An Armidale post-punk band has released its first album Weakened by Mange and says the themes expressed in the songs are "totally relatable".
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The Warts is comprised of four experienced musicians: Mick Wart is the drummer; Al Wart plays bass; Een Wart plays guitar, and they all live in Armidale. The remaining Wart, Damo,sings and plays guitar and lives in Uralla.
Their debut album title Weakened by Mange is a reference in part to survival according to Damo.
"Everyone is weakened by the ageing process and what life throws at you. We are embracing our inevitable inner mange.
"All the songs are very meaningful to us and reflect traumatic experiences. In many ways, they are like the products of some kind of weird intensive group therapy.
"The Warts rehearse weekly, and these sessions are as much about therapy and supporting each other as they are about composing songs. It's like a supportive environment or a men's shed or something but for mutant men incapable of living up to society's standards of what it means to be a normal Australian man."
The album contains themes about work, family, kids, divorce, gender, domestic violence, feminism, justice, prejudice and being out of place or isolated.
"There can be a lot of unfairness and desperation out there, and for men, it's particularly hard because there's so much misunderstanding and labelling that goes on, and barely any support," Damo said.
"It's basically all very real stuff, it's totally relatable, and The Warts have just used their adversity to try to make sense of stuff that happens in life that is impossible to understand."
All the songs are very meaningful to us and reflect traumatic experiences
The band got together in 2017.
"I got a call one day from Al whose band The Sundews we're looking for a new singer as the old one had turned into Justin Beavers and moved to pursue a solo career in Sydney," said Damo.
"How silly, I thought. Everyone knows it's better to move to Ebor for that. I knew Al from prior contact in muso circles. He played in a covers type band called Big Berther, and I played in an originals band called Ortizmo. Al used to go to Ortizmo shows."
Damo says he said no to singing, but Al continued to call him for weeks.
"I said yes just to shut him up," he said.
"I only agreed to do one rehearsal and said I wouldn't do covers. Subsequently, when I turned up, I was horrified and only remained semi-interested for an hour. Then my brain started decomposing, so I went home. On my way out I said I'd do originals if they wanted to, but if covers were the only option, they'd be better off with Mr Blobby.
"The very next week there was a knock on the door at my house. "
The Warts describe their music as undefinable and say they are influenced by everything from blues to noise rock.
People hear all sorts of influences in our music
"It's definitely an Australian sound though," said Damo.
"People hear all sorts of influences in our music - everything from psychedelic garage to sub metal to new wave to space rock.
"We all grew up in different places and at different times. We all listen to very different music. It's very difficult when we are in a car together."
When asked to define post-punk Damo said in some respects everything since The Saints in the 1970s has been post-punk.
"The genre is just a term for new or progressive music with roots in punk rock new wave type movements - even 5 Seconds of Summer are post-punk," he said.
During the day each band member walks a different path: Al Wart is a claims assessor; Mick Wart is a sound engineer; Een Wart is in community services, and Damo Wart is an entrepreneur with a background in ecology and social work - but all are experienced musicians.
"All four Warts are very much left-brained creative types," Damo said.
"We've all been around the block so many times that we no longer know what left or right even means. We only know straight ahead or turn back.
"I've played hundreds of shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide in a seminal band called Drill from '93 to '95 playing regularly with bands such as Frenzil Rhomb, Spiderbait, Budd, and many others.
"Even without The Warts material, I have 80 odd songs registered with APRA.
"One song, named Kapnob was about a Russian chess player. I still get royalty payments from the Russian Federation for $2.86 for radio airplay."
On stage, the band are enigmatic and absorbed in their art, but each member has his own persona. They also have a loyal and growing fan base.
"We're all different, but people often comment on our bass player Al, who seems to exude an attractive but unknowable rock musk," said Damo.
"We love it that people follow us and take an interest. It makes it all worthwhile. The Warts are very grateful for every single person who comes to a show or comments on social media. Without it ,we'd never the leave the shed.
"This, of course, wouldn't necessarily worry us that much, but I think after a while I'd get sick of looking at Al's silly head."
Damo says the name of the band came up at rehearsal once and it stuck.
"Warts are ugly, contagious, and hard to get rid of," he said. "They appear in places you don't want them to, and everyone has them at some point."
Performance is one thing, the songwriting part is an entirely different complex art beast
While Damo usually produces the overall sound and writes the lyrics, The Warts' songwriting process is mainly collaborative.
"An idea is presented, sometimes it's already developed with multiple guitar melodies, and it then takes on a life of its own as each Wart understands it," he said.
"There is a process of refinement, and there's a need to present concise ideas that best represent what the song is about. The standard is high. Sometimes accidental things get put into songs, and we regularly chuck the whole rule book out the window.
"Performance is one thing; the songwriting part is an entirely different complex art beast."
The Warts will launch Weakened by Mange at Impies this Saturday, October 26. The band deliberately held back until a weekend close to Halloween.
"There's significant interest in the local original music scene, both from inside and outside the region," said Damo.
"The scene is growing, and there's a groundswell of unbelievably good live music around that needs to be experienced. There are two record labels involved with the night, and it's the only opportunity you'll get to see The Warts for several months before we head off for shows elsewhere and then return to complete our follow up recording.
"Halloween at Impies is a big night every year, so there are costumes and frivolity everywhere."
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