For its fourth album, Bendigo band Four Lions spent the most amount of time they have ever spent in the studio.
"It was two weeks recording, then two weeks mixing," frontman Shann Lions said.
The band's first three albums - Charing Cross (2015), Vahland (2016) and Golden Triangle (2017) - were each recorded in a matter of days.
The two year break has also seen the band collaborating more closely on writing songs.
Previously, Lions would write a bulk of the Four Lions tracks.
"It's been an evolution in writing. The first three albums were pretty much me minus one song that was co-written with (guitarist) Keith MacQueen," Shann said.
"The song I did with Keith, that was where it started to go right and we stated co-writing more.
"Of the 11 tracks on this album, I have written six myself, one was co-written by the whole band and three songs I wrote with Keith. The last one was three of us - Keith (keyboardist) Briggsy and me."
Shann said the song co-written by the whole band was a highlight of the new album Hard Days.
It will mean even stronger collaboration in the band writing songs as they look toward a fifth album.
"The one song we wrote together is a ripper but it was an arduous process," he said.
"I still wrote 50 or 60 songs for this album. A majority time I rock up to practice with something, Keith and I flesh out and present it to band. We need that direction.
"The plan is to do heaps of pre-production (for the next album) to see what we can come up with."
The band's effort on Hard Days has paid off with it being featured and reviewed in major publications leading to interest from radio stations.
It is exciting for Four Lions who have remained a fully independent act who self-fund, book their own gigs and release their own music.
"When you're a no name band no one takes notice of you," Shann said. "But when you get an album of week (it leads) to other interviews and performances.
"For us it has been a difficult road but we are lucky to have such a good manager who has helped us. Having someone who believes in what you're doing outside of the (studio) makes a big difference."
Prior to the next album, Four Lions will perform a short Victorian tour of Hard Days starting in Daylesford on May 17, with stops in Melbourne before heading to Kyneton on May 25, Ballarat on May 30, Geelong on May 31 , Bendigo on June 1 and Castlemaine on June 2.
""We are probably only paying in Bendigo three more times for the year because we also have a lot of interstate stuff and festivals later in the year," Shann said.
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