Australian indie band Rum Jungle are questioning last night’s decisions on their latest track “Did The Morning Let You Down.”
We’ve all had one of those facepalm mornings when you wake up and realize that the disaster of a night wasn’t just a horribly bad dream. Those lingering memories weigh heavy on your mind as you wonder how to untangle the mess. With guitar lines reminiscent of The Cure, “Did The Morning Let You Down” gives sonic and lyrical reason to “charge on” making the sunrise a little easier to face.
We chatted with lead vocalist Benny McIntyre about recording the single and its laidback B-Side, and the band’s upcoming tour kicking off in September!
What inspired your new single “Did The Morning Let You Down”?
Hard to say one single thing that inspired the tune. It was just one that came about from the time I (Benny) spent writing a few months ago. Was lucky enough to find time to smash a bunch of tunes and this was one I wanted to keep simple in chords with an acoustic guitar at the heart of a massive track. It’s probably that Brit rock inspiration coming through. Love having a tune that can feel mega listening to it and also feel mega live.
You recorded the track with Jack Nigro and Tasker at Sonora studios. What was the production process like?
Long days and long nights. We spent a week working on a few songs and it was a hazy wavy cookery of a time from start to finish but easily one of the most memorable and fun weeks of our lives. It was the first time we’d worked with a producer and an engineer so it was cool to get to try ideas us four lads never would’ve thought of with the chaos of Tasker and the order of Jack.
Do you have any favorite moments from those late nights?
I think the first night we ended up real late in the only room with aircon, in the pitch black listening to this conceptual album Tasker showed us, I’d have to ask him to name cos I can’t remember, and it was just a really nice place to be. We’d been up and about all night so to get a moment of peace and calm and silence other than the music was real nice. Otherwise we had a footy we booted around most nights which was always a good time.
What is the significance of the cover art?
It’s something we got our close mate Cade to do up. “Did The Morning Let You Down” is a tune we all love but it’s kind of a bridging song from what was before and what’s next. We’re not sure if it will end up on any project, it still could, but we wanted this change of pace and Cade has done a bunch for us before so we gave him the concept and he came back with this mad piece of art. Don’t have an exact significant meaning to give but I absolutely think it matches the tunes.
The b-side “Short Hair” is another great track and is more laid back and stripped back than “Did The Morning Let You Down.” Why did you choose to pair the two?
We always love doing a B-Side and this was just the next in line that we were loving. A big part of our B-Sides is we like to fully record and produce them ourselves so they’re never overstated or taken way too far out. Always try having a different sound for the B-Side because we want to show we don’t just make one kind of tune, we love all sorts of tracks and we just want to release them. Same with “Dash Of Speed” and it’s B-Side “Echelon,” just another vibe or feeling that hopefully connects with someone.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to “Did The Morning Let You Down” and its b-side, what do you imagine it looking like?
For “Did The Morning Let You Down,” I reckon it’d have to be at a campsite in the day with your mates either at a festival by the ocean or in the bush, rain hail or shine. For “Short Hair,” it’s probably the moment you steal away by yourself and go for a walk through somewhere real nice that you’ll hopefully remember for a long time.
You’ve just wrapped your sold-out UK/EU tour and you’ve announced more dates in September, kicking off with Village Underground in London. What can fans expect from those shows?
Same old lads just a bigger stage and more mad people around to hopefully sing along. We’ll definitely be keen to up the production everywhere we can but that’s in the works. As long as there’s a couple amps and a couple people to have a sing it’ll be a sweet time.
Asking for all your US fans. Any plans on a North American tour?
Been chasing to get to the states since we started. The honest answer is as soon as we possibly can, we’ll be over there everywhere we can be.
What can fans look forward to next?
Heaps of new tunes that keep our vibe but also a whole lot of new sounds we hope people are into. We’ll probably be on the road for eternity as well so I’d imagine wherever you are, we’ll end up in your town sooner or later.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
How good are mums (moms)
Featured Photo Credit: Alexander McIntyre