It wasn’t meant to take this long, but the delay of Stonefield’s debut album has only made the band stronger.
The Findlay sisters blew down the door of Australian independent music in 2010, winning Triple J’s Unearthed High competition with their song ‘Foreign Lover’. It was the perfect story: four teenage sisters from rural Victoria putting down the books and picking up instruments – and a degree of cynicism might have initially been excused.
But Amy, Hannah, Sarah, and Holly Findlay capitalised on ‘Foreign Lover’ with a firebrand debut EP, ‘Through The Clover’, and continued to quieten the doubters with its classy follow-up, ‘Bad Reality’.
That’s when Stonefield went quiet. But the pause to release a self-titled debut album hasn’t dulled any of the wider interest in the band. Indeed, ask Hannah Findlay and she thinks it’s been a good thing.
“We were hoping to record the album at the start of last year,” she explains over the phone from Melbourne. “But it just didn’t happen. A few things got in the way. But in the end I think it’s worked well. We’ve had a lot more time to write and make sure everything’s good … Because we’ve taken this time, people will see that we’re taking it seriously and we’re here to stay and do things properly.” ‘Stonefield’ is an album done properly. It immediately catches the ear and doesn’t let up for the next 40 minutes. It’s a terrific collection of songs, and confirms beyond any doubt the four-piece’s talent.
Helping is Ian Davenport’s production. Davenport recently twiddled the knobs for Band Of Skulls and brings the same muscular propulsion to bear on ‘Stonefield’.
“We actually had another producer that we were going to work with,” Hannah says. “And as things were getting closer and closer to recording, we felt that it wasn’t right and things weren’t going to work out. We just had different ideas on things.
“So we decided to move on and look for someone else, and our A&R guy suggested a few producers and then we really loved the Band Of Skulls album [‘Sweet Sour’], so we said it would be cool to work with Ian. We had a few meetings with everybody and it just clicked. He really gets it and it felt really right with him.”
It was Davenport who narrowed in on the idea of using a choir on the Findlays’ ferocious first single, ‘Put Your Curse On Me’, lifting a song Hannah says wasn’t even going to make the final cut.
“We had this idea for ages that we would love a choir on a couple of the songs. And we just weren’t really sure which songs to put them on. During pre-production, Ian suggested putting them on ‘Put Your Curse On Me’, just because it’s not really a typical choice.
"We weren’t sure how it would work out, but we got the choir in and as soon as they started singing we thought, ‘Yep. That’s awesome. That’s it.’ … It really brought the track to life and made it really move along nicely.”
With the record ready for release, now comes a new challenge: taking these belters and converting them to a live performance. There are no nerves for Stonefield, though – just excitement.
“We’re so happy to get back out there again,” Hannah says. “I think it’s probably one of our favourite things to do, to play shows. It’s great to have a whole album from which to draw songs. And it’s really exciting playing the new cuts. It makes the show a lot better. It’s good.”
It makes you wonder, is the stage the natural habitat for Stonefield?
“I did [think so]. But recording this album, we all had such an amazing time. Our past experiences have been fun, but we always still preferred playing shows. And then when we did this album, we just had so much fun. I don’t know – we enjoy both a lot.”
Of course, getting excited about touring is a lot easier when you’ve been locked in to support Fleetwood Mac at the Hope Estate and Hill wineries.
“That is absolutely fantastic,” Hannah says. “I can’t believe we’re actually supporting them. We grew up listening to them so when we heard the news, we were stoked.”
And the future? More singles, more touring, and maybe a trip or two overseas. With the album release and younger sisters Sarah and Holly moving towards the end of their schooling, Stonefield finally feel they can flex their musical muscles.
“Definitely,” Hannah says. “Because we’ve had those few years starting off and playing around Australia. And learning all those different things, I think we’re really ready to start doing bigger things. I’m really happy with how everything’s gone, and we’ve done everything for a reason and so far everything’s worked out really well.”
'Stonefield' is out Friday October 11. The band play Alhambra Lounge November 22, The Other Side Festival November 23 and The Northern, Byron, November 24.
