Sticks & Stones Shitty Interview No.116

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Following the release of their new Album ‘Now We’re Cookin’, it is a pleasure to bring you Shitty Interview No.116 with POLISH CLUB.

With over 20.4 million streams globally & seven years as partners, the Sydney pair found themselves pumping out songs like a well-oiled machine during last year’s lockdown with perhaps a tad too much gusto. “We ended up writing about 90 songs,” Novak says, “30 the first time, and our manager didn’t go for any. Then we changed tack the second time and got a few more in, and by the last round…” “We were just writing straight hits,” JH offers. “Dave would bring something in and I’d be like ‘it needs more hooks.’ We were ruthless.”

Now We’re Cookin’ sparkles with immediacy, precisely because its ten songs have undergone such an intense period of crystallisation. “Just trim the fat,” says Novak of the process. “There’s no excess, there’s no fuckin’ two-minute outros.” The band remains unabashedly proud of treating their demoing like a production line. “I’m constantly pinging away, trying to find a way to write a hit,” JH admits. “By the end, all my references were pop & R&B. It was 400 tracks long and a wild ride.”

The duo opted to focus instead on what made each song a hit, rather than where it was supposed to fit. It’s a frankly glorious mess, held together by the undeniable aesthetic of the two Polskis playing it. “If you look like our Top 10 most played Spotify tracks there’s no consistency at all,” JH interjects. “There’s one really shiny one, one slow jam, one punk track.”

So refined was the writing that by the time the boys rocked up at The Grove, Sydney to record them with the venerable Scott Horscroft the music was pretty much fully formed, leading them to their first co-production credit.

‘Now We’re Cookin’ is arguably this inconsistency incarnate, a Polish Club for all seasons. According to Novak, that’s awesome. “If we did the same bluesy-soul shit album after album, it would be much harder to take inspiration or satisfaction from that. Repeating yourself doesn’t somehow mean you’re being more true to yourself. I think it’s the opposite; you’re just being lazy.”

LISTEN TO ‘NOW WE’RE COOKIN’

Sticks & Stones: Last thing you ate?
Polish Club: YUM YUM YUM IN MY TUM. FROOT LOOPS.

Sticks & Stones: Last law you broke?
Polish Club: I used one of our Polish Club songs on a live stream on twitter. Take that, record label! MUAUAHAHAHA.

Sticks & Stones: What’s something you hate?
Polish Club: Scott Morrison hehehe. What a piece of shit. Burn in hell Scott, try not to shit urself, Satan doesn’t like that.

Sticks & Stones: What’s your favourite word?
Polish Club: Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist.

Sticks & Stones: Do you believe in ghosts?
Polish Club: If ghosts don’t exist, then how do you explain when u do a #2 and there’s nothing when you wipe.

Sticks & Stones: What did you learn during lockdown?
Polish Club: I can sleep when I want, for as long as I want. I can eat anything. I can be whatever I want to be. That, and people really really really really really really like visiting family members in other houses.

Sticks & Stones: What made you laugh today?
Polish Club: Nothing yet but I’m optimistic about the future of comedy. Letssss gooooo.

Sticks & Stones: What is your favourite possession?
Polish Club: The US basketball team had a fucken mad possession last night in the final moments of the 4th quarter of their hot garbage performance against the French team. They chucked up four misses in a row & blew any chance of a comeback lol, suck shit America.

Sticks & Stones: What are you fucking with right now?
Polish Club: I’d say lockdown but I guess to be pedantic, it’s fucking me, not vice versa.

Sticks & Stones: Give us some shitty advice?
Polish Club: End your sentences that aren’t questions with question marks.