Sticky Fingers Returns With Slick Single “Lekkerboy”

The Australian quintet Sticky Fingers has carved out quite the following Down Under, and they’ve also made major inroads in other parts of the world. Their 2016 album Westway (The Glitter & the Slums) topped the charts in their home country. Now, they’re back with a new single “Lekkerboy,” the title track for an album arriving in March on a label of their own.

Paddy Cornwall of the band, which also includes Dylan Frost, Seamus Coyle, Eric “Beaker Best” da Silva Gruener, and Daniel “Freddy Crabs” Neurath, took some time out to answer questions from American Songwriter about the origins of the track, peppering the e-mail conversation with some native slang to spice it up. Here are some of the highlights:

American Songwriter: There is something both nostalgic and bittersweet about this track. Does the memory that inspired it have that same feel to it?

Paddy Cornwall: All I remember was it was fucking cold when we wrote this. Dizza (Dylan Frost) was hella proud cuz he’d set up a mini-beat lab in his garage down south. Thing was though, it was the middle of winter.

Dizza’s actual house is hectic. Brooke (Dizza’s better half) had a mad lil’ fire going in the living room, meanwhile, we’re freezing our tits off out back.

We just wanted to finish the song as quick as possible so we could go kick back for the rest of the night in the house. As good an incentive as any.

AS: The combination of the spare music and the wordy lyrics make for an intriguing contrast. Was that something you always had in mind with this track?

PC: We wanted to make a song that sounded like Lil Peep and Blink 182 vibing with The Verve.

AS: There is also the fact that the verses are rap-sung but then give way to a really melodic chorus. What about that approach appealed to you?

PC: Seamus laid down the gats over a simple 808 beat, while I got to work on the melody and hooks. Dizza came in, and after outfit change number 69 that night, had a listen.

Turned out he already had a bunch of half-fleshed-out raps in his book that suited the number perfectly. This was a song that really just came together without thinking about it too much

AS: There are so many details in this track that it really feels lived-in, yet it’s relatable to anyone listening who might not have had the same experience. Is that a fine line to walk sometimes?

PC: Diz kept hitting me up saying we need to get rid of his line I think I’m coming up Milhouse. The rest of us loved it cuz we thought it was funny and balanced out some of the darker lyrics in the song. I think he was worried it was a lil cheesy. And maybe he’s right, but there’s levels of cheese, ya know?

I woulda thought the line Diz would be second guessing more is where all the production cuts out and he says I’ve had it, being an addict. Simply because it’s so honest and vulnerable. It’s my favorite part of the song.

AS: Making this song the album title track, is there anything about it that you feel makes it a good representative for the rest of the album, or was it just about it being a cool title?

PC: “Lekkerboy” was the dark horse track of this record. We didn’t think much of it when it dribbled out of us that cold winter night. It wasn’t even a contender for the album out of around 30 songs. 

And Nah, there wasn’t any kind of lightbulb like ‘Oh shit I think it needs to be mixed like this, BANG, whhhhoooooar.’ More we just came back and listened to the demo and were like ‘Fuck, this sounds good, let’s just mix this shit!’

Photo courtesy LPR Agency