It’s time you put indie rock band Noire on your playlist
WORDS BY TARA SMITH
Some Kind of Blue.
If you were to look out across a desolate landscape, Some Kind of Blue would be the soundtrack you’d listen to.
At least, that’s what Jessica Mincher imagines. She’s one half of Sydney-based indie rock band Noire, alongside long-time friend Billy James.
The two met eight years ago, having grown up in the same small country town. A mutual friend brought them together, when he asked Jessica and Billy to collaborate on a music project. Before long, Jessica and Billy started their own.
Their debut album is a mix of dark, melancholic pop songs, full of ’80s synths and slow guitar riffs. Jessica sings, while Billy plays guitar.
Some Kind of Blue was written over two months, on an isolated farm in Queensland which belongs to Jessica’s parents. A far cry from the roar of Sydney where the two now reside.
“It was good just having this beautiful litte house with a fireplace and a bathtub out in the middle of nowhere, with no TV and no reception,” says Jessica.
“Every morning we’d try and do at least three hours [of work]. We’d go for a coffee and start work by 9am, then we’d work until midday and have the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted.”
The scenery has changed since then, with the duo swapping the quiet country town of Amamoor for Italy’s Cinque Terre. They’re on a short break while they tour Europe for the first time.
“We got here three weeks ago and we’ve played three shows, two in Paris and one in Berlin. Now we’re having a bit of a holiday before we go back to Paris to play another show,” Jessica tells me.
The first leg of the tour has already been a highlight for the band, with Noire playing sets at David Lynch’s club in Paris.
“We’re such fans of David Lynch, I think getting a show at his club and the atmosphere there… that was really special to us. There are certain places you want to play at and that was somewhere we’ve always want to play.”
In Berlin, the duo supported New Zealand artist Fazerdaze for a sold-out show.
“The crowd was amazing. In Australia, everyone kind of talks when you’re playing, which is cool and I like that, but here, everyone was quiet. It was 400 people in a room, and everyone was there to listen to the music.”
Having already played multiple shows alongside Cold War Kids, Alex Lahey and Tiny Little Houses, the future of Noire looks bright.
So what else can we expect from this small-town-turned-international indie band? Apparently, a lot.
Jessica is one of the women behind The Ladies Network, a multi-platform agency for females and gender-fluid creatives. Between touring with Noire, she takes care of the music content and PR for the website, a job that allows her to support artists in similar circumstances as herself.
“For girls, it’s about building that confidence so you feel comfortable putting out what you’re sharing. In the early stages, that’s really important,” she says.
While this is the first full-length release from Noire, the band is adjusting to the scene just fine, with their European tour underway and an impending Australian tour in November to follow. In fact, they’re already looking to the next album, with a studio set up in their small Italian apartment.
“We want to get the next album out hopefully as soon as possible, maybe next year. We’re also working with a friend at the moment on a bit of film scoring, so we’d like to get into that as well.”
You can catch Noire on its Australian tour in November.
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