“Then it just goes quiet, and you're left in your own thoughts” The Halves on their new EP, 'Opus'

England might be Morrissey’s, but Melbourne clearly belongs to The Halves. Originally emerging from the Meanjin/Brisbane scene, the post-punk four-piece have taken over their new home in Australia’s music capital, drawing inspiration from British sounds and the world around them.

The group are hot-handed and have continuously solidified their importance in the city’s music scene through their recent single releases, ‘Grace' – a rousing anthem built to be screamed by a crowd – and ‘Replacement', a step back from the intense sound and a representation of their strong lyricism.

The band recently came off a four-stop Australian tour supporting their single, ‘Grace’, playing iconic venues such as Collingwood’s The Tote. You would think after intense, gruelling shows and multiple single releases, the group would give themselves a break for a while. This is far from true, with the band releasing their second EP, Opus, on the 9th of September, and already heading to the studio for their next. In classic Halves style, the songs on Opus feel like a grunge take on the late ‘80s and early ‘90s British sound. The year separating this release and their first, however, has signified a lot of growth within the band, with this piece comprising some of their heaviest and equally introspective work yet.

I got the opportunity to speak with frontman Tim Hardy and guitarist Chris White about Opus, touring life, inspirations and more.

So, let's start at the beginning: what brought the four of you guys together as a band?

CHRIS WHITE: Tim and I met in Brisbane a few years ago, and we obviously just became friends first. We just kinda found that we both share that love for music and making music, and then we met Sam and Rory down in Melbourne after we moved. We met Sam through playing in his other band. I think Tim knew Rory through people.

TIM HARDY: Rory used to play in a band in Brisbane, and I was a fan of the band, so when I found out he was down in Melbourne, and we were looking for a new bass player... He has a great voice, so I was really keen. I pretty much begged him to join the band.

So it lined up perfectly.

HARDY: Exactly 

What compelled you guys to the Melbourne music scene as opposed to Brisbane?

HARDY: I’m from Townsville, and Chris is from Perth, so I think it was just that we've always loved the scene over in the UK, and I think Melbourne was the closest to that. We'd do trips down to Melbourne and see awesome bands. Brisbane has a great scene, but I think we were also kinda keen to try something out.

Did you instantly begin writing the songs, or was it more of a cover band situation at first?

WHITE: We definitely learned a few covers, but I think we started off writing our own songs. It was never like “oh, let's just play a few songs and play a house party”. It was like, yeah, we wanted to create our own stuff from the very get-go.

So from the beginning, you knew this was what you wanted to do, and you were very passionate from the start?

WHITE: Definitely, yeah.

HARDY: Chris was the big reason that I became passionate about it. Prior to that, you know, I loved music, but I think kinda us becoming friends was like “ah shit, I could do this as a career with him”.

You’re kicking off your headline Australian tour soon. What should someone know or expect before attending a Halves show?

HARDY: I think it's just to dance. Maybe bring your dancing shoes. Expect a good time.

WHITE: I think also we've definitely put time into, you know, organising the set. So that it’s a bit of a rollercoaster of energy and emotions, I think we cover a fair few genres and tempos, and you know, it's not all over the shop- but there's a wide range there.

Do you all come together to make the sets?

HARDY: Yeah, we like to start off strong and then pull back a bit towards the end, and then kinda finish big. Between songs, we also try to do happy, sad, happy, sad, so it's not just all feeling like it's all the same vibe.

So in that showrun, what's your personal favourite part to play? Do you like doing the slower, more downbeat songs, or more the uptempo tunes?

WHITE: Personally, I like the more upbeat ones. I think coming out of a slow one and almost shocking the crowd with a much different feel of a song, you know, a faster-paced one, is always exciting because you start to see, if it's a slower song, people like to be swaying, but as soon as you pick it up, you start to see the heads bob. I think that's my favourite part of the set.

Do you have a personal favourite song to play?

WHITE: I would say mine is probably Grace.

