If you haven’t heard of Polish Club, consider this your cue. Self-described as “the loudest goddamn soul outfit you’ve ever heard,” the duo hit the ground running in 2015 and have yet to show any signs of slowing down. Think The Black Keys, only louder, grittier, and a little Polish. With their debut album, Alright Already, hitting shelves on March 31st, Drummer John Henry (JH) spoke to us about the recording process, the upcoming tour, and why it’s important to maintain contact with fans.

When asking Melbourne’s From Olso last November about some of their favourite duo’s, they declared Polish Club a “more soulful” version of Dear Thieves’ “beefy riffage.” Asking JH what he thought about the assessment, he agreed that lead singer Novak “does have a bit of a soulful voice which tends to be a point of difference for us,” as well as revealing that the duo’s wanted to tour together. Unfortunately, From Oslo decided to take a break around then, so it never got to happen. On the topic of duo’s, JH mused about the media’s fascination, sharing that “it’s kind of a novelty how interested people are about it. They’re always amazed how we are able to be so loud.”

“It’s important to get out there and play to as many people as we can, mainly because we love playing, but also because when you are a rock ‘n’ roll band, playing live is the time when you get to connect with peeps.”

If you check out any of Polish Club‘s social media posts, you’ll see that they’ll more likely than not respond to comments. JH revealed that they engage with fans as much as they can, not just because “Novak’s great at that stuff,” but because of a humble recognition. “It’s important to acknowledge the fans – they’re the reason we’re here, and it’s a thrill that there are people that actually care about stuff you do. It’s important to engage and show that you care that they care…We don’t have any illusions of grandeur – we’re always going to do as much as we can. We started as a DIY band and I can’t see it changing much.”

The recording process of their debut LP Alright Already definitely aligns with the DIY nature of the band that JH spoke of. The duo spent three weeks recording in LA “in a big fancy studio,” only to come home and discover it didn’t sound quite right. “We learnt what we needed to do and re-recorded to make it sound like us. And that is pretty much just going back to basics. So we re-grouped, wrote a bit more and in November 2016 went to a local studio in Sydney for eight days with a good mate and excellent producer Wade Keighran, and bunged out the album.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDRryRvuYLS/

Another learning experience that JH underwent was his thankful discovery of In-N-Out Burger and of the studio having “these guys whose only job is to run around LA and get you whatever food you want.” When asked if the burgers are better in Australia or The US, JH had no hesitation in responding “definitely over there.” Sorry, Hungry Jack’s, JH has spoken.

Speaking of food, we just had to ask the question we’re sure is on everyone’s minds – what was the flavour of the cake used for the single artwork for Come Party, and was it delicious? JH revealed that the cake was Black Forest flavoured, but that it was pretty cheap and crap. He also reminisced that “it was in my fridge for a couple of weeks because I kept forgetting to put it out on bin night,” which makes the facial expressions in the image of the duo below all the more hilarious. Poor Novak.

Asking if JH had any parting words for us, he replied, humbly as ever, “please listen to our album and come see us play. We will try our best to not be shit.”

Alright Already is out March 31st.

Polish Club are touring throughout May and June. Tickets are on sale now.

Come party.

Fri 5 May / Oxford Art Factory, Sydney / TICKETS
Sat 6 May / Narara Festival, Kariong / TICKETS
Thu 11 May / Small Ballroom, Newcastle / TICKETS
Fri 12 May / Rad Bar, Wollongong / TICKETS
Sat 13 May / Republic Bar, Hobart / TICKETS
Fri 19 May / Rocket Bar, Adelaide / TICKETS
Sat 20 May / Amplifier, Perth / TICKETS
Thu 25 May /  The Foundry, Brisbane / TICKETS
Fri 26 May / Elsewhere, Gold Coast / TICKETS
Sat 27 May / Big Pineapple Festival, Woombye / TICKETS
Thu 1 Jun / The Transit Bar, Canberra / TICKETS
Fri 2 Jun / Workers Club, Geelong / TICKETS
Sat 3 Jun / The Corner, Melbourne / TICKETS