On Oct. 13, Eliza & The Delusionals performed their opening set for The Front Bottoms at the Cleveland House of Blues. The indie-rock band traveled from Australia for the American leg of the tour and recently released their second album, “Make It Feel Like The Garden.” The act was filled with some of their most popular songs, such as “Just Exist,” and left the crowd wanting more.
Lead vocalist Eliza Klatt said that performing songs like “Make It Feel Like The Garden” are super interesting on stage because “you just feel locked in…it’s a weird connection thing, everyone’s together. It’s kind of like a funny feeling to describe.” As the group performed, they had a powerful stage presence that drew the audience in and filled the room with beautiful music.
Before their performance, Klatt sat down with The Carroll News to discuss more about her journey and experiences as an artist. Her love for music started when she was young, listening to artists like Avril Lavigne and Coldplay. She “started learning the guitar and writing songs with the guitar” and now has created two albums and multiple singles with her bandmates.
Klatt and Kurt Skuse, the guitarist for Eliza & The Delusionals, grew up and went to primary school with one another, and their “families have always known each other.” According to Klatt, the two “reconnected through the music scene, and then I just loved all of the songs Kurt was writing” and he began to play bass for her band. Klatt explained that “Kurt [said]: ‘I’m no bass player, so let’s find a bass player,’ and that’s how Ruby [Lee] came into the picture.”
When discussing their newest album, “Make It Feel Like The Garden,” Klatt remembers “staying with some friends in Northern California and we made their basement a bit of a makeshift studio, and Kurt and I…wrote half the songs that made it on the album.” Eliza & The Delusionals felt that “the garden is kind of like a utopia” and that it “could be whatever that is for you. It could be a person or a memory, or a feeling or a place.” When listening to their music, one can get lost in their own utopia with each song carrying a different meaning for each listener.
However, Klatt has also struggled with the after-effects of writing an entire album. “I just find after a big project, like after we wrote the first album, I was just kind of like: I don’t even want to touch a guitar for writing for a few months.” Klatt explained that once the band completes an album, there are so many other facets to promote and develop the music that it takes time and patience to get to a place where she is ready to write again.
Although Eliza & The Delusionals have made headway in the music industry, Klatt explained that it “actually is really hard, and it can be very taxing on your mental health.” Her advice to younger artists breaking into the industry is to “really look after yourself and think about your band or your music” because not everyone has the best interest at heart. Musicians “have to be a bit careful.” Despite these reservations, Eliza & The Delusionals made an impact in Cleveland and Klatt has “had an amazing time” in the city.
Their performance on Sunday mesmerized the crowd and showed off the band’s multifaceted musical talents. Eliza & The Delusionals made their mark in Cleveland and made the Cleveland House of Blues feel like the garden.
