LEAKER are uncomfortable listening. They sit in that new wave of Queensland bands, like Slowcut, that push music out of the punk/hardcore/heavy metal quadrant into more obtuse noise. Post hardcore? Noise rock? Sludge? Whatever you call it? They are playing at the next Nambour Black Market. And they have a new self-released LP. Read on to hear what they have to say.

BAD HABIT: Hello Leakers. How are you doing? Please tell us how LEAKER came about? What’s the members’ history? What does Leaker contribute to the world of music?

LEON: Robb (bassist) and I are brothers and have played in previous Brisbane based bands before, including Quiet Steps, which was a kind of emo/screamo type of deal. I moved to Melbourne for 10 years and shifted back just after Covid struck. Talks immediately began with Robb and Liam to put something together, something heavier than we’d done before. Robb knew Dan (drummer) from a previous Brisbane punk band they played in together too, so all pieces fit.

Fortunately we all shared some crossover influences like Godflesh, The Jesus Lizard etc. The product of the first jam hit home for all of us and the musical direction was pretty clear.

As far as contributions to the world, I’d say at our age it’s just a privilege to be able to spew our music and ideas out there as honestly as possible and be grateful for anyone who digs and supports us.

We (Robb & I) both play aluminium neck guitars, which kinda guides the writing, with that more bright twangy angular sound. It also highlights the bass guitar and brings it into a similar range to the lead guitar, so a lot of the songs end up being driven by the bass guitar for that reason, even if the writing started with a guitar riff. 

I guess also we grew up in the 90s completely saturated by the nu-metal thing, the first few Korn albums, which have that clicky high gain bass-heavy sound going on. It’s funny, everyone who sees us seems to take away something different. Like the older heads will mention The Birthday Party and The Jesus Lizard, people our age pick up on the nu-metal thing and say Will Haven, young people always name drop Chat Pile. We’ve played a few shows with extreme metal bands who notice the occasional nods to the likes of Gorguts and Deathspell Omega.

Liam: My favourite one was Green Jelly. I hadn’t thought about that band since I was a kid but I reckon they were bang on. Anyway, my history is I grew up on the Sunny Coast playing trombone and got poached by a ska band (Open for Inspection / Breakeven) when I was a kid in the late 90s. We played a bunch of mixed bill shows and toured down to Sydney and shit. 

That band died in the early 2000s, so I started this fucked up heavy Bungle kinda thing called Meat Snorkel (on bone, synth, guitar), which ended up having a bit of notoriety in Southeast Queensland, but nothing to show for it.. So I basically quit music for 10 years to study an engineering degree. After a brief stint playing sludge doom, I’m back at it.

As far as what LEAKER brings to the world of music – this is the first band I’ve been a vocalist in so it’s a bit of a trauma dump. The world is kinda cooked right now, like we never evolved to deal with this constant information overload for a start, most of which is utter shite. 

Being goaded into culture wars by fucking algorithms, it feels like a different world to the one I grew up in. So, I think as individuals and collectively there is a bit of a malaise, we’re all feeling it, and I’m just here trying to get it off my chest. There’s plenty of sarcasm and double entendres, so it’s not entirely doom and gloom. Just mostly.

BH: Ageing in underground music is an odd thing. A lot of this music we cherish was originally made by teenagers, who were probably drunk or high when writing it. With no consideration for the responsibilities of grown-ups. Being a grown up with responsibilities... what does that era of life bring to the music? 

Liam: Yeah definitely. Growing up on the coast in the 90s and playing in a ska band surrounded by what was a pretty decent punk/metal/hardcore scene at the time, I definitely didn’t appreciate it for what it was. Now seeing the resurgence of the youth hardcore scene in the last few years and talking to some of the other bands in the lead up to the Namba Black Market gig has been pretty surreal. It’s simultaneously dredging up memories of gigs I’d long forgotten. Seeing my nephew play in a few sick bands, I think the kids are a  bit more self-aware these days and making the most of it, certainly more than we did. 

