An Aussie funk band formed in 2014, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets reached global heights with the release of their first album, “High Visceral Pt.1,” in 2014. Over the last eight years, the band has continued to blend the funk sound made popular by Tame Impala with substantial guitar riffs and fast thumping drums. Only becoming acquainted with the band three years ago after a random Spotify suggestion of the song “Found God in a Tomato,” I became a fast fan. It was an absolute delight to interview the band’s lead singer, Jack McEwan.
McEwan spoke about the challenges of going straight into a nine month tour after being stuck at home for two years. The 2022 tour lasted from March to December, with the group touring across the U.S. to Mexico with the three-piece band Acid Dad, another psychedelic funk band from Tennessee.
“We all didn't realize how much work or how much effort it would be coming from locked down going straight into like a tour of that size,” McEwan said. “Doing Europe and America sort of back to back, we're all absolutely exhausted by the time we got home and then had to try and fit back into society.”
McEwan spoke about how the band got stranded in a small Wisconsin town, Wisconsin Dells, after their van broke down on the way to a Chicago show. McEwan mentioned it was nice to get a day off in the middle of such a grueling tour and relax a little bit. He recalled another moment of respite on tour when they stayed at Acid Dad’s Nashville lake house. These changes in scenery were some of the most memorable for McEwan on tour.
“Those moments where you just felt like a human again, it's that that is kind of what you do remember, because the shows are like that obviously great, but they sort of you're doing the same thing each night,” McEwan said.
The lead singer teased the band's next album, which he expects to release sometime next year or in 2024. He hopes to release the first singles from the album in the next couple of months.
McEwan said that the next album would be “flavor-driven” and more distinct from the other albums. He said he wanted listeners to be able to tell which song is from this album, not from one of their previous high visceral era albums.
When I asked McEwan about what this album will sound like, he said it would be a mix of what the band has previously done and some early 2000s garage rock, mentioning The Hives, The Vines, Cage The Elephant and even The Strokes as influences on the upcoming album.
“I sort of tried to chop it all down to keep some heavier gauges on the strings, so it has more fatness,” McEwan said. “So, that's sort of where I'm going … it's sort of it's like the Binds and the Hives, but dropped into like Drop B.”
While writing the new album, McEwan was also influenced by the 1999 Woodstock documentary to get into heavier music and metal.
“I'm pretty sure I've got it down now to like ten good tracks, which I feel like all flowed together a lot more cohesively than maybe the previous albums have,” McEwan said. “They've definitely got a signature sound and a flavor to it, which it's kind of like new metal.”
McEwan revealed that they plan to do an East Coast tour sometime next year, returning to Atlanta sometime around October. Having sold out almost every show on this tour, they will likely come back playing bigger venues next year.
McEwan also mentioned the awe-inspiring feeling of opening up for Royal Blood, a rock duo from England, famous for their guitar riffs and hard-hitting drums.
“Just as a two-piece, getting the largest sound I've ever heard, was pretty incredible,” McEwan said. “And they did it each night. It was no gimmick; it was just unbelievable. Talent and production knowledge and everything coming together.”
Finally, I had to ask McEwan about the origin of the band name. He said that it initially started as a self-branding project for himself when he was in graphic design school.
“I didn't even think it was gonna be a band,” McEwan said. “It was just literally the stupidest thing that I could sort of get someone's attention. And then, when I told people, it gave off this great, ‘You can call the band that?’ I think that's what I loved about it.”
Coming away from the interview, I had a new connection to my favorite band as I learned more about it. Seeing lead singer Jack McEwan as an everyday person who was enthusiastic to chat with a college journalist was an amazing experience, and I am anxiously waiting on the edge of my seat for the group’s next album.
