The Waifs: Into Temptation

In recent years, beloved folk-rock trio The Waifs have flown under the radar. The members having relocated to the States for their respective families, it’s only now that the band have decided to embrace the familiar sights and sounds of their Australian homeland. “I’m spending a lot of time at the beach,” reveals Vikki Thorn. “I pretty much haven’t left the shore since I got here. When I come back here I make the most of it. The smell gets me, actually- the smell of the ocean.”

Thorn - these days a wife, mother and musician - explains that her husband’s aspirations influenced the seachange. “I’d never ever considered living in America,” she candidly admits. “After touring there pretty heavily for five or six years, I decided that it would be the last place on earth I would want to live. But (her husband) showed me this particular corner of Utah and it resonated with me because it looked a bit like the Kimberley and had that desert feel. So I gave it a shot and I love it, actually.”

Their latest album, Temptation, was recorded in ten days in a Minneapolis basement; significant personal developments colouring much of the material on the record. Thorn provides much insight into the record’s title. “It’s the name of a song that Josh has written. Josh has undergone a religious conversion in the last few years. But really, the decision behind calling it that is that I think we live in a society and a time where we’re forced to make a lot of decisions,” she explains of the surrounding culture.

”There’s a lot of lines blurred and gray areas in what would be considered a right decision or a wrong decision. As people living in this time, I think we’re subject to a lot of temptations that may or may not lead us to be happier or live fuller lives. A lot of these things we don’t have control over. I’m talking about the whole digital age - whether it be shopping, or pornography... well, it’s all pornography really!”

Temptation proved an impromptu project for the band. “We didn’t think we’d make another album,” she says. “It was a very last minute decision. It was decided ten days before that, ‘Okay, we have a new set of songs - we like the songs - let’s just go in and see what they sound like!’ In that process, we released the album because we thought it sounded good and it was really enjoyable, the fact that the five of us got back together and we hadn’t seen each other for a long time.”

Despite distance felt between members, their creative chemistry remains as strong as ever, the core trio having collaborated for almost twenty years. “It’s like U2 or the Rolling Stones!” Thorn laughs, her best English accent in play. “We’re still getting on really well. The most challenging thing for the band now is the sort of songs we’re writing. It’s harder to find stuff that we’re all enjoying... that’s the biggest challenge, aside from our family commitments, obviously.”

It’s these commitments among others that feed the present stop-start, sporadic nature of The Waifs. Thorn however remains at ease with their scenario. “I think it’s an ideal situation for where we’re at personally in our lives and where music fits in within our lives. We still love it, we still love playing it and writing it but we can’t commit to it to a business or a career level. We’re not interested in that either. We had our time and we did that six or seven years ago. Now we’re in retirement, I suppose,” she concludes, with a laugh. “Semi-retirement!”

Thorn is keen to quell suggestions that The Waifs are about to part ways, however. “I just always like to make people think that. That’s what Donna and Josh say, that I’m always talking about the end!” she muses, hesitating before reigniting with playful exasperation. “I don’t know! We do it just because we like to do it. If it becomes too difficult, if our kids start school and we can’t tour anymore... there’re circumstances outside of even what we want that will dictate the outcome of the band. I’m totally happy just appearing every now and again and if people still want to listen to this music and want to come, then great - I’d love to be able to tour it. But it’s not all my decision anymore. So we’ve all had to let go of any idea of a big career or anything that we had -...shit, we have had a big career! Twenty years.”

“Every year now we debate, ‘Is this our last year? Is this our last tour? Should we call this Australian tour our last?’ We debated that. Josh’s point was that we may not do it again, but we may. So let’s not make a decision either way, let’s leave it open.”

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