Do you have a favourite part of the setlist, Tim?

HARDY: Yeah, there's a track called ‘Cold And Gloom ’-it’s in the EP. That's kinda what Chris is saying. It's kinda stripped back in the verses, but the choruses are really big, and I think I'm a bit more comfortable with my voice now, so when we play the songs that are a bit vocally quite vulnerable, I'm confident with it. So that's a great track to play. But yeah, in terms of songs playing live, ‘Grace’ is definitely a favourite. They're all great. ‘Replacement’ also- it's a very different vibe.

Those are some great ones. Now, when it comes to making an EP as a whole, they say you have your whole life to write your first record and six months to write your second. Your self-titled EP came out just under a year ago, so as a band, do you agree there's pressure to constantly output music, or has the opposite happened, and you have been even more inspired to write naturally?

WHITE: With the second one, the first EP was written with a few different members in the lineup, so this second one was still a first with a whole new group. We found that when the other members joined, we meshed very well, and the songs naturally came out a lot quicker than the first one did, to be honest.

HARDY: Way quicker. They just kinda all came out without a lot of effort. And obviously we poured a lot of effort into them, but they just came out all so natural and really strong, so there wasn't really much of a pressure. It was more of an excitement because they were all kinda writing themselves.

So does everyone work together to write the songs, or are certain jobs allocated?

HARDY: Normally with instruments, Chris will have an idea, or one of the other members will bring an idea, and sometimes it'll start with drum and bass, sometimes it'll start with guitar. So yeah, it's very collaborative. There are a couple of tracks where Chris wrote most of the song, and it's kinda just figuring the rest out. In terms of lyrics, it's normally like, we’ll think of a concept, I'll try and write as much as I can, and when I feel like I've done as much as I can, I'll bring it to Chris and a couple of the other members, and they can kinda go over it and fix anything that could be stronger. So it is a very collaborative process.

And on the new EP, what song came together the quickest?

HARDY: They all came so quickly. I feel like ‘Replacement’. Chris came up with the riff, and by the end of the session, the song was written. So that one. A couple of the songs, but yeah, mainly ‘Replacement’.

And when you finish a song, who is the first person you show it to?

HARDY: I feel like normally it's your partner; a girlfriend or a housemate.

Do you get any unsolicited feedback from them?

WHITE: (Laughing) I get it from my dad. He's pretty critical.

HARDY: It's always good things. A lot of excitement.

Moving on. When listening to the EP, I picked up a very 90s sound, particularly in the songs ‘Replacement’ and ‘Cold in Gloom.’ I wanted to know if that was something you were thinking of when creating it, and if so, what drew you to such a nostalgic, bittersweet sound?

HARDY: I think our influences are from the early 90s, late 80s, so without putting too much thought into it, that's probably just coming through, because we listen to a lot of it.

Right, well that leads perfectly into my next question, which is: what shaped the specific influence behind this album? Whether that may be artists, films or even life events.

HARDY: Yeah, I think like, we were listening to a lot of Prodigy, so we were enjoying those drum beats. Kinda loving The Smiths, The Stone Roses, and all those bands. Kinda all the Britpop. So that's where my head was at. The Church as well- I was listening to a lot of The Church, so the jangglieness in the acoustic stuff. So that was like, for sure, all those bands were a big inspiration.

WHITE: Around that time, I was listening to slightly heavier stuff, which I think comes through in some of the choruses. We have that kind of delicate, nostalgic sound in the verse. There's a song by the Smashing Pumpkins which I got obsessed with called ‘The Everlasting Gaze’. And I don't know why, but the tone and style of guitar playing in that. And then pairing that with some of the bands in the UK, like Enola Gay, was massive for me at the time, so that's probably what I would lean towards. The quiet parts seem to build tension, and for me that was the release- those heavier parts.

Has there been one singular gig that changed your perspective of music, or made you realise that this is what you wanna do for the rest of your life?

