Premiere: Best Bets Lift The Lid On 'All Roads Lead Back' (+ Interview)

After carving out a firm fanbase with their live shows over the last year-or-so, Christchurch alt-rock sure shots Best Bets are rolling out their debut single 'All Roads Lead Back'. The track has been plucked from the four-piece's upcoming EP, which was laid down with the help of producer extraordinaire Bob Frisbee in his K Road studio and is slated for release sometime in the not-too-distant future. Take a listen to 'All Roads Lead Back' below, and scroll on down to read our interview with drummer/vocalist Olly Crawford Ellis...

Hey Best Bets! Can you please introduce yourselves… who you are and what you do?

Hello! Best Bets is comprised of Matthew Phimmavanh (guitar and organ), Luke Harding (bass), Olly Crawford Ellis (drums and vocals), and James Harding (guitar and vocals). Two of us are brothers - try to work out who! James and me used to be in the Transistors and we formed Best Bets while our old band is taking a break. We still have the same criteria for joining this band - all members must have attended Rangiora High School and not think too much of Supertramp.

Tell us a little bit about the genesis for the song you’re sharing today, ‘All Roads Lead Back’?

This was actually the first song we wrote when Jim [aka James Harding] and I decided to start a new band and it functions as a bit of a creation story for us too. The song is about being unable to avoid yourself no matter where you go or what you do - both in a positive and negative sense. When translated to Best Bets, this idea is about us all beginning anew from previous bands we've been in, but hopefully building on what we've learned with those other projects. We won't forget our roots my friend.

The track is taken from an upcoming EP. How did you go about recording the songs for it?

We recorded this up in Auckland with Bob Frisbee at his new (new! Heck he's only been there for about five years) studio on K' Rd. We ate and slept at the studio and recorded the whole thing over a very productive weekend.

What made you want to work with Bob Frisbee on this release?

Me and James have worked with Bob a lot in the past and it just felt natural to try this record with him too. Bob was keen after hearing the tracks and he knows exactly the sort of thing we are looking to achieve. He's also a great person to talk music with and he draws from an incredible breadth of musical ideas to help shape the songs.

Any tour plans on the cards once the EP is out?

Well I've just had a baby, James is on an extended break in Europe, Luke is in the UK and Pim is building a house, so we are all quite busy. We love playing though, as soon we can get on the road we definitely will. It'll be when the EP is completed.