Frontwoman Sarah McLeod talks codes of conduct within the band, their first album in twenty-two years, and how the likes of Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus influenced it
“Wait, I thought it had been twenty years since our last record?” Sarah McLeod blinks at me, thrown for a moment when I point out it’s actually been twenty-two years since Superjesus last released an album, namely: Rock Music, back in 2003. “That’s what we’ve been telling people,” she says, bemused. She opens Spotify to confirm. “2003. You were right,” she laughs, with that kind of dry, nothing-surprises-me-anymore tone. “All the news outlets hear is ‘fucking ages’.”
And they wouldn’t be wrong. Twenty-two years is more than enough time for entire careers, relationships, and lives to unfold (including my own). It’s a substantial pause for any artist, let alone a band as influential to Australia’s alt-rock scene as Superjesus. Naturally, the question looms: why the wait?
It’s a question McLeod’s been fielding more than a few times on their current press run. She doesn’t seem annoyed by it—in fact, she seems glad for the chance to talk about the road back. This isn’t a return spurred by nostalgia or necessity. It’s a return that finally felt right. “I went solo,” she says, matter-of-fact. “We kept playing all throughout those twenty-three years, though. When good gigs came along, we just thought, ‘we’ll take that’. But to be honest, we didn’t really have the confidence in the lineup.”
McLeod has a toughness to her. Her pixie cut, tattooed arms, and sharp gaze say she’s been through it and come out steelier. There’s a kind of no-bullshit air about her, not just in how she talks about the band, but in how she talks about the industry. She’s not playing the game anymore, so she’s calling the shots. Superjesus didn’t want to pour their own money into something they weren’t sure would last. So they bided their time, playing shows that felt worth it, tweaking the lineup until something finally clicked.
“When we got to the right mix of people, we were like, ‘let’s go,’” she says, breaking into a grin that feels half-exhausted, half-electric. For McLeod, the idea of writing a full album again was thrilling—not because they hadn’t been making music, but because they hadn’t made this kind of music together in so long. Over the years, they’d kept busy with EPs, live albums and singles, but crafting a full-length record required a completely different kind of energy. “It was really nice to have the opportunity to think like that,” she adds.
The result is The Superjesus, a self-titled release that came out on 21 March. The name was no accident. It marked a return to the band’s true essence: McLeod, longtime bassist Stuart Rudd, and new members Cam Blokland on guitar and Ben Todd on drums. According to McLeod, this is the most cohesive they’ve ever felt. “The music was the most us we’ve ever been. It’s the most personal album.”
Despite how much time has passed, McLeod’s glad they waited. She’s under no illusion that this could’ve happened any earlier. “I’m glad we’re doing it now. We were still finding our feet on that first record,” she admits. With the shifting dynamics in the band, the creative process changed too. “It’s completely different now,” she says. “It used to be Chris [Tennent] would put together a demo, give me a cassette, and I’d listen to it in my car and write lyrics and melodies. Now it’s myself and Ruddy. He makes a demo, I write vocals. Sometimes I just write a song from scratch.”
The new blood brought fresh flavour. Blokland, in particular, impressed McLeod with what she describes as “tasty, genius shit”. Rudd, meanwhile, kept them anchored in their roots. “He just wanted us to stay true to our original sound,” she says. And yet, McLeod found inspiration in some surprising places.
“Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey. All of them,” she says, smiling like she’s just shared a well-kept secret. “I’m not even sure the guys know about that.” Her process of borrowing from pop isn’t about sound, but about structure. “I make hooks when I listen to pop music. That’s where you learn phrasing. You look at what works in a big pop hit, how the vocal phrasing fits, and you learn from that. I break it down into blocks—just see what sticks.”
The musical evolution naturally brought a better on-stage synergy, but for McLeod, chemistry goes beyond just harmonising well. It’s about knowing that everyone on stage can handle their shit, especially when something goes off-script. “You’ve got to trust that they’ll nail it. And if they mess up, they need to be able to freestyle until they find their way back.”
But chemistry also extends to life off-stage—something McLeod says no one really talks about. “It’s how band members conduct themselves in public. That can be a real issue if you’ve got different values. How people treat staff, punters, promoters—it all matters.”
To prevent the kind of drama they’ve dealt with in the past, the band introduced a code of conduct. “It just laid it out: this is what we stand for, this is how we treat people. If you’re going to be an ambassador for this band, you follow these guidelines. No grey area, no missteps.”
The concept was inspired by fellow musician Dallas Frasca, who had shared her own struggles with band dynamics. It’s proven to be an essential anchor for Superjesus 2.0. “Getting the chemistry and the values right is hard. We have that now—and it’s fucking fabulous.”
Now, with the album out in the world, Superjesus are gearing up to take it on the road. They’ll be playing shows across Sydney, Avalon, Melbourne, Barwon Heads, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Duncraig, Perth, and Adelaide. They’re playing the new record in full alongside the old favourites—but this isn’t a reunion tour or a greatest hits nostalgia-fest. It’s something else entirely.
“It’s so hard now,” McLeod admits. “Everything’s gone up—costs, overheads—except ticket prices. And fewer people are buying tickets. To make money, you’ve got to be on the road.”
Even with the odds stacked higher than ever, you get the sense that McLeod and the band are more than ready. After all, they waited nearly a quarter of a century, weathered countless changes, and came out of it with something that finally feels like home. They’re not just back, they’re better.
Superjesus are performing in Sydney, Avalon, Melbourne, Barwon Heads, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Duncraig, Perth and Adelaide. Tickets can be purchased here.
MORE IN Features
