The Money War Interview Each Other About New EP

Favourites of the Perth/Boorloo scene, husband and wife duo Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper have been crafting dreamy & catchy indie pop sounds as The Money War for a while now, forming in 2016 and soon become quick prolific in the studio, releasing a string of EPs and a couple of albums, most recently 2020’s Morning People. 2021 saw the release of their Blood EP, and now the time is right for the pair to unveil their next collection, the tender, emotional and poppy sounds of I Don’t Hear You Anymore.

Placing more of an emphasis on the folk side of things, I Don’t Hear You Anymore packs four tracks of varied vibes, opening with the stripped back and restrained title track. The poppiest cut on the EP comes next, the collaborative bop that is Was It Every Really Anything, alongside Naarm/Melbourne’s FEELDs. Ride tones things down a bit with its tasteful slide guitar and indie folk stylings, before the upper tempo jaunt of Somebody Loves You closes out proceedings on a feel good high note.

With I Don’t Hear You Anymore out today, we asked Dylan and Carmen to have a chat with each other about the record and the band and the results were insightful, inspiring… and hilarious! Have a listen and get to know!

Carmen: What was going through your head when you started writing songs for The Money War back in 2015?

Dylan: It was a pretty weird time for me - a heap of things that were big parts of my life had come to an end and I guess writing those songs was my way of processing that stage I was at. It was definitely a very free time though, I was just floating through life very open minded about what could happen next as the things that had been my identity for a while before that all came to an end. There was a clarity around music and writing that I really try to stay close to. I felt like I was starting from square one and that was exciting.

Dylan: When the project started did you have expectations? And have those expectations been met?

Carmen: I didn’t really put much thought into the future of it when we first started. It seemed mostly about making the music and enjoying the process. I know I had a desire to play some shows overseas which was really great to tick off the bucket list with SXSW, and we did so much more touring nationally than I ever imagined we would.

Carmen: Sometimes you come to me with a fully formed song and other times you have a small part or idea that we then explore together. Do you prefer having someone to bounce ideas off during the writing process?

Dylan: I love it when something just flows out very effortlessly and I know all the pieces, but that is pretty rare. So it’s always really helpful to have someone else to give their perspective on what this sometimes abstract idea is about or could be.

Dylan: Would you still be in a band with me if you didn’t like the music? Like if I said I wanted to play metal?

Carmen: Hmm that’s a tough one, but I’d probably pass if you were going to start making metal, sorry! I think we gel so well together musically because we both like quite a similar style, there’s a lot of overlap at least. You churn out a tonne of great songs and I have a lot of respect for you as a songwriter, so I know that almost anything you write is sure to be good. So I’m lucky in that respect that I really do like the music we make.

Carmen: What’s your favourite song from the EP and why?

Dylan: They're all important to me for different reasons- cliche I know! Maybe 'I don't hear you anymore' as it articulates something that I've thought a lot about but haven't been able to get it down until now.

Dylan: What’s your funniest TMW memory?

Carmen: There were quite a few instances where people got our band name wrong in a public way, and remember we used to take photos of them all to keep a record lol. We’ve had “The Money Wall” displayed on a giant screen behind us at a festival, “Magic War” on our backstage sign at a show, “The Monkey War”. Not sure why it’s been such a common occurrence but it was always funny!

Carmen: Do you think our kids will like our music when they’re older?

Dylan: Probably not.

Carmen: Really?? I reckon they will, Jack better appreciate Morning People which was written all about him. The twins will probably hate that he has an album and they don’t. Maybe we should never mention it.

Carmen: What’s the hardest/best part about being in a band with me?

Dylan: Positives first! The best part is being able to go through the creative process with the person I'm closest to. The worst part is going through the creative process with the person I'm closest to. I think when you find something new together that feels charged and inspired, thats the best feeling in the world. When its a struggle, its like everything I don't want you to see is on display. Touring together probably followed the same pattern haha. Love you.

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