Locals only: Indie folk ‘newcomers’ Terrible Sons release their debut album The Raft Is Not The Shore

You could be forgiven for not knowing indie folk apparent newcomers Terrible Sons, but peel back a layer and you’ll find the duo comprised of L.A. Mitchell and Matt Barus are absolute musical heavyweights.

The act release their debut album, The Raft Is Not The Shore on April 28 but have been active for seven years – with a Canadian record deal and four EPs already to their name – and both cite more than 20 years’ cumulative experience as songwriters and performers.

Mitchell is well-established as a solo artist and member of Fly My Pretties, while Barus was a founding member of the Dukes, a rock band that hit their heyday in the mid-2000s. Mitchell joined Dukes when an injury prevented Barus from playing guitar right before a major gig supporting INXS, and over time became a permanent member of that band.

Barus started making music as Terrible Sons once the Dukes’ trajectory wound down; the couple married, and it soon once again made sense for Mitchell to collaborate.

“I was like, I think it makes more sense if I do it with you,” recalls Mitchell, “and then we’re not doing things apart. Which actually seems really foolish now that we’ve had kids and there’s not one person to look after the children. It’s added a layer of complexity.”

It may have complicated their schedule, but in many ways making music together has enhanced the pair’s shared life. A deep commitment to their local community in Ōtautahi, combined with the requirements of parenthood, keep them largely rooted to home ground – and their home studio means music can interweave naturally day-to-day, rather than needing to be compartmentalised as a practice.

“We’ve had to configure our music life to fit around these other things that have become higher value, or become important to us,” says Mitchell.

“The album itself is coming out of that process, and figuring out how we exist with music in a way that’s sustainable for our family. And that means we can still be good parents to our kids, and parent the way we want to parent.”

The Raft.. was recorded in the couple’s aforementioned home studio, with the quietly renowned Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, Marlon Williams, The Veils) at the helm. Mitchell and Barus worked with the producer, who also plays in Tiny Ruins, on their 2021 EP Mass, and tapped his shoulder once again when it came time to work on the LP.

“It’s nice working with someone who can do anything,” says Barus of Healy. “He can play everything, and can make it sound great – it was fun to try out lots of different ideas.”

Stylistically, Terrible Sons are worlds away from the indie rock of the Dukes – and the soulful funk of L.A. Mitchell, for that matter. Neu folk, with the chops behind it to take post immediately within the growing canon of professional-level local music in this genre, the storytelling is set simply but powerfully against compelling instrumentation – also provided by the able Jo’s McCullum (drums) and Barus (bass).

“The music really started just because I was recording late at night, so I had to do really quiet music,” Matt Barus explains. “Recording at home, you don’t want to piss off your neighbours too much, so it’s always been gentler.”

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“There’s been a great journey in writing together and helping ourselves with the critical voice, or the critical way you approach writing or performing,” adds Mitchell. “The other really useful thing is just having that person that’s quite safe for you. We’re each other’s advocate, and each other’s greatest supporter, at the same time as being able to question.”

Both songs filmed here for Locals Only, ‘Easy Love’ and ‘Hold Your Head High’, feature on the new record, which represents a slight sidestep in tone and theme for Terrible Sons. They describe looking increasingly outward as they get older, and wanting that to be reflected in their material.

“More and more, some of the writing voice that’s coming out is a little more political,” says Mitchell, “Or as an artist trying to observe what you’re seeing – of things that we feel are injustice, or questionable – and trying to draw attention to those things.”

“Mostly what we sing about is our neighbours, really,” adds Barus. “Not looking over the fence without engaging, but you hear people’s stories and you’re moved by them.”