Interview by Kris Peters
Australian rock legends The Poor release their first album in over 10 years on February 3 when High Price Deed is unleashed on a world that might not be quite ready for it.
After the one two punch (pun intended) of Round One (2009) and Round 2 (2010) The Poor seemingly vanished from the circuit and it appeared as though an illustrious chapter in Australian music may have come to a premature end.
Those fears were allayed a couple of years ago when The Poor re-emerged with new guitarist Daniel Cox in tow and set about reclaiming their place atop the Aussie rock tree. Cox brought a fresh outlook to the band with his ferociously awesome guitar playing adding yet another dimension to the sonic structure of The Poor.
They have toured relentlessly both at home and abroad since then, drip feeding new singles from High Price Deed at irregular intervals, heightening expectation with each and making a silent promise to their fans that The Poor are back, and back with a vengeance.
The fruits of that labour will be on display for the world to judge this Friday when High Price Deed hits the open market, and trust me when I tell you fans will not be disappointed.
Rather than conduct the standard phone interview one on one, HEAVY accepted the band's offer to attend practice earlier this week and take the opportunity to grill all four members - vocalist Skenie, guitarist Daniel Cox, drummer Gavin Hansen and bass player Matt Whitby - a task which seemed like a set up from the start.
It could have turned out nasty being outnumbered with such odds but we stood firm and spoke our mind - and lived to relay the tale. We focussed initially on the new album and structure before running through our recent review track by track and seeing if the band agreed with my sentiments.
"Play rock and roll really loud, hard and heavy," vocalist Skenie offered, summing up High Price Deed in one sentence. "As you say in HEAVY, we wanna fuck shit up."
High Price Deed is the first album released by The Poor since Round 2 in 2010, with the band agreeing unanimously that this album sees them return to their best.
"It's very different sonically," Skenie began when asked to compare the two releases. "I just don't think that we got the last two albums right, looking back on them now. The way this one is sounding and the way the songs came together... it was a lot of hard work... but it just felt right."
This is greeted by a mock round of applause from the rest of the gang, who are all spread throughout the rehearsal room waiting for their chance to step in and have their way with me.
So farThe Poor have released the singles Payback's A Bitch, Lover, Cry Out, Let Me Go and Take The World from High Price Deed, with Skenie admitting that while they do represent the album faithfully, they just scratch the surface of what to expect musically.
"Yeah, but there's more surprises coming," he teased.
"They're all a bit different, aren't they?" added guitarist Daniel Cox.
"They all have their own identities, but there's some songs on there that will surprise people as well," finished drummer Gavin Hansen.
From there HEAVY ran through our album review track by track and asked if we were on the right path, and that's when things really got interesting.
Listen to the full interview to hear The Poor critique our critic, run through each song and its meaning, talk about the musical direction of the album, recount some stories from the past including an impromptu jazz acapella performance, tell us about their upcoming album launch at the Wallaby Hotel, their upcoming European tour, an Australian tour later in the year and more.
If you are a fan of The Poor this is a must listen, and if you're just a fan of a good time and a great laugh even better.