The voice may seem familiar. At least in part. That’s because Ella Hooper’s voice is already engrained into the Australian psyche.
As the former leader singer of Killing Heidi, Hooper not only leant a voice to a generation but defined its look too. Now, however, the dread locks and vinyl jumpsuits are gone as Hooper reinvents herself all country style as the lead singer of The Verses.
She’s not alone either. Her brother, Jesse Hooper, has joined her once again, the two of them creating an older, more sophisticated sound, one significantly different from their former Killing Heidi days. It’s garnered through heart, Ella pointed out.
‘I think we’ve found a love of it again,’ Hooper explained on the phone from Sydney, in between tour dates on their recent tour with Fleetwood Mac. ‘It’s the love of doing music and the appreciation of how amazing it is to be in a band, especially a band that is able to tour and that you’re able to do for a living. It just really made me appreciate all the little things and all the great things about being a musician and made me very motivated to get back into it.’
And the motivation has paid off. Their self-titled EP is a collection of honest songs. The music itself shifts subtly through genres, yet always takes its reference from the ’70s Wes Coast harmony scene. Bands like Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles are obvious influences, as are more sublime nods to the likes of Emmy Lou Harris.
‘I think we write quite diversely,’ Hooper said of the process her and her sibling took in writing this EP. ‘One song will feel like rock and the next song will feel like pop… and the next song might even feel a bit like country-blues. I would have to say I think (the EP’s sound is) classic rock. Classic feel-good chord progressions with heartfelt melodies.’
The lead single is called Forever More, a driving song that simply soars. It’s also sexy, sounding in parts very much like The Divinyls. Which shouldn’t be too surprising: the same producer who worked with The Divinyls worked here too.
But the end result isn’t just a great sounding selection of songs. It’s a visually appealing product too, reminiscent of old school LPs and EPs, indulging in the craft of producing a body of work, both physically and sonically.
‘We have spent a lot of time and love on this EP, because we thought that this is our first re-emergence after a long time so I think for us it was important to have it be really special and really nice and I’m so happy with all the attention to detail we took with the artwork and the photo-shoot. We wanted to kind of say “Hey, this is us.†It’s maybe not what you were expecting but it’s quite well-considered and we feel really good about it.
‘We thought we’d like to give a selection of tracks that showed a bit of the different character in the band; there’s a little bit of the upbeat, a little bit of the more tense, darker side, and we also wanted that to be reflected in the imagery that Jesse had; in some shots he’s looking kind of dark – I call him a ginger Johnny Cash, in a few of those photos – and just the maturity. We worked with some great people getting that artwork right and getting that happening and we’ve got to thank our amazing record company, Warner, for letting us do such a nice job.’
Of course, it’s a fine line that bands tread in being able to express themselves artistically, all the while adhering to the needs of the record company. And Hooper is unashamedly aware of this.
‘I think that there’s always pitfalls’ she said of working with record companies. ‘It’s in the industry part of the equation, you know? When you’re trying to sell something on a mass scale it’s sometimes not conducive to just pure art flourishing and being supported for its artistic merit, because that commercial factor has to come into it somewhere to make the record companies money.
‘So that’s an interesting thing that’s always coexisting; the economic thing and the creative thing and sometimes they coexist better than others. One of my gripes is probably when the economic thing cuts off the creative flow; that’s sad. But I’m really lucky; I happen to write lots and I really like writing in a pretty commercial style, so it’s not too much of a problem for me, but I have seen it be a problem for others.’
The Verses EP is out now through Warner Music.
***
