Henry Wagons gives DARREN LEVIN the lowdown on the 10 tracks that make up Wagons’ epic fourth LP, 'The Rise and Fall of Goodtown'.

‘Drive All Night Till Dawn’

It’s interesting that you open the record with ‘Drive All Night Till Dawn’ instead of ‘Goodtown’. It’s almost like a narrative, you know; someone on their way to Goodtown – and then they’re there. Was that the intention?
A lot of people seem to think this album is a concept record, but I was turned off concept albums ever since Harry Connick Jr did a record all about a pet frog. I'm afraid I don't have the attention span to write 10 songs about the same thing. I'm glad it hangs together enough to “almost be a narrative”. All of the songs come through my own songwriting filter so they probably hang together in strange ways I don't have the perspective to recognise. If you can tell me about the story I'm telling I'd appreciate the insight.

What is “The Shit” that the protagonist speaks of bringing?
Always bringing the shit is not a literal statement. Let's make that clear first of all. “The Shit” refers to our Wagons Roadshow, particularly to always rocking up to a town and doing our best to put on the show of peoples' lives, often against all odds. I'll be singing, sweating and bleeding down to a wet pulp whether its a packed Corner Hotel in Melbourne or the last dregs of a buck's night in Coolum.

‘Goodtown’

Where’s Goodtown and what does it represent?
Goodtown is no place in particular. The song is a grass is greener/sea change gone to shit story. It's about packing all your stuff up, putting it on your back, climbing over the hill and then on the other side is a dried up backyard full of dog shit, a swing set frame (minus the swing) and a weird old man sitting in the corner playing with his balls. But once you're there, it's too late to go home, so you have to hang out. Horrible.

Did you come up with the Goodtown concept first and then write the characters from there?
I can't remember how the nuts and bolts of the song came together in terms of concept versus characters. It all most likely flowed in all together on the couch while watching reality TV of some sort.

The songs take a really dark twist at the end. Is everything in Goodtown not what it seems?
Indeed, everything in Goodtown is not what it seems. Just like Sea Change on the ABC seemed like it was going to be a refreshing drama and turned out to be boring.

Is that a drunken sing-a-long at the end?
The sing-a-long at the end was fun. It was at the end of a long percussion overdubbing session with my two drummers. We all got to unleash our studio cabin fever demons singing that outro. I can't remember if we were drunk. I'm too drunk to remember.

The vox at the start sounded like they were recording in a tin can. Is that the wizardry of Cornel Wilczek (aka Qua)?
Cornel is a wizard. He can make anything sound like a tin can! That is his handy work. It was great fun working with him, coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas for the treatment of the songs. I'm really happy with the intricacies of the production. I think you discover many new sounds and textures on repeated listens. Its definitely a record that is worth listening to at least a few times.

‘Love Me Like I Love You’

A song about unrequited love?
It’s a song about the world thrusting forth many mysteries, but the only question that really needs to be answered is whether one is loved by one's love. Its a love paranoia song.

This track really reminds me of a David Berman (Silver Jews) song. Are you a fan?
I love David Berman. What a poet. The Natural Bridge is one of my favourite albums.

‘The Gambler’

A nod to Kenny Rogers?
The song was well and truly written before we gave it its title. It was called 'Escape my Fate' for a long time, but that seemed a bit too metal. I decided to change the title and chucked in our cheeky reference to the Kenny song. I do love Kenny Rogers. I'm hoping to wear my hair and beard like him when I get a bit older.

The song speaks of a character being shackled by fate. Is Goodtown a metaphor for that?
Fate is an interesting concept. I guess it’s one of the recurring themes on the record.

‘Moonhorn Lake’

Is Moonhorn Lake the antithesis of Goodtown?
For me, the song paints a picture of a beautiful place, but at its heart is a man waiting for a woman who will never come. It's a song of infinite patience. It's supposed to paint a picture of tranquility weighed down by a man in sorrow and self-denial. Pleasant huh? I can really be a miserable bastard in song.

Is it heaven?
Many people have interpreted the song in more innocent ways, suggesting the song is about a man inviting someone to visit his amazing log cabin for a family holiday (kayaks, sunbathing and hookey). If people want to read it that way that's fine by me. Once finished with the song, how people interpret it is up to them. I like it when the meaning gets a little lost in translation. Keeps things interesting.

But ‘Moonhorn Lake’ is not heaven. Doesn't heaven have lots of clouds, all your dead family and pets, pearly gates and a bearded man?