In terms of responsibilities – yeah we basically have to fit the band around the life of being a middle-aged wage slave, but I think that forces us to take it seriously and think about everything we do. I also go to a lot of shows and dabble in videography, because I think it’s important to document this stuff. Again, something that I didn’t even consider 25 years ago. 

Danyn: I don’t have any input on ageing except for that I hate it and everything hurts and sometimes I wish I was dead and oh goooooooddd.

Leon: I think the benefit of being a little older is that you surpass the trends, pretence and hype of musical happenings around you and focus on your own thing. I’ve never felt more in my own lane and capable of finding a sound I independently seek than now.

BH: Speaking of ageing, do you ever consider your own mortality and what sort of legacy LEAKER and yourselves as people will leave? I turn 50 this year, and the realisation that the reaper could make an appearance at any time is a new cosmic anxiety that I’d never really given much thought until recently. 

Liam: Well I think that’s kinda what LEAKER is – it’s an expression of our own shit trying to deal with that fact before the numbers run out. I’d rather have this dying gasp of music out there and be an effective uncle and brother to my family than to contribute to the gene pool. This is the legacy, such as it is hahaha.

Leon: I don’t think about the music we make as a legacy but I feel I have to make it. Something in me draws me to want to write, record and release music. I think I’d feel like I’m doing myself a disservice and wasting away if I didn’t have that form of expression.

BH: Your new vinyl LP is here in our hot old hands. Tell us about the process and vision for it. Some people might say rushing into a full length is a crazy move instead of doing a demo and/or a 7". Maybe they are correct, but it can also be a document of the first era of band. Get a full set written and tight, play some shows. Do something that encapsulates that process. Tell me your thoughts. Tell me your dreams.

Liam: Yeah, that’s basically it. We’ve all got some runs on the board with various bands that kinda just fucked around for years, without really having much to show for it at the end of the day. So the idea was to take it seriously this time and put some effort in from the get go. Work on a substantial project together and have something we can put on the shelf and be proud of, on top of which it was a good bonding experience. Also to kick things off with a bit of a bang and play some good shows from the get go, then fuck around with EPs and splits etc to follow it up.

So that’s how it happened – we hooked up with our friend Ben Gibson from Slowcut who also happens to be an audio engineer and had access to a pretty sick recording space, and punched the tracking out in a couple of weekends. Drums and vocals live at the same time in a couple of takes, with guitar and bass overdubbed and the amps cranked in the room to get all that delicious noise and feedback. 

We also had the opportunity to play Essence Festival in Canberra late last year, so we pushed the digital release out basically as soon as we got the masters back, before lining up the vinyl. This might not have made business sense but neither does being in a band so... six months later, here it is. 

We had a little bit of interest from labels which was nice, but decided to self-release so we could get the material out ASAP rather than waiting for it to fit their schedules.

BH: Speaking of dreams, what’s next? Tours in the works? More recordings? Pivoting into country music?? This is the last question, so make it a good answer!

Liam: We jam basically every week and are always writing, so yeah, we’ve got a bunch of material written already, which we intend to record by the end of the year. Either an EP or a split if the right band comes along who is up for it. 

The majority of our music is written entirely in the jam room these days and it’s sounding pretty fluid, leaning more into the darker noise rock side of things but still heavy as.

Tour-wise, we’re planning to head to Melbourne soon, as we’ve got a bunch of mates down there. Likewise with Newy and Sydney, so that will happen sooner rather than later.

Leon: Hoping for that country pivot, but time will tell. We may or may not have a new song with a working title ‘Nang Cowboy’.

Upcoming LEAKER shows:

Friday 27 March @ PFR Lounge w Munt (VIC), Nembutolik (VIC), Cerebral Erosion

Thursday 16 April @ Tomcat w Clotheslined (VIC), Product of Neglect, Awful Noise

Saturday 18 April @ Old Ambo – Naamba Black Market w everyone

Saturday 25 April @ PFR Lounge w Boudicca (Newy), Super Death, Precious Rest

Photo credits: Lewis Mullins @lewis.melons