When Chris and Charlie Collins first met, they were both in different bands and were only acquaintances. Fast-forward to 2016, and the two not only got married, started Tigertown with Chris' siblings Ellie and Alexi and put out their latest EP, Lonely Cities. We sat down with Tigertown and learned about what it's like to be in their family band, how Janet Jackson influenced them and what's next for the Aussie musicians.

Hometown/Homebase: Sydney, Australia

Lonely Cities sounds quite different from your previous work. It’s more anthemic and makes me want to dance. What inspired this shift?

Chris: Yeah. It has been over two years [since we released new music], so it was a progression rather than a shift for us I think.

Charlie: I remember Chris Came home with a best of Janet Jackson CD, and I played it. And I danced from start to finish. I think after that, I was like, “Oh my god, we need to make music like this where you can’t stop dancing.

How did Tigertown get together?

Chris: A while back Charlie and I met, and we were both from different bands. When we met, we started dating and starting recording songs in my bedroom. Then we got married and put out a CD. It was around that time that we got Ellie on bass and Alexi on keyboards. And we hadn’t really planned it that way, but we realized all of the family was in the band. So we locked it in.

Being a family band, what is the dynamic like?

Charlie: We beat the shit out of each other behind closed doors. [Everyone laughs.] I’m just kidding. I don’t know I think it may just be because we all grew up with really close families, and family is important to us. So it kind of just works. We all get along and have similar personalities, and you know what makes people tick. You respect each other.

Ellie: Well, these two are married so their marriage works -- hopefully onstage and offstage. But I think as siblings, we all grew up knowing our place because we used to play together and create together. We all know each other’s roles because we lived together as children.

Since you have played in other musical projects before, what do you get from being in a family band that you don’t feel when you’re playing with other people?

Chris: I think you’re all on a similar wavelength when you come from the same spot, and that’s a big part. And arguments are something we’re very well-practiced at. We spent our whole lives arguing around each other. So I think that makes decision-making quicker.

Ellie: And you get over [the arguments] quickly.

Charlie: Yeah, one night we’re all pissy. Then tomorrow night, it’s family dinner. And I think there’s something to be said about families who sing together, it’s like one voice. It’s really special, too, when we get together.

What was the most memorable song on Lonely Cities to work on?

Chris: “Lonely Cities” was the last song that we wrote. So we just spent two months in LA. We were recording the EP and writing songs. And by the time we got to writing ‘Lonely Cities,’ we got a real sense of what we were doing. We wrote it about a friend of ours who shared his story with us. We spent a lot of time really enjoying the LA lifestyle as well. So by the time we got around to writing that one, we had a right energy about it. For me, that was the most exciting song to create.

EP sometimes hint toward full-length albums. So is that something you guys are working on next?

Chris: We’re just focusing on the EP, but we’re always working on music. So there’s a chunk that we’re working on as well for an album in the future.