people to have heard some of the album, otherwise you feel bad playing more than one or two songs from it. In this case I think it’s better for Australian fans and for our shows in Australia for the tour to be in the position it’s in right now,” claims Chris confidently before then slightly backtracking when he considers very sincerely any inconvenience the rescheduling may have caused fans.
“I say that notwithstanding whatever, probably, significant annoyance it was to have the show cancelled on you and then have to decide if you can go to that other date.” It’s abundantly clear that he actually does care and is not mentioning this because he feels he has to, and that the band actually investigated how easy it would be on punters to change the dates.
“We were definitely assured it would be a total no-brainer for people,” offers Chris before I allay his fears and state that tickets for the January show at the Corner Hotel are still valid for the late May date.
Even in the early minutes of my conversation with Chris, it was immediately apparent what a great sense of humour he has. This was made immediately obvious when he asked if I could hold on for a moment while he “plugged some headphones into his face” – an example of the left-of-centre humour that makes their live shows so celebrated.
“We’re very easy to differentiate from an ordinary run of the mill show,” Chris exclaims proudly. “Every single We Are Scientists show that has ever been played has been different. We talk between songs, and everything we say is related to the audience and the show that is happening and the place where we are.”
After such a long time between visits Down Under I prompt Chris as to what he’s looking forward to about returning. “We haven’t been to Australia in years, or more than three times, so it’s a place that we still have a lot to do and a lot to learn. We’re excited.”
One reason being able to catch up with former touring buddies the Grates and swinging by their new café or similar business Chris has been told the two original members are now running. He cannot hype his love for the Brisbane locals enough, describing them as Alanis Morissette meets Nirvana. “I just fucking love the Grates, I mean it’s a three-piece which we identify with strongly, and it sounds very ‘90s to me, which is the only period of music I really care about.”
Chris outlines that there are two great things about being a musician in his eyes, and other than travel, is being able to play music live for fans and creating that connection with people. “Recording music is one thing, you can read positive reviews, hear from your friends that they really liked it, and that’s nice. But playing a song onstage and watching people physically react to it in front of you is the ultimate way to transmit music.”
I tell him I agree with him and he then considers being on the other side of the fence and ponders which is better. “I love being the person in the audience too, but having done both, it is some small bit more satisfying even to be the one playing while that exchange is happening.”
Now that the album has been out for well over a month, whilst offering my congratulations on what I think is a really great record I feel obligated to enquire as to the meaning behind the name TV en Français. To my surprise it’s a much deeper, measured answer than I had expected.
“That phrase [TV en Français] you see on the side of motels and painted on walls in Miami because apparently it’s a big vacation destination for French Canadians. So offering TV in French is a big selling point.”
While that may not seem like a great reason to name an album something so obscure, Chris delves a little deeper into why the band went with the name. “We realised over time it had an interesting resonance over time with the lyrical content of the album.”
“’TV en Français’ was an interesting metaphor for a romantic relationship in the sense that when you watch TV in a foreign language it can be like the miscommunication that’s endemic to relationships, especially relationships that are petering out. In the sense that you understand a lot of what you are seeing on the TV screen but you’re missing 90 per cent of the words, and obviously subtleties and nuances and much of the meaning is being lost.
“We felt that kind of recalled one of those experiences with your girlfriend or boyfriend when nothing’s getting across, that you might as well be [speaking] in a foreign language.”
The band will be setting aside such serious topics when they bring their well-renowned humour and showmanship to Australian stages in late May.
BY ALEXANDER CROWDEN
