Start Listening To: Nice Biscuit
The Australian psych rock band discusses their new single ‘Rain’, the impact of climate anxiety on their music, and their journey in the international music scene.
Nice Biscuit, a five-piece psych rock band hailing from Brisbane/Meanjin, Australia, blends influences from kraut-rock, garage, modern psych, and folk/country music to create a unique and compelling sound. In this Q&A, the band shares insights into their creative process, the inspiration behind their music, and their experiences on the international stage.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
We are Nice Biscuit–a five piece psych rock band from the humble city of Brisbane/Meanjin in Australia. We’re just a bunch of friends making sounds really. Our music is influenced by kraut-rock, garage, modern psych and surprisingly folk/country music. Grace and I (separately) learnt to sing and create harmonies in choir and playing folk songs on our guitars. Our harmonies are very folk/country and the melodies we write are very influenced by this part of the music world.
Your new single ‘Rain’ has a powerful message about climate anxiety. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the song and how it came together?
We started writing Rain after a really intense bushfire season in the summer of 2019/2020. A long period of drought had left the landscape so vulnerable that the fires tore through places that had not been burned before. My sister has a veggie farm called ‘Loop’ close to the city that was severely impacted by drought during this period and it just felt like the world was burning. This spurred us to write lyrics begging for rain and pleading for action on climate change.
How did the catastrophic flooding event in Brisbane in 2022 influence the final version of ‘Rain’?
The first version of the track was written while we begged for rain but when the floods of 2022 hit us we were suddenly begging for the rain to stop. ‘Loop’ farm had been severely impacted by the floods, losing almost everything, in a stroke of tragic irony. The song speaks to the sensation of being thrown around by the weather like a rag doll, with no certainty of a safe or soft landing. This is the reality of our future as we plunge into the age of climate change.
The music video for ‘Rain’ features you as scientists searching for answers. What was the creative process behind the video, and how does it complement the song’s message?
We pitched the song to director Josh Tate and they came up with the concept and we fell in love straight away. The idea was that we are low funded scientists struggling to create or find rain through any means necessary. We filmed most of it out at ‘Loop’ (the farm that inspired the song initially) where we experiment with a bunch of ridiculous things while close ups and short cuts build intensity. By the end of the clip we are drenched in rain and euphoric, only to find that it has stopped again and we are off to work again. I love how the video doesn’t follow the exact narrative of the song yet captures the vibe that we were trying to convey - of the intensity yet light-heartedness of the song and the seeming hopelessness of trying to get politicians to care about action on climate change.
You’ve described ‘Rain’ as having a positive take on a difficult situation. How do you hope this song will impact listeners, especially those feeling powerless in the face of climate change?
“We can change the ending, we can start the rain, clouds are condensing, it can grow again. Crack through the concrete, colour bleeding in, rapid oxidation, water from within”. The song is based on the classic bad guy vs good guy plight where we imagined a rainbow being locked in an evil concrete corporate tower and then breaking free (through the power of the common peoples’ actions) and letting our colour (i.e. positivity and change) bleed out onto the world using the power of our ‘water’ within (i.e. our power). I am a believer in the happy ending and always finding a positive take. Hope is powerful and evoking emotion and I feel if we don’t have hope then we have nothing.
Your cover of Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ received a lot of attention last year. What drew you to that particular song, and how did you approach making it your own?
“I Feel Love” was one of the classic party tracks that we would put on when dancing and I guess we mutually got excited by the idea of playing our own version of it! It was always a dream song for me to sing (i love the range and intensity of Donna’s vocals) and we just tried it one day for a festival and got a really great response.
Nice Biscuit has toured extensively and played at numerous festivals internationally. How do these live performances influence your music and songwriting?
As we play more, we become a tighter unit and this gives us more time for experimentation (less practicing) and learn how to listen to each other and in turn write songs intuitively together. As well, getting inspired by acts that we see helps to get the creative machine rolling. We write collaboratively so as we connect and grow more together it always helps us to write better songs.
You’ve supported bands like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Wet Leg. What have you learned from these experiences, and how have they shaped Nice Biscuit’s evolution?
Playing with big bands is a really important part of growing as an act, as it spurred us on to practice more, make better costumes and write more songs.
What role do visual elements and aesthetics play in Nice Biscuit’s overall artistic expression, especially considering your striking album covers and music videos?
The visual element is just as important as the music for us. At our first ever gig (in a barn at my mum’s house) Grace and I wore matching dresses and we then vowed to match at every show - as best friends it felt obvious and exciting for us. In the quest to match each other we had to rely on our then limited sewing skills to create costumes, and as the stages and bands we played with got bigger our outfits got more elaborate our skills had to develop - we became obsessed. Our live performance would not be the same without our matching costumes, in the beginning we were shy to the stage and it made us feel powerful, confident and supported.
Can you share any memorable moments or challenges you’ve faced while touring, especially during your international tours in the UK and Europe?
Touring is amazing and terrible. You meet so many beautiful people and fans, make lifelong tour buddies in the crew, try amazing food, and reach people on different stages all throughout the world. BUT often you are eating lunch from service stations, spending whole days in the tour van (I was car sick throughout the whole of Europe haha), load in, play all night, load out and then wake up early to do the same thing again. Lucky we love each other and love to play – it is always worth it.
What do you love right now?
Listening to rain sounds to get to sleep.
What do you hate right now?
The genocide of Palestinians.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan is one of those albums that I have always listened to, since my mum showed it to me when I was little. I love that it’s his breakout album where he goes electric, and you can hear how free and new he feels when he sings (especially “To Be Alone With You”). This album created so much controversy at the time for die hard acoustic fans that wanted him to be forever singer-songwriter – now these are some of his most well loved songs. It shows how important it is to follow your own path and to not let the world dictate what you should be creating.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for the future? Are there any upcoming projects you’re particularly excited about?
Our plans for the future involve putting out more music (and more videos) and trying to tour as many places as we can (when we can afford it)! We have some projects in the works that we are keen to share…but you will have to wait and see.
