How to Write Hit Songs: Sarah McLeod discusses how The Superjesus took flight with their sophomore album

If there is one thing to be said about rock music, it’s that it is a resilient genre.

That likely comes from the artists that serve as the strong backbone – their can’t quit attitudes, their enduringly long careers spanning decades, and their drive to wade through the tough troughs. Surely that’s what the saying “hard as a rock” is referring to, right? 

That last part might be a stretch but hard to break is part of Australian rockers The Superjesus’ DNA. They’re a band who have been dealt some big blows, but almost three decades later the band are as solid as ever.

 

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As the band look to celebrate 25 years of their sophomore album, Jet Age on the road with a massive anniversary tour, devoted, determined, and damn talented frontwoman, Sarah McLeod reflects on the turbulent time before the phoenix album.

“Jet Age was such a turning point. Our first record with our first guitarist Chris Tennent, Sumo was all about me and Chris, and Chris and I used to date but we didn’t tell anyone in the band and then we broke up and he quit and he made us feel like we couldn’t do anything without him and we couldn’t write without him, and we wouldn’t be a band. It was so stressful, especially for me because I felt so guilty that he quit because I broke up with him. I thought I was ruining everyone’s career. We had to leave in the middle of an American tour. I thought I had blown it,” McLeod explains.

If it wasn’t enough that McLeod was navigating a break-up and consumed by guilt, the news broke very publicly in very Almost Famous fashion. 

“I didn’t tell anyone but we had a journalist from Rolling Stone join us for a few days on the road just a few days after we had broken up. He got drunk and told her the whole story and she printed it even though she promised us she wouldn’t. That’s how everyone found out. It was just a disaster. Our family didn’t know, our friends didn’t know, the band didn’t know and everything imploded. So thanks a lot Rolling Stone,” she laughs.

Post-breakup the remaining band brewed on what to do next, but that rock resilience kicked in in the most defiant of ways. With her back up and a point to prove, McLeod moved into mission Album Number Two. 

“Then it clicked – “Let’s start again!”, “Let’s see if we can do it without him”. We had been so conditioned to think that we couldn’t and it was terrifying. I went out and bought a book called How To Write Hit Songs. I read three chapters and was like “That’s enough, I’ve got a vibe, I’ll just start writing by myself”. Ruddy, our bass player and I started jamming on stuff which we had never done before and it was working. Then Tim Henwood joined the band and the first song he and I wrote together was ‘Gravity’….We were like whatever it takes, we are going to push through and write a second record, even if it’s our last record we do, we have to for our own self-respect release something to say we could do it without Chris. And it was Jet Age.”  

The album went on to peak at #5 on the ARIA Albums chart in Australia, and was certified platinum in 2002 – with single ‘Gravity’ currently sitting on over 19 million streams alone. It cemented The Superjesus as a household name, and has kept them busy all these years later. 

 

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Whilst Jet Age was a turning point for the band, last year’s self-titled record was yet another chance for the band to prove their stay in the scene. Coming in at #10 on the ARIA Australian Chart more than 20 years after the release of their third LP Rock Music (2002), McLeod thinks the band is in its strongest form yet. 

“It’s my favourite record we’ve ever made. I know people always say that about the new material but it’s more us than we’ve ever been. In the beginning it was all driven by Chris; Jet Age we were finding our feet; Rock Music we were a little bit lost because we were back to a trio again; and when we got to the last record, Ruddy and I found our mad songwriting chemistry together and we started writing all of the songs that we always wanted to write.” 

What a time to witness the band live then! The Jet Age 25th Anniversary tour hits the road this month with The Superjesus playing The Prince Bandroom, St Kilda, and Theatre Royal, Castlemaine on Friday 12 June, and Saturday 13 June, respectively.

Final tickets can be picked up here.