STACK #210 Apr 2022

MUSIC FEATURE

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will say something, someone else will say something else, and then we're like, 'That's funny! Let's put that in!'” Amongst the fresh meat is some real pedigree. Tilt was produced by Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals, who famously ended his band after one #1 track in 1998 and became one of the most successful and sought- after pop songwriters in the industry.

Tilt by Confidence Man is out April 1 via IOHYOU / Heavenly / PIAS.

Janet and Bones attest he's a giant of a man (“Nine-foot-seven!” kids the latter), whose spontaneous approach to songwriting appealed to them straight out of the gate. “It was just before Covid times when we first met Gregg,” says Bones. “We had no idea what to expect, but we knew of his big

hit with New Radicals [ You Get What You Give , 1998], and we knew also he’d written [monster hit for Sophie Ellis-Bextor

I kind of lost it for an hour, screaming and singing... [when] I came back to Reggie he was like, 'We have a sick song here'

in 2001] Murder on the Dancefloor, and [Ronan Keating's chart-smashing 2000 track] Life Is a Rollercoaster , and all

these other crazy songs that we loved. We were super excited, and when we met him he was just this

really chilled dude and we got along quite quickly. We'd play him a

INTERVIEW

loop, or a beat, and he’d be there with his pen and paper – scratch scratch scratch , in a trance state – then all of a sudden after an hour he’d be like, ‘Aaah! Give me the mic!’ and jump up and lay down a whole song. He just kept rolling with it, and didn’t get too caught up in the details of the thing.” After red-hot singles Holiday (late last year) and Feels Like a Different Thing in January) came Woman , released on Internationl Women's Day (March 8). In its one-shot clip, Janet minces through a house party as she delivers the song's central manifesto, periodically pausing to twirl her python-thick ponytail. The hair flip has always been a cornerstone of her repertoire, but these ones are undeniably next level. It may have been the bubbles. Says Bones, “I didn't have to do anything as far as the [acting] side of it went, so me, Clarence and Reg were on bar duties.” Adds Janet, “I think we went through 40 bottles of champagne – it was ridiculous! But I can do [the pony twirl] no matter how drunk I am.” Bones adds reflectively, “You probably do it better when you're p-ssed..."

Four years after their debut Confident Music for Confident People, Confidence Man are stepping out with another record of bold 'n' brash dance-gems which absolutely demand levity of spirit and humour. We spoke to Janet Planet and Sugar Bones about the sparkling Tilt . Read the full interview at stack.com.au. Words Zoë Radas JANET PLANET + SUGAR BONES CONFIDENCE MAN

I f you're the one with the mic, you get to make the rules. You can fling the spirits of Dee-lite and Orbital in a blender and splash it out the window of a fast-moving car, if you want. You can make your own costumes and dance like a Penny Ford-possessed marionette if you fancy, too. You can even squeal “What's your problem?!” with A+ anthemic delivery, creating a stand-out track on an album chockers with belters. Confidence Man have done all these things, but it's that last one that resulted in the fantastic Angry Girl , a song which vocalist Janet Planet says was inspired by ecouragement from bandmate Reggie Goodchild. “Reggie gave me this big long microphone lead, and he's like, 'I realise I've played in all these bands over my life, and I've got to run around with a microphone and scream. You

haven't. I've been seeing you want to scream for the past six months. Go scream wherever the f-ck you want, I'll put on a beat, and we'll record some sh-t," Janet explains. “I was super drunk by this point. I was walking up and down the stairs, screaming, screaming, screaming. I kind of lost it for an hour, screaming ad singing everywhere. Then I came back to Reggie and he was like, 'We have a sick song here.'” The lyrics slot neatly into the brilliance across the four-piece's second album Tilt, where couplets like “With a face like that there's no conversation/ With an a-se like that, there's no hesitation” ( Toy Boy ) and an entire song of mistranslated French idioms (says Janet, “French people are gunna hate it; I can't wait”), but it's all about the four of them riffing, “We bounce off each other," says Janet. "One of us

Confidence Man are touring Aug 5 - Aug 27 + Splendour (Jul 22)

Continue reading the full interview online at stack.com.au

APRIL 2022

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