Hello Darling. How are you?
Very well, thanks. Feeling a little worse for wear this morning though. I played a benefit show last night where they were selling gin in teacups. It was lovely but I don’t normally drink that much…but last night I made an exception…
For those who don't know who you are, who are you?!
I’m Elizabeth, and I play under the name Allo, Darlin’. I used to have a band called the Darlings but I was forced to change the name by a Californian pop punk band. Sometimes I play with friends, it just depends who’s available on that day. On record I play with a full band.
Last time we saw you was at the tweepoplove-in that was Indietracks. That place was ace wasn't it? What have you been up to since then?
It was amazing, one of my favourite weekends since I moved to England. Or ever in fact. I’ve been up to lots of things since then. I’ve just come back from 6 weeks in Australia writing and recording my new EP. I’ve also been recording a couple of covers for different compilations that are coming out all over the place, one is a Springsteen record, another is a Ramones one. And there’s a Jonathan Richman one in the works too. Apart from recording I’ve been playing shows in London and I’m just about to go off on mini-tour around England in Scotland.
In the true spirit of Christmas you are releasing a new EP. Have you looked into making it chart eligible? I'm sure we could get you into the top 40 at least!
Ha ha, that’s very sweet but I’m not sure about that. It would be nice though. I do have a soft spot for special Christmas records though, like the Beach Boys one, the Phil Spector one, the Low Christmas album. They’re always a little bit different, a little set apart. I wanted mine to be like that, so I’ve recorded it all on ukulele and just me playing. It’s very simple and lo-fi and imperfect, which is different for me, because I’m normally quite a perfectionist. I think it suits the mood of the songs though. But it means it’s a long way from Christmas Number 1!
Seeing that you recorded said wintery songs whilst back home in Oz, what is the deal with you guys calling flipflops 'thongs'? That is just plain messed up. You don't wear a thong on your feet.
Well, the space between your toes is kind of a crack, isn’t it? You should check out what Aussies call “double pluggers”. They’re really classy thongs, only worn for special occasions. Funerals, weddings, that kind of thing…
What kind of things influence you when song writing? It always feels like there is an honest, natural sense of self in your lyrics. Are you generally singing about yourself/experiences, or are their elements of storytelling in there?
I wish I could say it was storytelling, but that wouldn’t be the truth really. Most of the time I’m writing from my own personal experience, sometimes a little too much so I think. Like my song Emily, I really wish that I hadn’t put her name in the song, because I think she found out about it and was embarrassed. That wasn’t my intention when I was writing it, I just didn’t think that anybody would ever hear it. I guess it’s also because Emily is such a nice word to sing, it just bounces off a melody. My name is rubbish to sing, the only song I know with Elizabeth in the title is a really depressing one by the Eels about his sister who committed suicide. There’s lots of songs called Emily though, and I think it is because it’s so nice to sing.
How did you find working with the lovely folks at WeePop? How important do you think that label is in giving people like yourself and folks like Little My (another PYT bestest friend) an outlet?
WeePop is amazing. Camila and Thor, who run it, are the most enthusiastic and supportive people ever. They’re the best people to have at gigs, especially Camila, because she always stands right down the front and dances, even if nobody else is. The little community that has sprung up around the WeePop bands is really nice too – I think some of the Little My kids will be sleeping at our flat when they come to London soon. There’s so many of them, they don’t all fit at Camila’s house! But things like at Indietracks when Let’s Whisper, The Just Joans and I played a little impromptu show on the train platform – that was a show just for Camila really, but other people found out about it and came down. That’s the kind of nice thing that happens when you have a little community of bands, and WeePop has really fostered that.
As we are dragging you to Manchester, do you have any particular feelings for the city?
I can’t wait to come to Manchester. So many of my favourite bands come from there, and I’m really curious to see what’s in the water. I know things have changed a lot since the 70s and 80s, but I’m still fascinated. It’s going to be super fun.
What other things have you got going on at the moment? Read and good books, seen and good films/tv? Who are you listening to at the moment?
Er, at the moment I’m reading the Bandini Quartet by John Fante. We have a lot of DVDs in our flat, my boyfriend’s collection is pretty intense. Last week I saw the Bergman film Cries and Whispers, the Korean film Old Boy and some surfing movie called Riding Giants. I fell asleep in the surfing movie but it was pretty. I’ve been listening a lot to Taken By Trees lately, that’s Victoria Bergsman’s project, since she left the Concretes. She’s lovely. I think you either love or hate or style of singing, and I can’t get enough of it.
What are you hopes for 2009?
Oh so many! I’m very optimistic about the future. I’m so excited about the election of Obama, although I’m trying not to pin too many hopes on his election. It’s nice to feel that finally change is in the air, and I will allow myself to feel that excitement. In terms of music, I have lots of things coming up that I can’t wait for. I’m recording a new EP for WeePop which will be a 7 inch record, and then I think I’ll be ready to make an album straight after that. I’m not sure if that will be a self-release yet or on a label, I’m just trying to work that out now. I’d like to get together a full band and play some shows in Europe. I just want to keep learning things, more instruments, more about writing songs, more about singing and recording. I’m pretty excited about everything.
myspace.com/allodarlin
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