When discussing ‘About Time,’ the latest album from Australian band The Trafalgars, Rhys Bowkett highlights Sloan, Eden, and Rinehearts as influences or bands he holds in high regard. In doing so, he delineates the sonic landscape of the album: a blend of catchy Power Pop, characterized by vibrant guitar work that occasionally ventures into delightful boisterousness.

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You can find the track ‘Girl’ showcased on the Best Power Pop of 2024 Spotify Playlist.

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Could you share the journey of bringing this record to life? How did all the pieces come together to create the final product?

This album has taken quite a while to put together, hence the title About Time! About a decade ago our bass player Jason moved overseas for work so we had a break from the band over this period. When he moved back to Australia a few years ago we all agreed it was time to gather some of the songs we had been working on, along with adding a new batch of songs. We recorded it at our drummers small studio in patches over a few years. Recording it ourselves gave us the freedom of having unlimited recording time, but the kicker with that is that you can take too long. For our next album I think we’ll limit ourselves timewise and hopefully have another album out early next year.

Within this collection, do you feel that the best song you’ve ever written finds its home? If not, what distinguishes this record’s essence from your prior work?

I certainly think that the best songs we have written that we have recorded thus far are on this album. I tend to lean to preferring the more melodic songs if I’m asked about what my favorite Trafalgars songs are, so perhaps the song Girl or Company Time would be my current favorites from this release. As for what I think my best song is to date, well that would be from the recent batch of songs I’ve been working on which will be on our next album. I went through a very difficult personal time a while back and out of that came some songs which I think elevate to the next level both musically and lyrically. I’m really excited to get this next batch of song recorded and released.

In a hypothetical scenario where you could tour with two other bands, who would be your ideal companions and what synergies do you envision?

We’ve always been huge fans of the Canadian band Sloan. They are a big influence on some of our earlier music. Another huge influence is an Australian band called Even. They have been going since the mid 90s and continue to put our stellar albums each time. We have had the pleasure of supporting these guys many times over the years and we always have a fantastic time. Another band we’d love to tour with is Rinehearts from Perth, Australia. They have similar Power Pop sensibilities and they are a great live band too.

In the digital age, visual elements are intertwined with music. How did you approach the album’s visual aesthetics, such as album art and accompanying visuals? How do they complement the sonic experience you’ve crafted?

The album art was loosely based on a few ideas I had floating around in my head. I wanted to convey a 60s/70s theme but hopefully without it being too much of a pastiche. The photo we used for the album cover was one taken many years ago which always resonated with me and it took me ages to track down a copy of that original photo. When I look at the artwork I feel that it ties in nicely with musical theme of the album. Plus you can’t go wrong putting a Rickenbacker on the front of an album!

Looking ahead to the next couple of months, what exciting plans or projects are on the horizon for you?

It’s certainly pleasing to finally have this album out and about, and we’ve had a great response from people who have heard it thus far, which is really nice. We’d like to do a few more shows around Australia to support it so that will be the next thing. I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately and the next album is written and ready to record, so hopefully this next album won’t take quite as long!