HARDY: I would say, Wolf Alice. When I saw them, I was blown away. I was with Chris and two of the old members. Just watching that, I was really inspired. I just recently saw Deftones. One of the best gigs I've ever been to, and I was sitting down! It was incredible. And there are so many things you kinda pick up just by watching that. They are such a great band, such a good band.

WHITE: I would definitely go with Wolf Alice. They’re awesome. There was a period a few years back when I also saw Mac DeMarco, I saw Idles, I saw Foo Fighters playing at Suncorp in Brisbane. Like, massive, massive. And then seeing DZ Deathrays, who played in Brisbane a lot, who are a sick band. I also think seeing Violent Soho, when I first started going to gigs in Brisbane, that kinda heavier scene. Those first few shows, pretty small shows to be honest, but I was like, this is it, there is nothing cooler than this.

This EP is a very beautiful blend of introspective lyricism and expressive instrumentals. Individually, what is the first thing you notice in a song, the lyrics or sound?

HARDY: Normally, a song starts with the music, so that's what captures me for sure, and then you stick around for the voice. I think the melody. Just a general melody of a song. Whether the prominent melody is through the guitar or through a bassline or lyrics, I’m not really listening for the same thing every time; it's just for the beautiful melody.

WHITE: I would say the exact same, whether it's vocals or guitar. We've always tried to write stuff that's catchy, and we don't mind doing a chorus, and you know, we want people to remember whether it's the lead part or vocals, so I think just naturally you're drawn to that, and we try to replicate the same thing.

We end with the title track ‘Opus’ -a very self-evident song that fits the EP’s message perfectly. Tell us about the process and thought behind naming that song and therefore the entire album ‘Opus’, because it is a very strong title, especially for your second full body of work.

HARDY: We were thinking about names for a while, and it was kinda just sitting there in plain sight. We loved the name for the song first, and I don't know who said it, but one of us was just like, “What about naming the EP Opus?”, and you said it; it does summarise all the songs quite well, cause, you know, a body of work, a piece of art. So, I don't think too much more thought from my end went into it. I think it was just sorta when we had that idea; to me, it just worked.

So where did the name come from in the first place for the song?

WHITE: I think we just had a bunch of ideas. We didn't necessarily want to have the name from a lyric within the song. And we just had a bunch of ideas that suited the overall tone. I think the names were being thrown about before the lyrics even finished.

HARDY: Yeah, yeah, that is what happened. I remember we were working on it and you [White] said “what about ‘Opus’?” and it was kinda instantly, like “cool”. I had no idea what that meant- what the word meant- even after that. Chris suggested naming the EP Opus, and that's when I googled it, and it was like ‘body of work’; that's perfect. 

Were there any other names you were considering before Opus?

WHITE: Grace was the other one. It was between those two.

Last question: I want to talk more about that closing track; it leaves us, listeners, on a cliffhanger with its quite abrupt ending. What can this and the EP as a whole tell us about the future of The Halves? What can we expect?

HARDY: I think it ends well. It ends with a full stop. We have started working on some new stuff, so we have a bunch of tunes that we’re about to start doing some writing sessions with a producer, so we’re pretty keen for the new stuff; it's exciting. As we said before, songs are coming out really quickly. Chris is one at the moment; he's been pulling tunes out of, I don't know where. I think it's a good full stop, and we'll pick it up from there.

WHITE: To add to that, I think, because it is quite an intense song, I think, in general, when something in life is very full on and immersive, then it just goes quiet, and you're left in your own thoughts. You're kinda processing what just happened. So I think that abrupt finish is so s

ymbolic of something that is very intense in real life, and after the song passes, you're just sitting there and thinking about it all. I think that is especially true with that song, which, when you listen to it, you'll hopefully hear what I mean.

That is possibly the best answer to that question.

HARDY: (Laughing) Yeah, you nailed it. Can you quote me down for that?

Well, that’s all from me. Thank you both!