“We’ve got an email about Eliza & the Delusionals?”
Wait a minute. Could it be? I whip out my computer like the music Sherlock that I can sometimes be and type in “Eliza.” Before I can finish searching through my Spotify, there it is: their song “Just Exist” on a playlist from 2020. I was right. I play it. It still slaps. I play through more of their discography — so many slappings. So to all of you who aren’t as cool as me for being familiar with this band, let me put you on.
Hailing from Australia, Eliza & the Delusionals, fronted by singer/songwriter Eliza Klatt alongside members Kurt Skuse and Ruby Lee, have found a special pocket in alternative rock. Blending a bubbly and bright alternative-indie sound with beautiful, underlying ambient elements and pop choruses, their music is the best of many worlds, especially the world in which one dances alone in their room (of course, only hypothetically).
Coming off of their 2024 release, “Make it Feel Like the Garden,” the band seems to have hit their stride, presenting a mirage of walls of sounds and focused, fun rock with a distinct flair. One second, you’re floating, and the next, you’re moving your limbs around uncontrollably. One second, you’re trying to pick out a synth patch, and the next, a guitar is in your face. It’s a wonderful affair.
You could imagine my excitement, then, at the opportunity to call Klatt to talk more about the process of the album and touring through the states. I actually had to control myself, I was so geeked. As it turns out, the new release actually started being made much earlier than I would have thought.
“This album was pretty much all written in like 2022, which sounds crazy,” she said. “When we had some time off, staying with our friends in California, we set up this little studio in the basement of the house, and Kurt and myself said, ‘Let’s try and write as much as we can for the new record.’ I reckon we wrote most of it there.”
The group is performing this album while supporting The Front Bottoms on their U.S. tour, and it’s not their first time in the states; they opened for the Silversun Pickups, an alternative band from Los Angeles, prior to this tour.
“Touring here is so different from in Australia,” she said. “There, everything is far and we take flights, but here, it’s all driving, and even though some of the drives are really long, you can drive through things and experience the country at the same time.”
Having been both in the U.S. and Pittsburgh at the Black Forge a while back, she can attest to the crowds here as one of the true rewards of coming all this way.
“The crowds here are really, really great,” she remarked. “The energy is always high, and we’ve been with bands who have really awesome fans, so that’s a plus.”
While for most of us, touring might seem like a sort of dream job of pure fun, the reality is that like all other jobs, touring and performing certainly have their challenges. Despite having crowds to boost energy, eventually things take a toll.
“As much as I love it, it can be tough when your anxiety is at a high peak,” she said. “You find yourself exhausted at the end of the day, and sometimes you’re thinking about just getting through to the show.”
Once at that show, though, she said a lot of that anxiety and exhaustion goes away.
“Most people would think it’d be the part that you’d get anxious about,” she said. “But once we get up there, it’s a sigh of relief. That’s the familiar part, getting on stage and playing the songs that you’ve rehearsed. There’s nothing like it.”
You could certainly see how confident and comfortable the band looked as they played a fantastic opener for The Front Bottoms at the Roxian a few weeks back on Oct. 15. They came out with high energy, and they finished with high energy. They even had us doing crowd work that got everyone singing back to them. By the end, they had everyone jumping around in the pit.
If you weren’t already listening, check out Eliza & the Delusionals and their new album wherever you get your music. Remember, you’ll be cooler for it. Maybe as cool as me.
(Special thanks to Caroline from Clarion Call Los Angeles and Eliza and the band for the interview and the ticket!)