By Matt Parnell

There’s something inherently ridiculous about naming your band Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. When introducing himself, drummer Ewan Mackenzie counts off each ‘Pigs’ on his fingers to ensure he doesn’t misrepresent the outfit he describes as: “The most surreal band in history!

“We have a ridiculous, stupid band name, which acts as a leveller for us,” he continues. “It keeps our feet on the ground; it means we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

“It also reminds us that it’s all just a bit of an adventure.”

As he later refers to them, Pigs (singular) are a five-piece hard rock* band from Newcastle, UK. The asterisk is because, in Mackenzie’s words:

“I don’t even know what genre we’re in, to be honest,” he admits. “It’s an odd mix of things. It’s doom metal coupled with quite enjoyable classic rock, krautrock and, like, ’70s heavy stuff.”

While it’s their first tour of Australia, it caps off a year that involved the release of one studio record and two trips to America, one of which resulted in a live record. 2023’s Land of Sleeper is their first output after a world-event induced hiatus. But don’t call it a COVID record.

“Musically, it was an exorcism,” Ewan recalls. “We were on a break because of COVID, but we hate this being called a COVID record cos it’s not.

“Coming together and making music, there was a lot of energy,” Ewan beams. “An explosion of energy, one that made the creative process very easy.

“Well, not easy exactly,” Ewan quickly corrects. “But it was smooth. There were so many ideas floating around, which was dead exciting.”

There’s something great about talking to a musician who’s this excited about their own work. There is not a lick of vanity to be found. This is simply someone genuinely thrilled about the process, the band they’re in, and the sounds they’re making. Given that they’ve spent much of this year touring, he has a bit to be excited about.

“There’s nothing better than an audience that’s fairly placid through the first song, and then by the end, it’s almost like they’re different people bursting with energy,” Ewan enthuses. “They’re animated and into it, and to see that happen is an absolute privilege, to bring people on board, if that makes sense.”

Live music as communication, forming connections not via dialogue but something altogether more primal and ancient – you play, they feel, you feel and play again.

“This is the first band I’ve been in where you can look out at the audience and see they’re a bit out of it. In a good way!” Ewan says. “I’m really enjoying it; I feel engaged and focused like never before.

“In other bands I’ve been in, audiences are engaged but in a different, more meditative way. Lots of silent listening.

“With Pigs, you can see people react.”

This live experience comes from their recording process, which Mackenzie describes as communal and collective.

“With recording, if everyone’s not in with it, we don’t do it,” he states. “It’s a group judgment as to whether it passes. We all must be 100% into it, meaning we feel it together when we play live.”

And you can see and hear exactly how they feel together both on the live record and in person when they play The Baso (formerly The Basement) on Wednesday, 13 December, along with the mighty the The Mark Of Cain. Tickets are $61.20 via through OzTix.

Give ’em a listen on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp