Let’s hair it for the band

Alex de Vos
Perth trio Tame Impala might look like 1997 American boy-band Hanson but sound nothing like the siblings behind the one-hit-wonder Mmmbop.
In contrast, drummer Jay Watson believes his band takes its cues from the other side of the Atlantic and another place in time.
“Sound wise, we’re a lot like The Beatles and I think, as far as melodies and our choice of chords go, we take a lot from them,” Watson told the Independent over the phone on the road to Wollongong amid the band’s national headline tour.
Despite Hanson’s tragic lyrics and short-lived popularity, Watson had little problem with fans likening Tame Impala to the blonde-haired pop singers of the ’90s.
“Earlier this year while we were playing a gig in Canberra with You Am I we got called Hanson because of our long hair,” Watson explained.
“I thought it was a bit of a positive thing – I’m a big fan of musicians with long hair.”
Watson labelled long-haired musicians “more credible”.
“The hair (prevents) the brain from falling out and I think it heightens your look,” he laughed.
“I find it hard to take singers with short hair seriously.
“I’m not going to cut it any time soon.”
Tame Impala has hit the road to promote its new single, Sundown Syndrome, lifted off the band’s ’60s-tinged, self-titled EP.
Watson said the single, recorded in London amid the band’s European tour earlier this year, featured “froggy rock” laced with “modern electronic” overtones.
“We’re sort of heading toward electronic music played with real instruments,” Watson revealed.
He said the band would release its debut album next year.
“We’ve almost finished recording, so it’ll be out early next year.”
Watson said a highlight of the tour was bumping into former Neighbours actress Caitlin Stasey, who played Rachel Kinski in the long-running Australian soap opera.
“Yesterday we saw Rachel in our hotel lobby in Sydney and we all giggled,” Watson boasted.
“She’s our dream girl, so we were all pretty excited.
“After we saw Rachel I caught one of those fluffy things floating in the air and I made a wish to meet her one day.
“Maybe we could play on Neighbours and then we would get to meet Toadfish.”
Tame Impala will perform at Geelong’s Eureka on October 22.