Brisbane/Meanjin dynamic emo rock duo Upsetter have made their powerful debut with the release of not one, but two poignant new singles, Blossom and Hate Me.
Upsetter teamed up with three-time ARIA-Award-winning producer and long time friend Cody McWaters (The Chats, King Stingray) to record their defining new music, sharing honest self-reflections, the journey of emotional processing and naked truths over the backdrop of sludgey guitar lines and passionate vocals. The singles claw at the heart-strings of the listener, setting the tone for what the band sonically call Doomgaze.
Answered by Jasper Webb (vocals + songwriter)
How did Upsetter come to be?
Upsetter started as an outlet for me back in the depths of 2020. I was in need of a way to vent about where I was at in life, and relief always came through creating music and writing lyrics. I was really into Loathe’s latest record at the time, and I really resonated with the boundaries they were pushing sonically. Having focused most of my musical career around bass guitar, I loved the idea of having two bass guitars in a three piece band.
I started working on the material with Sebastian, our old drummer who recorded these tracks with us, and we decided to hit record with my old friend Cody McWaters (before he snagged 3 ARIA’s 6 months later). In December 2021 we recorded most of the material at Airlock in Samford, where we met Emily who was managing the studio. Immediately we vibed and she joined a few months later. Since then it has been a matter of fitting in the time to finish everything between Emily and I, in between our crazy recording and touring schedules.
Where did the name come from?
Upsetter actually stems from a Grand Funk Railroad song of all places. It’s the opening track of one of their albums I listened to a lot with my dad as a kid, and as a child learning new words it just stuck with me. It seemed to be a fitting title for a band created to be an emotional outlet.
How would you describe Upsetter’s sound in a sentence?
Low-tuned and vulnerable.
Your two new singles are quite emotive, is there an album or artist that makes you feel the same way you intend your music to feel?
We’re trying our absolute best to be as raw and emotive as we can be. Personally my biggest inspiration for our sound is a band from the states called Gleemer, the way they tow the line between walls of gaze inspired noise and intimate emotion is a huge influence on myself.
In what ways does your background in audio engineering help or hinder being in a band, and what’s the production process like?
It’s a new experience with each project working out my personal boundaries between being an artist and an engineer, and where you have to place yourself between them. I think we took to the recordings with professional patience and realistic expectations. We definitely weren’t starry- eyed hoping for our turd to be polished. It really helps to be entertained and interested in all the tedious parts of the process that’s for sure. Sometimes the whole room is equally invested in getting the snare top compression juuuuust right on the inbound take, and sometimes we can spend a little too long fiddling with filters on synths.
We’re fortunate to have recorded with Cody who has been a lifelong friend of mine. We went to primary school together growing up in the same regional town, and over the years our production careers have shared parallels. Opening yourself up in front of a microphone is a lot easier when you have one of your best mates behind the mixer.
What’s in store for the future of Upsetter?
Lots of music is yet to be released, and I really hope people will appreciate our versatility. We have heaps of material ready to record, and we’re planning to start touring late this year. I can’t wait to hit the road with my band instead of with someone else’s.
