Inpress:
PLAYTIME CAN BE FUN
Sandpit's debut album has been some time in coming. On Second Thought however is anything but hurried. Rather it's persuasively gentle and considered offering. Recorded throughout November 1997 and January this year, Sandpit believe they have created an album that offers more than preconceptions would suggest. On previous releases Sandpit's combination of chaotic guitars and self-confessed tales of woe have won favour with many, but as bassist Stephanie Ashworth explains, Sandpit are really not interested in the pervious held opinions of the band and hope that On Second Thought will go far to dispel a wealth of misconceptions.
The material from On Second Thought I understand has been drawn from over a vast period of time. It must have been cathartic to finalise old tracks and introduce new material into the repertoire?
"Some of the songs are old and people recognise Along The Moors and the last song on the album, Crepe-Paper Fortess, as quite old. But doing them for the album was finally a chance to put them down in a way as they needed to be put down, out of the way as they needed to be put down, out of the way forever and committed to disc. The song I Positively Hate You Now, was written in the last nine months, and some are really new and we haven't even played live.
"Looking at the album overall it is a really honest and vulnerable album, lyrically in particular for Brendan. There were moments there in the studio when everybody was quite bowled over by what was going on in the songs. he is unashamedly up front, right there for once. On the EPs his voice come though but not as it does on the album; it cuts through and is really beautiful and vulnerable, but really loud. His vocals are really audible and his lyrics are really audible, and he has really put himself out there and I commend himself for that. I think that was something he really needed to do and yes it was really cathartic. It is potentially quite a controversial little piece, but it had to be done."
So are you the type of person who proudly sits back admiring and analysing there product once complete?
"No, no I don't. I am really not a sentimentalist, I am really logical and tend to stress about everything. Maybe in ten years I will say cool, that is a good body of work. We are all very much cynics, no rest for us. But in regard to the body of work as a whole people have been saying it is more poppy overall, and that is more laidback overall than the EPs. And I don't know if I would agree with that. I think it still has the elements of the first two EPs in the chaos going on with the guitars in the some of the songs, definitely in fact in the more songs than not. But there are also some really sombre almost scary points on there too."
I don't want to go down the obvious route with questions about Something For Kate (Stephanie recently joined partner Paul Dempsey as a member for SFK concurrent to Sandpit), but with what sort of trepidation do you go into Sandpit/SFK tour with?
(long sigh) "I'm not completely and utterly confident in that band yet because they are musicians I am not familiar with playing with, so I am obviously more confident with Sandpit and at this stage the live shows. So with Sandpit I have a lot more fun. With SFK I still have to have my wits about me and make sure I don't drink too much before I go on stage."
I was reading the entry for Sandpit in the Australian Who's Who and you were categorised as intelligent indie pop. How do you feel about such a title, and actually what do you think it is supposed to represent about you? "I could rant and rave and say that it is very convenient, I have been generally ranting of late about how I have been completely and violently sick of being categorised as indie rock."
How then do you wish people would perceive you?
"People should move beyond the category that they feel we have belonged to and just get that here are some songs and see what they get out of them. It is a very honest and vulnerable album also with some very amusing moments on it and I don't think people are expecting that from us. I want people to approach it if they can with out their indie rock historical baggage if they can. I want people to listen to us like, this is a band and these are some songs and I am, not going to be preconceived about how I approach them and just listen to what someone is singing and the noises."
So are you trying to tell me that contrary to popular belief Sandpit are actually a zany, wacky kind of band? "In a really dysfunctional, incidental kind of way. It is more accidental, like 'hey, that is actually quite funny.' (dead silence) There are some moments and lyrics that are quite amusing. They are not all Brendan's tales of woe.
By Kate McMillian

This was lovingly and beautifully transcribed for me by Fionna Thiessen