Deep Relaxation

Melbourne's Eddy Current Suppression Ring is a study in contradictions. Beyond the title of their latest LP, Rush to Relax, which was recorded in one day, their success has been largely accidental, from formation to present. Three albums in, they're riding the next wave of Aussie punk.

I asked guitarist Mikey Young, aka Eddy Current, a few questions via email before they packed up for a U.S. tour. They hit Mohawk Saturday, June 12, with locals the Hex Dispensers and Denton's Fergus & Geronimo.

Austin Chronicle: There seems to be a change of pace from the last album. As in, you spend some time working out riffs. Did Rush to Relax become the mantra?

Mikey Young: It's funny, a lot of people have said it sounds like we spent less time on the riffs with this album! The title of the LP was just an afterthought, I guess. As soon as we had the song written, Brendan [Suppression, singer] suggested it for the album title. I guess it suited our mood at the time and that mindset definitely influenced the way we were writing, just trying to not feel like life is getting too far in front of us and there is far less need to rush than we think.

AC: There also seems to be a focus on anxiety, insecurity, feelings, and the need to keep them all in check. Is that mainly Brendan's theme? Is it more personal or a product of our times?

MY: A bit of both, I reckon. Brendan's always sang pretty personally about feelings and insecurities. Anxiety is something we all have tried to tackle head on over the last couple of years, and I'm sure we are no exception to a lot of people. It definitely wasn't meant to be a concept album or anything, but there is an overall feeling of these kinds of thoughts on the album.

AC: I hear a bit of that Flying Nun sound on the album - were any of those New Zealand/Australian bands influential growing up?

MY: Not so much growing up. Flying Nun stuff came pretty late to me. It wasn't until my late 20s that I finally got around to the Clean and it blew me away. Since then I've delved deeper into all that stuff with varying degrees of success, but the Clean and a few of the other bands like the DoubleHappys and the Gordons have definitely influenced us over the last few years.

AC: I think yours is the only punk album I've heard in recent memory that ends with roughly 20 minutes of beach hiss. Was that something done on purpose?

MY: I'm a bit surprised how much of a contentious issue this has become. Some took it as some arty, pretentious statement but really the end of that song sounded nice and tropical, sounded nice with some waves and tied into the cover and title. The idea was to stretch it for 20 minutes because CDs can go for 80 minutes and we may as well do something with the time given. I didn't expect people to think they needed to listen to it if they didn't want to. It's pretty easy to turn off. Besides, we ain't punks, we is hippies.

AC: What do you guys do to relax?

MY: Eat, sleep, listen to records, make stuff, read, draw, hide.