From jarring guitars and industrial beats through to wistful pianos and atmospheric synth arrangements, the album is eclectic. It dips into the assorted musical landscapes of early 80’s alt rock, post grunge, power pop, garage, indietronic and down tempo electronica. Each of the five members of the band bring to the record their own unique flavour, which makes for a colourful and intriguing listen that keeps the listener glued to the speakers. Five Mile Sniper has a sound that has been three years in the making and now you have a chance to witness the finely matured sound live, off the back of their latest release, ”The Sound Of Trees” this five piece party has planned a tour. With a different type of sound and a heavy sense of individuality, PEARL was lucky enough to catch up with Five Mile Sniper for a quick Q and A!
PEARL: TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND THE HISTORY OF THE BAND?
FMS: The band is a collective of people from some of the great Melbourne bands from the late 90’s and 00’s such as Motor Ace, Prettymess, Icecream Hands, P76, Holocene and Alcotomic. We were all looking a playing together in a new line-up and Five Mile Sniper was born.
PEARL: WOULD YOU CLASS YOURSELVES AS ARTISTS OR PERFORMERS AND WHY?
FMS: A little of both but we do focus a lot more on the art. Song writing and creating the right mood and atmosphere for each song is number one for us.
PEARL: DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE SENTENCE
FMS: Lush, dark and edgy.
PEARL: 3 CRUCIAL PIECES OF ADVICE FOR UP AND COMERS
FMS: Stay true to who you are. Never accept mediocrity. Don’t burn your bridges.
PEARL: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE FROM FIVE MILE SNIPER IN 2015?
FMS: Our debut album the Sound Of Trees, a national tour, a new video for our third single Amazing and possibly even some new tunes. It’ll be a big year for us.
PEARL: DO YOU EVER STRUGGLE BALANCING YOUR MUSIC WITH YOUR PERSONAL LIFE?
FMS: Always. If I could, I’d be sitting at a recording console 24/7 but that’s not realistic. We all have families now and that’s all got to fit in.
PEARL: WHAT BANDS WOULD YOU SAY INSPIRE YOUR MUSIC AND WHAT PARTS OF THEIR MUSIC DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROM (LIKE THE MELODY, BEAT, RIFFS, STUFF LIKE THAT)
FMS: Hard question. Personally I love a lot of quirky 80’s rock and electronica and 90’s power pop. As a band we’ve always been into stuff like the Cars, Blondie, Teenage Fan club, XTC, early U2, the Cure and the Verve to name a few.
PEARL: WHAT CURRENT POP SONG WOULD YOU LIKE TO COVER?
FMS: Vance Joy – Georgia.
PEARL: WHERE CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR BAND IN 5 YEARS?
FMS: Hopefully making great records and still enjoying it as much as we are now.
Five Mile Sniper will be touring Victoria early March Catch them the 5th at the Spirit bar Traralgon (19-23 Kay Street, Traralgon VIC 3844), 7th at The Retreat Hotel Melbourne (280 Sydney Road, Brunswick VIC 3056), and 8th at The Barwon Club Geelong (509 Moorabool Street, South Geelong VIC 3220).