Where are you currently based?
We are from Melbourne, Australia!
How did the band form?
Lily and Pearl met at the hospital just after Pearl popped out of the womb – we’re sisters! Henry joined the band on drums a couple of years ago after we’d been playing with a range of different drummers and is now very much a part of Hot Glue, the band wouldn’t be the same without him.
What’s been happening recently?
We just released our debut album ‘Hatchet’! The whole process has been super exciting, including making our first music video for ‘Roadkill’ as well as launching it with a show at The Gasometer. The album has been a long time coming so it has been really awesome to finally share it with everyone.
Your debut album ‘Hatchet’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Thematically the album focuses on forgiveness in its many forms; grudges, apologies, burying the hatchet. We realised halfway through recording that the whole album was about forgiveness as we’d unintentionally been writing about it for the last few years. Sonically we’re very attached to our fuzzy guitars and sisterly harmonies, possibly brought on by our love of The Breeders. While recording we tried out different sounds but always found ourselves drifting back to how we play it live with our simple three piece.
How did you go about writing Hatchet?
‘Hatchet’ is made up of songs we wrote over time after releasing our debut EP as well as a couple of other singles. Once we had about seven songs, we decided to turn them into an album and realised the songs we were writing were mostly about some form of forgiveness or resentment. We went into writing the last couple songs for the album with this in mind. Some of the songs we would write individually then bring to the band, or would be written together.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
We recorded ‘Hatchet’ at Hothouse Audio with our dad Craig Harnath who also mixed and mastered the album.
How did you approach the recording process?
Pretty much all of the songs we had been playing live for quite some time before we went to record them. We enjoyed coming up with new ideas and parts for the recordings, but ultimately kept them pretty close to the way we play them live. We love crunchy, fuzzy guitars and really embraced this on the record. Recording this album with our dad was really special, we already all hang out together a bunch so it was fun to make a record at the same time!
What does this album mean to you?
It feels amazing to have a full piece of work out in the world, especially one we love as much as Hatchet. Releasing feels like permission to forgive, be forgiven and move on. The songs are so cathartic for us, to play live and to have recorded, so it feels like an immense relief to finally have it out in the world.
Craig Harnath is the father of the two sister vocalists within the band, Craig has worked with loads of big bands over the years (Jet, Kylie Minogue etc) how has this musical connection affected your music and the band?
We’ve been really lucky to grow up in a family where music is celebrated, it’s always been such a big part of our lives and so many albums our parents love have soundtracked our childhood and influenced our own songwriting. Playing music has always been encouraged by our dad, but he very much allowed us to find our own path to starting a band.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Some bands we’re loving at the moment are Juice Webster, Alex G, Slow Pulp and Noah and the Coldmen.
(Here’s a link to our current favs playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0i6yft1BV9ehNSeHgpTrEU?si=28c0033227bc473f)
What’s planned for the remainder of 2023 going into 2024?
We have a couple of shows lined up around Melbourne on September 22nd supporting Ally Mac at The Catfish, on September 29th supporting Noah and the Coldmen at Mamma Chen’s and on September 30th supporting Carla Geneve at The Night Cat. We’re also planning to release another music video for one of the songs off the album very soon.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Northside we LOVE the burgers at The Retreat, especially pre-show. And we are also devoted patrons of The Banff in St Kilda and thoroughly enjoy their pizzas.
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