‘Evette’

It’s quite an epic song this one. Is this Wagons’ ‘Evie’?
'Evette' is an epic. It was really fun to make a space rock number like this. It actually came into being as a song called 'Roulette' (which later became 'The Gambler'). The lyrics for 'Evette' started to delve into love obsession territory again, so it seemed more appropriate to call it 'Evette' instead of 'Roulette', which was convenient because I could keep the same vibe during the chorus. It does sound a little like ‘Evie’ when I sing it. That’s a great song, so any comparison to it is flattering.

Were you channeling Elvis’ ‘Suspicious Minds’ on that half-time breakdown?
I think the bridge has turned out more Bowie than Elvis. Channeling either of those guys is a big ask. I'm happy to be shit on the shoe of either of those legends.

Lyrically it’s about a man consumed by a woman, right? Can you relate?
The lyrics are about being obsessed and consumed by a woman, such that every spare thought drifts back to her. It is a common plight. Women can wield an all-encompassing, fast-growing vine-like clutching force over men. Of course I can relate to it … I wrote the lyric!

Sounds like you give [guitarist] Richard Blaze license to go nuts. Did he come up with that solo on the spot?
Rich Blaze is a guitar mastermind. He basically come up with all his solos on the spot during the recording process. No solo edits on the whole album! I think he is happier than ever before with his guitar playing and tone on this album. He did a stellar job, no doubt.

‘Love Growing Old’

Is this song about self-sabotage?
This is a song about a love that is so good that you are worried you are going to fuck it up. It’s similar to eating a really good ice-cream and getting disappointed halfway through that sometime soon there will be none left. In the latter half of the song you realise you can go back down to Coles and buy some more ice-cream, so it's all good.

Is it better to burn out than to fade away?
I won't make any big calls about how to end a relationship. Horses for courses, different strokes for different folks. I think if you are good at that stuff you have a problem.

‘Never Been To Spain’

Why the Hoyt Axton cover?
This cover has been part of our live set for a couple of years now. It is often a crowd favourite. We thought we'd recorded it and put it on the record. It seemed to fit in with the general flow of things. It’s also true that I have never been to Spain, so the song also functions as a little fact about Henry Wagons.

How truthful are you to the original?
We wanted to remain fairly faithful to my favourite version of the song, which is the Elvis live version from Live at Madison Square Garden. We wanted to capture a live Vegas band kinda thing. As it turns out, Elvis' version is far more sassy and ours remains more poised. That's OK though, I’m happy with how ours has turned out. I think we’ll explore capturing more of that late-Elvis sass on our next release. I need to eat some peanut butter and bacon sandwiches to get in the mood.

What connected you to the lyrics?
The lyrics are at once beautiful, strangely insightful, yet very naive and a bit idiotic. Seemed to fit Elvis very well. We dared to have a shot, and it seemed to work out OK.

‘Keep Your Eyes Off My Sister’

Would it be fair to say that this is the most straight-up “country” track on the record? I mean it’s even got washboard and a banjo for god’s sake.
This is the most straight-up country number. No doubt. The lyric seemed to suit it.

I love how this ends with a sort of homoerotic punchline: “You just like her cause she looks a bit like me.”
Glad you like the punchline. It’s kinda weird to have a “joke song” on the album. I'm still a bit uneasy as to how well it fits within the rest of the tracks. I have let this uneasiness rest for the most part though. It’s supposed to have a ‘Her Majesty’ from Abbey Road type of role on the album.

‘Lightning’

Why did you decide to finish the record on such a dour note?
The record seemed to deserve a serious and subdued finish. It starts with a punch and slowly winds down to a dour death. To use your words, it’s a fade away instead of a burn out.

So the song’s protagonist is resigning himself to a life of sin?
The song is actually about a guy whose wife is struck dead by a bolt of lightning. It’s not particularly obvious from the lyric, but I kinda like how it hangs in ambiguity if you don't know the back story.

The Devil makes his first cameo on the record here. What’s your take on that whole Crossroads myth?
Though I am not a religious man I love writing about heaven and hell, God and the Devil. It’s a really dominant and powerful mythology to wrap the guitar strings around. The whole concept of good and evil is an over-simplistic dichotomy, so I feel my songwriting tries to sift through the avalanche of grey muck that lies in between. I am inspired by God and Satan's mutant child. The Crossroads are paved with the grey muck that God and Satan's child vomits up, so to speak.

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Wagons’ The Rise And Fall of Goodtown is out now through Spunk/EMI. Tour dates here.