Meet Loose Content, the alt-rock band hailing from Byron Bay, now based in Melbourne. The three-piece have released their new explosive single Where The Hollow People Sleep, inspired by a monologue written by frontwoman MiLLa, the song journeys through the human psyche and explores the ways we experience love and guilt.

The band says: “This track has lived with us for a while now, from its preliminary unruly live incarnations, all the way up until when we were in the studio with Nick laying down its final form. We were listening to a lot of bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and Patti Smith while recording and they definitely had an influence on the personality of the song. For us, a lyric that encapsulates the essence of the song is “And she walked the silent streets, where The Hollow People sleep. The timely shovel only rusting more and more each day.”

We spoke to Loose Content about this new chapter and what's next:

‍Where The Hollow People Sleep is massive and so exciting for you guys - we especially love the ending. Tell us about writing this song. Where were you? What was inspiring you? ‍

Where The Hollow People Sleep was massively inspired by a villainous monologue MiLLa wrote, in which the narrator murders and buries their wife in a hole with a rusted shovel.  At the time we were transitioning into having more of a harder musical edge which we can only account to the wave of alternative 90s bands we adore.

You worked with producer Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine)on this track. How did you meet? Which of his previous works spoke to you as a band already?

We first met Nick when we had only just started the band, still 13/14, during the showing of a school musical for which we’d been indoctrinated into the pit band. Powderfinger, whom Nick produced throughout the length of their career, has always been a huge inspiration for LC. We all grew up with their albums on repeat, so it was pretty surreal to get to meet Bernard and work with the producer who had contributed to that iconic guitar based rock sound as well as with other iconic bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam.

Is this a new era for the band? How do you think you have evolved as a band and as individuals when listening to this song?‍

We’ve evolved as a band and as individuals almost simultaneously since starting together at such a young age. We have really focussed a lot on our songwriting and discovering what our sound is supposed to be, now arriving at a place in which we feel we fit into our own sonic space. Being in a new city and with new music ready for the world feels like a good trajectory, our new era has undoubtedly arrived.

For those who don’t yet know you, can you introduce us to your band! We know you met in high school - was there a specific moment that made you realise you’d make a great band?

We (Sam & MiLLa) lived down the lane from one another growing up, meeting for the first time at a game of backyard cricket during the summer. We first saw Aquila play the drums during a circus performance in the back of a big hot shed in Mullumbimby. Later that week, we were Loose Content.

We love that you’re from Byron Bay. How do you think being from Byron has influenced your sound?

It’s funny, growing up in the Byron Shire was in itself all the encouragement we needed to run a mile from ever associating our sonic identity with that east coast surf rock jangle. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we said the landscape and unique community of the Byron Shire didn’t have some influence on our music, if nothing else, the creative freedom we were witness to growing up encouraged endless musical experimentation and artistic independence.

How do the three of you work together? Is someone primarily on lyrics, melodies, etc.?

‍The ways in which our songs come together take on various forms. Often a track will sprout from a single guitar riff, a line from a poem, a beat we’d like to work with. Other times, one of us might bring to the group something nearer completion and so we’ll smooth out the bumps together. With every new song comes its own life force.

Which bands inspire you?

A contemporary band who is a big inspiration for us at the moment is Wunderhorse - in particular their latest album. Less current acts who inspire us collectively are, Radiohead, Midnight Oil & The Smashing Pumpkins.

Who would be the ultimate Loose Content feature?

The ultimate LC feature might already have happened… we’ve been known to occasionally feature the infamous Erik The Robot Dog in our live sets. Not sure you can really beat sharing the stage with a talking dog with metallic nuts.

We’re looking forward to seeing you live. What is a Loose Content live show like? Do you draw inspiration from other performers you’ve seen?

We always aim to make a Loose Content live show as sonically massive as we can manage with three people whilst still being theatrically entertaining. We love to draw inspiration not only from the musicians and bands we admire, but also every live display, whether it be theatre or stand-up comedy - there’s never not something we can take away and apply to our own performance.

What’s next?

Hitting the road!

We’ve got lots of shows coming up throughout October and November in support of the release of our new single. We’re kicking things off with a tonne of shows at SXSW in Eora/Sydney, and then we’re off up the coast in our Toyota Corolla up to Meanjin/Brisbane, Bundjalung/Byron, and then all the way back down to Naarm/Melbourne . All tour dates & further info can be found at loosecontentband.com.

@loosecontent