Fresh from selling out shows across the US and Canada, Australia’s favourite indie-rock duo Old Mervs (David House and Henry Carrington-Jones) share their second studio album Carparks out today. It arrives with the new track “Adeline” just a week before their much-anticipated Carparks AU/NZ Tour gets underway.
In their interview with Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips, Western Australian duo Old Mervs (David and Henry) discuss the making of their second album, CarParks, and how their approach to recording has evolved since their debut.
MORE ABOUT THE INTERVIEW
Although CarParks was already half-recorded by the time their first album was released, the pair say they still enjoyed the significance of finally having a full-length record out. Their focus with CarParks was to make Old Mervs sound more like a complete band rather than being constrained by the limitations of a two-piece. That meant expanding the arrangements while remaining conscious of what they could realistically reproduce live.
Producer Chris Collins played a major role in that process. The duo describe him as a multi-instrumentalist who can add layers and ideas to their songs while also helping them move beyond their own assumptions about what Old Mervs should sound like. Collins’ fast workflow was particularly valuable, songs were mixed into near-finished versions immediately after recording sessions, allowing the band to hear the music taking shape as they made it. Some tracks were deliberately recorded without a click track, giving the album a more natural, live-in-the-room feel.
The album also features Kim Churchill on harmonica, an appearance that was particularly meaningful for Henry, who had been a fan of Churchill since his teenage years. The collaboration came about naturally through their friendship and surfing, with Churchill adding harmonica to a track before hanging out with the band in the studio.
Despite working in a professional studio, the recording wasn’t particularly gear-heavy. The band made use of what they had, including Henry’s old acoustic guitar, which ended up appearing across much of the record. A Brady snare drum, a Western Australian-made instrument, unexpectedly became a key part of the album after producer Chris Collins took a liking to it. The approach was less about having endless equipment available and more about making the most of the instruments that suited the songs.
A major theme of the conversation is the influence of the duo’s upbringing on their music. Having grown up on neighbouring farms in WA, they initially made music without any real awareness of the expectations of the music industry. They were simply working on the farm, playing guitars and drums and having fun. Dave believes that carefree environment helped shape the band’s early energy because they weren’t influenced by a local music scene or concerned about how a band was “supposed” to sound. Now, after several years in the industry, they want to recapture some of that uninhibited approach to making music.
The pair have also become increasingly aware of how unusual their journey has been. What started with the two of them playing music around a farm has developed into international touring, with shows across the US and UK. They say they have increasingly found themselves looking back and appreciating how far they’ve travelled, particularly when returning home and being reminded of the very different farming life they came from.
The songwriting process remains relatively collaborative and uncomplicated, although disagreements can arise over lyrics, melodies and particularly which songs should become singles. They say choosing singles is one of the more difficult parts of making a record because it requires balancing their personal attachment to songs with considerations about how audiences might respond to them. Their philosophy once a song is finished is fairly simple: if it felt good while they were making it, they try not to overwork it afterwards.
Dave singles out “Old Friend” as a favourite because of the songwriting process behind it. He normally struggles to finish songs, but wrote the track quickly and completed it in a day without overthinking it. They also value songs that emerge through jamming together, because those tracks feel more like genuine products of the two-piece working as a band.
The title CarParks reflects that connection to home. It comes from a surf break near where they grew up, where they had some of their favourite surfing sessions. They deliberately chose a title that wasn’t tied too specifically to a location and liked the phrase because it was familiar and open to different interpretations.
Of the 12 tracks on the album, several other songs were considered or partially recorded but ultimately didn’t make the cut. The band describes the process as continually sifting through old ideas, voice memos and new material to find the songs that belong together on a particular record.
Looking ahead, one lesson they take from making CarParks is the importance of greater preparation before entering the studio. While they found that many things worked themselves out during the sessions, they don’t want to rely on that happening every time. For their next body of work, they intend to spend more time developing songs together beforehand.
Live performance remains central to the band’s approach. They deliberately avoided making CarParks overly complicated to reproduce because they are still a two-piece without backing tracks or a larger live band. They want the recordings to be sonically interesting without creating expectations they can’t deliver on stage. On the tour supporting the album, they expect to play around seven of the album’s 12 tracks.
The band’s ambitions remain straightforward, keep making music, keep touring and continue reaching larger audiences. Beneath the growth and international touring, CarParks appears to represent an attempt to preserve the relaxed, spontaneous spirit that originally brought Dave and Henry together as musicians, while taking what they’ve learned from their rapid rise and applying it to the next stage of Old Mervs.
COMING UP:
IN-STORE SIGNING
Sunday October 4 – Mills Records, Fremantle, WA
OLD MERVS AU/NZ CARPARKS TOUR DATES
October 9 – Forum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC (18+)
October 10 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW (LIC/AA)
October 16 – Fortitude Music Hall, Fortitude Valley, QLD (LIC/AA)
October 23 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, SA (LIC/AA)
October 24 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS (LIC/AA)
October 31 – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA (LIC/AA)
November 5 – The Loons, Christchurch, NZ (18+)
November 6 – San Fran, Wellington, NZ (18+)
November 7 – Double Whammy, Auckland, NZ (18+)
AU & NZ FESTIVALS
Saturday November 14 – Handpicked Festival, Langhorne Creek, SA
Saturday November 28 – Rolling Sets Festival, Tweed Heads, NSW
Saturday December 5 – Rolling Sets Festival, Newcastle, NSW
December 27 – 28 – Le Currents Festival, Riverside Park, NZ
December 29 – January 1 – The Great Escape Festival, Redbanks, Nugent, TAS
December 30 – January 1 – NYE On The Hill – South Gippsland, VIC
For tickets and event information HERE