The Stevens’ debut, The History of Hygiene, is a rare record in this day and age. It takes some digging to discover, and though the RIYL tags that have been associated with it (The Clean, Tall Dwarfs, Pavement) are intriguing, the album’s a true grower. Once it grows, though, it’s obvious these kids know how to thoroughly chew their influences and digest them well. Amongst the glut of bands currently calling Australia home, The Stevens could easily get lost in the shuffle, but they manage to avoid the scuzz and party tropes of most Aussie garage records these days and cull something that’s insular and blind to that world. These 20-somethings come across as bedroom auteurs driven to amass a bric-a-brac of thoughtful ideas and timeless pop songs.

That’s how The History of Hygiene rolls. Between the minds of Travis MacDonald and Alex Macfarlane, the songs veer from fever dreams in miniature to big, gnarly guitar scrawls, never content to sit in one place for too long. Sprinkled throughout are capsules of pop genius that could easily be the product of tossed-off late night tapings. In the tradition of splicing abbreviated pieces, a la Bee Thousand or Westing, The Stevens know all too well it’s the whole picture that counts. It’s a record that demands an experience, personal and introverted as it may be at times, rather than splitting and picking for single moments.

The band will be making its first trek to America this September, including an appearance at this year’s Goner Fest. I recently caught up with MacDonald and Macfarlane to discuss the creation of their debut as well as how they found this sound in opposition to Australia’s current crop of garage enthusiasts.

So how did you guys get started? I know you’re all relatively young, but it looks like you have quite an impressive resume.

Alex Macfarlane: I’d been playing in bands since I was 13 and trying to record since around then too. I recorded around 10 solo records and some grind/metal side projects. Travis was doing a similar thing, but kind of far away from where I was living. Someone told me he existed and that we were fairly like-minded. He heard one of my CDs, then we met. He stayed at my house for a few days, and we became best buddies. I was living with my dad in a one bedroom above a shop dwelling, and he kept the beers and hearty stew coming. We wrote some songs, then we wrote heaps more.

Travis MacDonald: I’ve been playing music with Matt (drummer Matt Harkin) since we were both 11. At that age I was living in Elphinstone, Victoria, where there weren’t many other people to start bands with. That made home recording pretty necessary. The Stevens is an extension of that aim. I don’t play in any other bands.

The first thing I noticed about the album is the looseness of it all. It seems to change directions at many different points, but never loses focus. Was this first album exactly how it’s prefaced in your biography: “a collection of various bedroom projects?” Or was this more a singular vision once the band formed?

AM: We both have a lot of different influences, Travis and I, but share a lot too. I think our approach to recording was just pretty casual, recording as we were learning half the time. Many of the tracks were recorded just by one of us alone in our room, some with a full band, some with the two of us, in many locations including my house, Travis’ house, my dad’s house, Travis’ old house, which was a big dilapidated church, and a town hall in Elphinstone where Travis grew up.  Also our original line-up split up in the middle of the recording of that record. Our old bass player CJ (who I also briefly played with in a group called Rat Columns) and our old drummer Tam (who played in the excellent Pop Singles) decided to do other things. So there was a whole shift around that I think didn’t help for having a more uniform sound across the record, but I don’t think we ever wanted that anyway.

I have to ask about the title of the record, The History of Hygiene. What’s that in reference to?

TM: It’s the first line in the song “Skeleton vs. Silicon.”  It’s about when people are careful with which stories and ideas they share. A funny thing to call an album with maybe too many ideas.

It’s probably pretty common that you guys are compared to many of the Flying Nun bands, but I actually hear early Pavement more than anything else, which I love. I definitely hear a lot of The Clean in these songs, or at least their freewheeling, anything-goes spirit. So were those bands that you grew up listening to? I’m always fascinated because here, up until a few years ago, Flying Nun stuff was something you had to discover and dig for, but I assume it’s the norm in Australia and New Zealand?

AM: The Flying Nun stuff has been fairly present here, but there’s definitely been a huge revival. Lots of bands are doing a version of that sound now, but I feel like a lot of people when they say “the Flying Nun sound” aren’t meaning excellent bands like The Gordons, Bored Games, The 3Ds or Children’s Hour. For some reason it’s become associated with some kind of half-assed “slacker” stuff.

TM: I’m from New Zealand: Palmeston Northside. My parents at various stages both had Flying Nun associates. David Kilgour is a friend of my mum’s, and my dad painted an Abel Tasmans cover. My uncle played in the Subliminals, and Chris Knox lives around the corner from him. I was lucky not to have to dig very hard. I learned to play guitar to Clean and 3Ds songs, alongside Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend, and Ron Asheton. I stopped getting guitar lessons after my teacher said he couldn’t teach me “Animal” by The 3Ds.

I’m also a big fan of Dick Diver and the Twerps, so it seems under the Chapter Music umbrella, Melbourne has a nice little scene of like-minded pop artists. Is there anything you can attribute to a certain sound in the city?

AM: Yeah, everyone’s friends. I play in Twerps. I’m a huge Dick Diver fan. I went to primary school with Steph. We grew up pretty much on the same block and played shows at the community center together in our old groups. I’m sure this happens everywhere, but there are a lot of mixed bills in Melbourne. We’ve done shows sandwiched between grind legends Internal Rot and shoegaze tone wizards White Walls and shows with noisey hardcore kings Soma Coma and pub rock superstars Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys. I think people who are really into playing and writing just get along most of the time and want to hang out, have beers, talk records, make new friends, and that kind of stuff. I mean, there are some jerks, but they get what’s coming to them.

What exactly is it like being a band in Melbourne these days? Do you have contact with bands like the Primitive Calculators and Cannanes for guidance? What’s the most important band to come from Melbourne in your eyes?

AM: The Cannanes are a big influence. We got to play with them recently. I played a show with Primitive Calculators in my old group, Breaker Morant, ages ago. I think that was my first show with that group, actually. The Cannanes’ and Primitive Calculators’ last releases both came out on Chapter Music too. Most of my favorite Australian bands aren’t from Melbourne, though. Some Melbourne ones that really got me excited about making music were probably Agents of Abhorrence, Dale and the Rowdy Boys, and Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

TM: I’d add Cosmic Psychos to that list.

What’s next for The Stevens as far as new recordings?

AM: We are recording another few records at the moment, between my four-track and a reel-to-reel Travis has, just doing it all ourselves in our homes. Recording as we go, I think we have a shortlist of around 70 songs so we will have to do a mass culling soon.