Pretty City make it memorable – interview

Melbourne’s Pretty City have just finished an epic tour. We have a chat to them:

Hey guys. What’s up, how are you going? What’s on the agenda for the day?
How’s it going? We’re all good. Just recovering from a 30 hour flight by getting back to work. The usual post tour routine – haha.

Is Melbourne a particularly pretty city? I always felt it was a bit naturally… drab. But then I live in Sydney…
Melbourne isn’t the prettiest city in the world, no doubt. I think Sydney is far prettier. Pretty City more refers to how we envisage the sound. We like Melbourne’s grimy and post-industrial feel, the moodiness and greyness of it in winter, contrasted with the prettiness of the gardens and parks. We see our sound in the same terms: a coalescence of grime and grunge, with glistening, ethereal sonic palates of glam, dream pop and soundscapes.

You just got back from a mammoth 27 date world tour. What was that like, where was the prettiest city you visited? Or, after like, seeing 18 of them, did they all just blur into one…
It was pretty hectic, but it was our second tour and we handled it much more comfortably. We really enjoyed sharing our music with new audiences, as well as some existing fans, so it was really exciting. I think Hamburg is the perfect European city. It’s crazy, fun, grungey, artistic, but also beautiful and steeped in a rich and vibrant history.

How have all the crowds globally reacted to your new music? Was the reaction different in different places… any of them particularly amazing?
We had some really amazing crowds this tour. We also had to perform so many encores, which is a bit different to here. Most sets were upwards of an hour, which was super fun. Overall, the reactions to the new record from the crowds were really positive. People seemed to dig the more direct approach of the new material.

Tell us about the latest album. You’ve been chalked up as an ‘intersection between Tame Impala and Foals’… are you honoured by the comparison? Who are your influences, and what are you trying to achieve through your music?
We’re honoured by people taking the time to listen to our music. If it triggers influences in the listener, then we’re rapt with that. Our influences are all so diverse, I’m not sure where they exist in the music any more. I think bands like Oasis, The Pumpkins, Pink Floyd and The Strokes/Vines/Jet are always there front and centre. But it was interesting to hear the diversity of influences coming out of the four of us on tour. 80s cheese, punk bangers, indie bangers, architecture and soccer podcasts, sci-fi, psy-trance, house, hip hop and disco all got a solid rep in the van. We just try and tell people thoughts and feeling honestly and try and make it memorable.

Finally, after coming to the close of such an epic, epic list of tour dates, have you even begun to think about what’s next for you guys?
We’ve already recorded our third album, which is being mixed in June. Then, we’ll probably release stuff early next year and hit the road again. No rest for the wicked – haha

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Interview by Cherry Anna Brearley.