Regurgitator rides a long, wild wave of creativity with Invader
Three simple words spoken during the creation of its second album helped Brisbane-born alternative rock act Regurgitator survive for three decades and release its 10th album, Invader.
Three words spoken during the creation of its second album helped Brisbane-born alternative rock act Regurgitator survive for three decades: “in my opinion”.
That wise phrase – uttered by producer Lachlan “Magoo” Goold during recording sessions for its platinum-certified 1997 album Unit – was crucial, particularly for managing disagreements between the band’s two songwriters, guitarist Quan Yeomans and bassist Ben Ely.
“Magoo said, ‘You can say whatever you want, as long as you put the phrase “in my opinion” at the beginning of it’,” Yeomans, 51, told The Australian.
“That defused a lot of the arguments that would get out of hand prior to that; we were in our early 20s, and you know how hot-headed you can be – and how connected to your ego you are – at that stage.”
Unit won five ARIA Awards in 1998 including album of the year, and its run of singles skirting pop and rock – including Polyester Girl, Black Bugs and The Song Formerly Known As – became cultural mainstays.
Magoo’s subjective reminder is why Yeomans, Ely and long-time drummer Peter Kostic remain friendly and productive, and why the band’s 10th album is being released on Friday.
“I worked more, and harder, on this record than I have for ages, and I enjoyed every single moment of it,” Yeomans said.
Titled Invader, its sound is distinctly Regurgitator: “a wildly swinging tightrope of maturity and immaturity balanced on the edge of anything,” as described in the press materials, accurately.
The 14 tracks traverse a range of genres and musical styles while retaining a central artistic identity that could be created only by the trio and its unique chemistry.
Looking back, the title of Unit’s opening track – I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff, penned by Ely – also neatly captures a quandary familiar to all artists with long careers, whose fans don’t necessarily care for their freshest work.
“I think the vehicle that allows us to keep going is certainly the nostalgia,” Yeomans said. “If you’ve had success in your 20s, that gets you in front of an audience, and there’s a continuation there. As far as creating new material, you always have in your mind, ‘Well, maybe no one’s going to be particularly interested in this’.
“But if you can let go of that fear and just continue to play with your creativity, there’s a chance you can achieve what you achieved earlier, in a different way.”
On the live front, he surprised himself at a concert in October while supporting US band Weezer before about 10,000 people.
“I felt like that was the best I’ve ever performed, in my 50s,” said Yeomans. “I actually felt like I could entertain that amount of people, where I hadn’t before, even playing Big Day Out [festivals] in front of 20,000 or 25,000 people.”
Regurgitator’s 23-date national tour in support of Invader will start in Hobart (May 10) and end in Cairns (June 22).
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