After their triumphant return with previous single ‘fainter’ in late April, Moaning Lisa now share their latest single, ‘wayside’ – a weighted and emotive rock song with a fan-led video clip to pair alongside.
The Naarm/Melbourne based four-piece spent most of last year bunkered down in various studios, recording a new collection of songs; songs that they were able to road test and finesse the year prior during a busy touring schedule alongside Midnight Oil, Sly Withers and RIDE.
‘wayside’ has a different origin story though. Born from a writing session with producer and songwriter Alex Markwell (founding member of The Delta Riggs, and co-writer to Kita Alexander, Teen Jesus, and Stelli), conflicting schedules meant that only vocalist/guitarist/bassist Hayley Manwaring could attend the session. Written at the Aviary Recording Studio in bustling Abbotsford, it was a far cry away from the band’s Preston living room that doubles as their writing space. Though an initially nerve-wracking experience for Hayley to be in a session without her other three band members, the results were magic, and illuminate Hayley’s powerful voice as a songwriter in her own right, something her bandmates strongly encourage.
Speaking of the track, Hayley shares her writing inspiration, “the day I had my session with Alex my head was swimming with fatigue after a full day of work at the Maton Guitar factory. As a production worker there, a lot of my hours are spent just working away, completely lost in thought, surrounded by a cacophony of industrial noise. At this time I remember listening to a lot of heavy music – LOATHE, Deftones, Saosin – just to drown out the constant hum and clank of the factory floor, and I think this made its way into ‘wayside’.”
Charlie, who took a backseat on lead vocals for this track, shares that “plain and simple, ‘wayside’ is a big heavy emotional rock song you can feel with your whole chest. Likely to please concert goers with a chorus you can really scream your lungs out too. Wherever this song finds you, it will install a sense of “main-character energy” into your day. The mood is very teenage; learning, un-learning and doing your own thing are at the core of this song.”
‘wayside’ was produced by Ben Moore (Montaigne, Finn Brothers, Iggy Pop and the Stooges) and Moaning Lisa, engineered by Rohan Sforcina (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Ali Barter) and the band, mixed by Ben and mastered by Calum Newton (Amyl and the Sniffers, Candy).
In addition to the single release, the band have also shared a ‘wayside’ video clip, led by fan contributions and footage, that shares in the ethos of the track. Speaking of the clip, Charlie says that “‘wayside’ is about the kind of love you happen upon when you stop trying to be perfect. We wanted to capture that notion in the music video and showcase the beauty and power of friendship. The most important bond we have as a band is with our fans, so we knew exactly how we wanted to go about showing that. I put the word out on social media asking people to film themselves with their bestie singing along to the single, and just enjoying being their absolute natural and silly selves in each other’s company. We know first hand that this can look differently for everyone, so we didn’t push any specific instructions and pets were encouraged!.”
Discussing the development of the clip further, and the trials and tribulations that accompany most music videos, Charlie explains that “our very own Ellen Chan put her hand up to edit the video (despite her very limited experience in the field). She poured a huge amount of love, energy, and patience into compiling the final version of the music video, and managed to (only just) keep her sanity intact in the process.”
‘wayside’ is out now via Farmer & The Owl / BMG
