Sweater Curse look back on recent East Coast tour with Seamus Platt

Brisbane band SWEATER CURSE have gone from strength to strength lately. Fresh from their own East Coast tour in support of their blistering new single, 'Can't See You Anymore', as well as support slots with POLISH CLUB and SEASIDE, clocking over 30K streams on Spotify, being added to spot rotation on triple J and much more, they've been firing on all cylinders with their unique version of indie rock.

About to head back out on the road supporting PHANTASTIC FERNITURE as well as being one of the most hyped acts at this year's BIGSOUND, the band are set to continue their steady rise for the rest of 2018 with no signs at all of slowing down. Their latest single, 'Can't See You Anymore', is an exceptional example of a band rapidly evolving from a quaint bedroom indie three-piece finding their feet into a fully fledged, formidable band with a clear vision of exactly who they are and where they're headed. It's thrilling to witness their evolution as they consistently push their sounds further and further to make their voice stand out and be heard. Thanks to the dual vocals of Monica Sottile and Chris Langenberg and Rei Bingham on drums, this is a band truly on the precipice of breaking through.

Before they well and truly blow up, we have something special from the band to cement their memories of their recent tour. Being on tour can be a bit of a whirlwind, so it's important to have someone else there to document the candid moments, which is exactly what Sweater Curse did this time around with photographer Seamus Platt joining them on the road. Sweater Curse said of the collaboration, "We’ve worked with Seamus over the last year for press shots and single/EP artwork so to be able to go on tour was both a lovely and special experience as well as a natural progression of our collaboration as artists." They went on to explain, "Each show and place is special to us for different reasons and the collection of photos that Seamus created for us is a beautiful depiction of ‘tour life.’"

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For Platt, this series was all about looking "at the life of a touring musician and explore the idea or notion that it is somehow glamorous."

Going on to explain his preferred method of shooting, Platt said, "I shoot exclusively on film because it slows the process down and forces me to think about my subject matter and compositions. In my personal practice, I touch on symbols contextualised in domestic settings and the study of the human condition in suburban Australia."

"I’ve always been fascinated with music and try to be involved in my local music scene. So, going on tour with Sweater Curse allowed me to combine my fascination with the Australian condition and landscape, and my love of the local music scene. I wanted to capture the moments in between live shows that characterise what it’s like to be an independent touring musician in Australia in 2018.

"I didn’t know what to expect on the trip, I just knew it would be busy and stressful but that makes for good subject matter."

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BRISBANE – w/ Sometime Sonny, Pool Shop & Candy

SC: This was the most exciting show we’ve played in Brisbane – the room was so packed and there were so many friendly faces in the crowd it was the perfect way to start the run of shows for us – and the supports were all so amazing. It was a little weird to go back to our day jobs for a week or so before our next show on the tour but it’s all a part of making it work.

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MELBOURNE – w/ SPIT & Candy

SC: Our flight was ever so slightly delayed down to Melbourne, which left us rushing to press interviews as soon as we landed, but that’s not entirely out of the ordinary for us anyway. After a full day of press, Mon’s voice started to get hoarse and she had pretty much lost it completed by dinner time which made for a very stressful time the next day. Lots of cough syrup, antiseptic throat gargle, honey and eucalyptus oil were used for prep for the show, which ended up being a-okay. Selling out the Gasometer on our first ever headline show in Melbourne was amazing and we were all so excited to play with our friends on stage and in the crowd.

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SYDNEY – w/ Bourgeois Earth & Bored Shorts

SC: The original line-up for this show was EGOISM and Bored Shorts but unfortunately EGOISM had some very sick and bed-ridden members so weren’t able to play. By some miracle we managed to organise a replacement in under an hour while stuffing our faces at the Bourke Street Bakery. We also had to run around picking up amps etc and let us tell you, Sydney really does live up to its traffic reputation but we still had a great time going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on our way to Newcastle.

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NEWCASTLE – w/ Sam Hollins, Paper Thin & Skivvy Season

SC: We love Newcastle. We played our first interstate show there are try to get back there as much as we can. The music and art scene there is incredible and our beautiful No-Fi Collective friends are always doing great things. It was so lovely to catch up with all of our friends and after our show we were able to do a quick interview with Tilly from FRITZ which was interrupted by us all getting kicked out by the bouncer.

The drive home from Newcastle is one we’ve done a few times now and it always starts out okay but after the first half the hours start to drag. Having 4 people in the car made it easier to have fun and stay engaged for longer. Driving in a hire car is stressful though.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Seamus wrote a good list of thoughts that capture the tour vibe pretty well.