“I’M 33 NOW, BUT I’M STILL LIVING THE DREAM MY 18 YEAR-OLD SELF HAD” | PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS GEAR UP FOR UK TOUR
INTERVIEW | JACK MCEWAN – PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS by Anne Kelly
Releasing two albums in a single year is a rarity – for most, it’s a career-defining feat. For Australia’s premier prog-fuzz outfit, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, it’s just another day in the studio. Known for a relentless production wheel and a “prolific” tag they wear like a badge of honour, in 2025 the band dropped both Carpe Diem, Moonman and Pogo Rodeo.
Ahead of their much anticipated UK tour starting later this month, we caught up with the mastermind behind the madness, Jack McEwan, from his studio “down under.” While he’s basking in a 35-degree heatwave in another timezone, I’m sat on a bleak, chilly 5-degree Wednesday morning in Scotland. Once the pleasantries are out of the way, we dive straight into the chaos of the dual release, letting go of the creative steering wheel, the “weird life” of touring and embracing his Newcastle roots.
A Sonic Split
“Our manager wanted two, and we just do exactly what he tells us,” Jack jokes. “We were touring heavily, and he wanted to keep that momentum. From our perspective, we’ve been playing the same material for a while; we aren’t a ‘new’ band anymore. I wanted better opening tracks, heavier sections, and a more evolved sound.”
The creative process for these albums seen total overhaul for the band. “I had a bunch of music sitting around, but I scrapped it all and started again,” he admits. “I tuned my guitar down to D and watched Animals as Leaders on a boat. It was insane—I felt like I needed to learn how to play guitar all over again.
But I’d written all these slower bits and pieces too. It was definitely a bit more material than I wanted to throw away again” Jack admits. “I’m pretty good at throwing stuff away. Looking back I think they were so close together that I could have just put a few songs on each album.”
The result was a sonic split: Carpe Diem, Moonman explored a darker, more intricate landscape, while Pogo Rodeo captured the band’s lighter, hedonistic side. “I got carried away to the point where none of them can be played live,” McEwan laughs. “I might need a full string section. A London orchestra [Brixton Chamber Orchestra] actually sent us a video covering ‘Cornflake’ recently. When we hit London, we’ll have to get them on stage!”
Back to Basics
After eight albums of primarily solo studio tinkering, McEwan is finally trying to let go of the steering wheel.
“I’m writing the tunes, but I’m keeping them as demos. I’m not getting too attached,” he explains. “Like now, I’ll let Chris go to town on a part or fill it out with synths. But in the past there was a lot of them that did mostly own my own. Like ‘Gurzle’ and stuff we wrote over months and I was doing everything, writing at home and then I’ll get a stem down and then be like, I’ll take it into the rehearsal room. ‘Cubensis’, ‘Marmalade March’ and ‘Cornflake’ I wasn’t gonna do anything with it. I was at Uni and then I showed someone and they said ‘oh, like you should actually do it and I’m glad I did. Songs like ‘Found God In A Tomato‘ took months of me working in isolation.
Now, it’s about becoming an absolute unit, and when you’re all together on the road, it’s like you just become that. You’re not worried about the travelling part or like if you can even play the songs, it’s just like, how does that show work? And that release of energy and it’s become weirdly second nature, which is cool.”
Riffs, Chants, and Coming Home
The Crumpets’ connection to the UK runs deep, particularly in Newcastle. Jack’s family roots in North Shields make every Newcastle show a “coming of age” moment.
“My Great Gran and Grandad used to drink at the pub right next to the venue we last played. It was mental walking around there,” he reminisces. But Scotland holds the crown for energy: “Scotland all day long. They have chants where the riffs should be. They won’t just sing the lyrics; they chant the melodies.
“I’ve always said that if I was gonna live back here then it would either be in like Edinburgh or Glasgow or down the bottom. What’s that’s that other place called? Downstairs of England? Brighton! We met with the Royal Blood boys there, because they’re from there. So, they took us out to a little cocktail bar, It was great and they were hanging out with Mini Mansions. And we were just like, oh my God, that’s insane.””
Planes, Pedals and Pelican Cases
With the tour set to begin in just a few weeks, we turn the conversation around to what to expect from the set list.
“It’s definitely evolved” Jack tells me. “It feels like it’s got heavier and more, like, I don’t know, we’re adding gears to the machine where it’s just finding a different range now . We tweaked it in America, we got it to the point where it was like, sweet, that was a really nice set. And so I think it’s already been tested. I think we’re going to try and add a few more tracks. Hopefully, this new record if I can get that sorted.
We’re still deciding and we’re like, what songs can we actually play?”
Whilst the running order is still being debated, we can expect more gear, more pedals, and hopefully, fewer run-ins with airport security.
“We get so many looks because we carry these big Pelican cases (for guitar pedals). In America, a guy actually pointed his gun at me at customs because I was running for a flight. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m about to get shot for my pedalboard.’
But, yeah, there’s far too many (pedals). I think even now there’s all this chat about going digital, but I think nothing quite beats getting an amp on stage, putting out your pedals and trying to get it as close as you can to an album sound. Most of the recordings I will just use DI but now I need to make it sound like old school, like let’s actually go back and work up the amps.”
Living The Dream
Despite their continuous success, the band’s name remains a point of humorous contention. “I wish I’d called it something different now,” Jack admits. “With the last album we toyed with the idea of changing the band name to Pogo Rodeo and calling the album Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, but the manager shut that down.
Looking at it from an outside view, it’s silly. When I’m home and I’m working, and somebody asks what’s it for? And then they’re like, ‘oh that’s right. You’re in a band called Psychedelic Porn Crumpets‘” cringes Jack.
I joked that his situation was the equivalent of applying for a grown up job with your high school email handle and he laughed at the comparison. “I’m 33 now, but I’m still living the dream my 18-year-old self had,” he admitted. “We never truly aged out of it – whenever we hit the road to tour, it’s like we’re teenagers all over again.”
But the name hasn’t slowed them down and with a tease of his own, Jack suggests another album could very likely be on the cards for 2026.
“You’re the first person I’ve told,” he reveals. “My manager will shoot me.” I don’t press for too much more, but for a band who released 2 albums in 1 year, it’s unlikely to be a huge surprise that new music in imminent.
In a final twist thiugh, Jack turns the tables, asking what I want to hear on the next record. you’d be like ‘oh it would be cool if crumpets did this?” On the spot I end up suggesting they strip back the noise but keep the chaos for some acoustic-driven textures.
He smirks. “Cool. That’s exactly where we’re going.”
Only time will tell I suppose, but if it happens then I’m personally taking full credit for the inspiration…
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets will kick off the upcoming UK tour in Newcastle on February 24th. They will also stop by Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Southampton and finish up in London on March 4th. Support on all UK dates is Waldo’s Gift.
