They’re the coolest, quirkiest and most stylish Aussie performers right now. We sit down with the Melbourne pair to discover that it’s Client Liaison’s world – we’re just living in it.
Once you start peeling back the many layers of Melbourne duo Client Liaison’s kitschy, pop art universe, one very clear question seems to hang in the air – where do Harvey Miller (the glasses) and Monte Morgan (the hair) draw the line in the sand? Well, the answer is fairly simple: they don’t.
Since releasing debut album Diplomatic Immunity late last year – “a cathartic moment”, they’ll tell you – the pair’s carved a place in the cultural canon of Australian music. It’s all thanks to their outrageous stage shows, multi-dimensional visual output and highly nuanced mythology. The fact Client Liaison also makes really good pop music is the icing on the finger bun.
While most local bands can claim to have put in plenty of hard work over the years, how many have a side-business running limo tours around Melbourne, simply because they can? Yet more proof that few Aussie acts are quite as interesting – or as thoroughly committed to just being themselves – as Client Liaison is, right now.
“We love a thrill, not a cheap thrill, but moments,” says Miller, with seriousness. “We try to punch above all the time, get a moment in here, another moment in there... We get very obsessive.” For the uninitiated, a Client Liaison show is an all-consuming experience. The duo’s uplifting pop is all but impossible to stand still to and their stage-presence is magnetic – think Freddie Mercury meets Prince meets Simon Le Bon with New Romantic overtones.
Plus, their bicentennial-era style is on point, and then there are dancers, pyrotechnics, guest performers (like that viral ‘Sorrento Moon/Teardrops’ cameo from Tina Arena earlier this year) and props, which can include anything from swans carved out of ice to giant cans of Foster’s. Recently, they’ve recently been taking to the stage accompanied by a pair of oversized water coolers – because, why not?
Ultimately, their schtick is Australian cringe culture-made-cool – rendered with refreshing conviction, and without a trace of parody. “We could incorporate so many other theatrical elements, it’s crazy – there’s always more to add,” says Miller. Morgan agrees: “Sometimes it’s self-generating. We’ve created this show and the wheels are turning and they just are kicked in this direction and you just throw ideas into it,” he says. “We’ve got this one idea, where we fake our own deaths before the tour, then reappear. All this stuff, like coming down out of coffins, zip lines, and flying around, there’s a lot more. Think David Copperfield mid-’90s in Las Vegas.” Or, Spinal Tap? “Oh, we’ve had many Spinal Tap moments,” laughs Miller, recalling a time they had an Esky filled with dry ice and Foster’s descend from the ceiling at a show. “It was a big deal. But it was the tiniest Esky that barely held a six-pack. It descended from the roof and it was this little lunchbox.” There’s also a mention of driving Morgan’s car (a Toyota Soarer, naturally) off a cliff. Stay tuned.
“Australian music’s in a healthy spot,” states Miller, the band having just returned from a world tour and the international release of Diplomatic Immunity, which has been universally praised. But it’s on stage that the duo really gets to flex their creative muscles. “Live music is flourishing and a lot of bands are embracing more theatrical elements,” says Miller, pointing out the mood at this year’s Splendour in the Grass, where local acts out-performed the international headliners – Client Liaison included.
“The international acts cruise in with their No.1 hits and
a big lighting rig, and that’s their smoking gun. Whereas acts like ourselves sit in a room for a month preparing the most epic show possible. While they’re touring around the world and slowing down, we’re at this advantage where we can just go bonkers. That was actually what was quite telling about where Australian music is right now.”
Perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding this band, and arguably one they’ve actively railed against, is the idea that Client Liaison are one-dimensional ’80s enthusiasts. “We like to move with more of a model of a digital agency,” says Morgan, noting the importance of social media engagement and staying up-to-date with the ever-changing algorithms, researching concepts, filming and critiquing each show and working to make the next one bigger and better – Client Liaison is all business and 360-degree narrative is what is setting them apart.
It helps Miller and Morgan both have art-school backgrounds. “Bands have to act like this now. We try to present a multi-sensory experience, so you can bite down as hard as you want,” says Morgan. “You can cruise on the surface, have it wash over you. Or, like some of our mega-fans, dig deep and get in the whole world that we’ve established.”