The Medics are on the cusp of becoming Brisbane’s next ‘it’ band.
Four years of solid touring, Band of the Year honours at the 2010 Deadlys and the QMA for Best Indigenous Band last year have positioned the former Cairns-based four-piece perfectly ahead of the group’s debut album release, ‘Foundations’.
“It’s been a long time coming,” the band’s guitarist, Andrew Thomson says. “I guess we’ve all grown independently and as a band, but I guess the whole dynamic of the band hasn’t really changed. We still see this as a really long term [project] and no one is pulling out any time soon ... Everyone has a lot of respect for each other; when it comes down to the band, everyone loves each other — it’s a big family.”
Spread across 11 tracks, ‘Foundations’ provides a great snapshot of the band’s first four or five years, with the inclusion of live favourites ‘Beggars’ and ‘Joseph’. “We didn’t really think we’d be recording the older tracks onto the album until the last minute, and that’s... when we sat down and thought about it, that’s where the name of the album came from, ‘Foundations’.”
If you’ve never caught The Medics live, you’re doing yourself a disservce. Sprawling rock soundscapes is the order of the day. Just don’t use the ‘p’ word. “I don’t see us as psychedelic; that comes across more in the live show. I couldn’t really say, like we have a lot of different ideas. But I think we’ll stay the way we’re going. But I don’t know if it’s psychedelic, it’s kinda experimental.”
Although they’re an emerging act, The Medics still have plenty to tick off their bucketlist. But winning a Deadly award is no longer on the list. “It boosted our recognition at the time, and at the time it was a really important step. We really wanted it because we missed out the year before. It was one of the stepping stones that we... ‘tick it off the list’... then there are always bigger fish to fry or bigger goals to push for.”
The Medics play Black Bear Lodge Tuesday May 22 and Splendour In The Grass July 27-29. ‘Foundations’ is out now.
