The highly anticipated album titled ‘All Fuller No Filler‘ by Wesley Fuller does not have a confirmed release date as of now. However, enthusiasts can take solace in the two impressive singles released in recent months, which hold significant promise. Delve into the intriguing and unique history behind the creation of this album.

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Be sure to catch, ‘Back to Square One,’ featured on the ‘The Best Power Pop of 2023‘ Spotify playlist.

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How did this record come together?

Many, many late nights over the course of about 2.5 years.

I got back from a European tour in early 2019 and needed a break from trying to “make it” in the music scene for a while.

So I focussed on getting back to basics in my personal life. Getting out of sharehouses and into my own flat, getting a new day job. It’s expensive being a solo artist (or just a musician in general), particularly working long hours on a low wage. It was around July/August 2019 that I started tracking the drums for the bulk of the songs I’d written for a new album, at a legendary rehearsal room called “Lighting Lab” in Box Hill. I’d just book the room for an entire 12-hour day for $100, and just bring all my own recording setup. I spent the summer of 2019 and early 2020 polishing off (and I do mean seriously polishing) the rhythm tracks. I spent so many months just playing around with and editing the drums, adding layer upon layer until I got the sound I was after.

But I’d also fallen in love again. So that put recording on the backburner for a few months.

Then the world was thrown into the pandemic mayhem. We were in lockdown for a very long time in Melbourne. Most of 2020 and a lot of 2021, as I recall. I was still working from home 40 hours a week, but it gave me a lot of focused time (late at night) when I could chip away at recording. Every night after work, I’d start what became my second job, which was recording the album. I’d start at about 8pm and work through ’til 2 or 3 in the morning. At least 4 – 5 nights a week. Some nights I’d spend five hours just playing around to get the right reverb sound on a keyboard part, or just tracking a single 12-string guitar line. Some nights I’d keep my work; other nights, I’d scrap it and try again.

As painstaking as that process sounds, it was completely a labor of love, and I enjoyed having a creative project to focus on, to take my mind off the complete shitshow that was the world at the time. There were 2 or 3 songs that I got about 3/4 of the way through tracking and then shelved them. I added on Jacaranda and Worthwhile towards the end of the process, as I was writing them whilst recording the others. By mid-2021, the album was completely tracked. I spent the rest of my year adding final overdubs and mixing it all down into the final product that it is today!

When did you decide to start asking for opinions on the new songs?

In late 2020, I’d tracked about 10 songs for the album in a relatively skeletal form. Basic mixdown with a few overdubs.

I sent those mixes through to one of my closest friends, and my most trusted musical brother, Jamie Turner (Myths, Angie Colman & solo artist).

Jamie provided me with a detailed breakdown of the mix and production/arrangement notes for each track. That was incredibly helpful as it gave me quite a few ideas that I just hadn’t considered.

Examples include adding broken harpsichord stabs to the verses of “Everything Is Strange” and adding a space echo track to the drum solo in “Inside and Out”.

The meaning of success has changed over the years. What would success look like for the new record?

Ideally, I’d like to sell every available copy of the album. I want as many people out there in the world to own the physical vinyl record.
Success would certainly look like releasing a second pressing of the album.

Aside from that, just getting as many songs out into the world and into as many ears as possible. I truly believe that there’s something for everyone on this album.

I have friends who predominately listen to avante-garde, post-punk, and metal who’ve messaged me to say, “Hey man, Alamein Line is so catchy, I’ve played it four times today!”.

But it is always a struggle to get noticed, in a very saturated market. You’ve really got to be a relentless self-promoter, and always be churning out new and interesting content.

How do you decide when a song is finished and ready to be recorded?

Most of the time, it’s once I’ve mapped out the structure of the song in my head.

When an idea hits me, it’s usually the hook of the song. I can hear the song playing in my head like I’m listening to the radio.

So I’ll try and get as much of it down and then map out the structure of the song.

I might be missing a couple of lyrics, or even an entire verse sometimes, but I’m quite impatient.

Quite a few songs on the album were recorded this way. I wrote and or changed the lyrics during the tracking process.

When was the last time you thought, ‘I just wrote a hit!’?

Probably when I was back in high school, and naive enough to believe in that stuff.

But I’ve had plenty of moments when I’ve written something and got a huge buzz of excitement out of it. It still happens! If I start writing something and I’m not getting a huge buzz out of it, I’ll just shelve it. I only want to write instantly catchy songs at this point. Despite the fact they’ll never become a “hit” by modern standards, it’s a never-ending personal quest to keep writing better songs that have some kind of mass appeal.

If you could pick three singers to sing harmony vocals on your next record, who would you ask?

Cass Elliott, hands down, is probably my favorite singer of all time.

Neko Case, is probably my favorite harmony backing vocalist, certainly of the modern era – particularly her work with The New Pornographers.

Lindsay Buckingham (mid-late 70’s era). Always really admired his thin but powerful vocal timbre. It really cuts through a mix.

If you could tour the world with two other bands, who would you ask, and why?

McDermott & North. A rare gem of a duo from Queensland who have this unashamedly soft, indie Britpop sound.

They write really catchy, 60s-influenced songs and harmonize like no other band I’ve seen recently. Like very early Lennon & McCartney style 2 -part harmony chemistry.

They’re currently over in the UK, growing their fanbase and chasing the dream, and I reckon they could be the next big thing.

I’d also bring along my oldest and best mates, a band called Myths (from Perth, W.A). The most talented, humble, and hilarious bunch of musicians that I know. They’ve written brilliant songs for years and never received the credit they deserve (it’s hard in Perth!!). Every time we catch up (I live on the other side of the country), we just make each other laugh the whole time.

What’s up for the next couple of months?

I’ll be shooting another film clip at the end of September. I believe there’s another single from the album to be released, possibly in October or November.

Aside from that, maybe another live show or two here in Melbourne in the Spring. I really enjoyed the last one. I’ve got a fantastic band, and I love hanging out with them.

Then I’m off to Europe in December for a holiday. We’ll see what happens beyond that!