LA alt rock girl group The Like have gone from being a hot three piece to well, an even hotter four piece with the unleashing of their second album, Release Me. After almost five years since their debut album, founding members Z Berg and Tennessee Thomas are back with new members Annie Monroe and Laena Geronimo as well as a smouldering new look to match their sound. The quartet are in Australia not only playing two massive shows with The Strokes but to play an intimate (AND FREE) acoustic set for Lover! Before they graced Sydney with this super special one off gig, I had a chat with the blonde bombshell of the group, the lovely Z, about making up, waking up and the secret to working a glow into your visage.
Amongst the scruffily dressed and smudgily made up wanna-be poplets riding the current 90s flashback going on, The Like have gone and tapped into the softly glam and super feminine look of the 60s. What the band find so attractive about that period was the attention to detail along with the combination of being ladylike as well as fun. "I don't really understand modern fashion - there's so much of it that is based on comfort and being so casual that I don't understand. I like my clothes to be properly made and one of a kind and uncomfortable! [laughs] You know, something that looks different and put together; something that's more than just another outfit."
They bring back the philosophy of always having your best underwear, best dress and best face on just in case anything happens - from being run over by a bus, to unexpected photographs when you step off an 18 hour flight at the airport.
It’s fairly obvious which particular ingénues are their beauty icons and inspirations. For Z in particular, it’s Twiggy, Mia Farrow and Edie Sedgewick. “A lot of eyes and lot of blond hair. The longer the lashes the shorter the hemline!” And plenty of liquid liner, of course.
Almost every girl loves to get dolled up, but we all know that you need to be vigilant – or at least try as hard as you can - to take it all off at the end of the day. “It’s not really that hard to get it all off. The sad part is when you actually pass out with all your make-up on and you wake up and your fake eyelashes are falling down your face, that’s always a bit of a depressing morning!” It’s a different kind of look from what The Like are generally going for these days, where liquid liner and an epic false lash is a staple. “It’s actually really funny sometimes when it’s been a long night and I do fall asleep with all my make-up on, and I wake up in the morning and walk out and people are like “Um, why do you look perfect?” I guess I put my face on pretty well!”
And it’s this precise look (and sound) that made Lover’s Susien Chong and Nic Briand reach out to them, all the way over in LA when The Like released their first record. “They approached us and they were sort of a new emerging label at the time, and I guess they saw us and were like “Oh! A girl band – cool!” They asked if they could give us some clothes. They’ve been doing so for years now and so we’re so excited to finally be in Australia and meet them and get to play for them because we love their clothes so much. So it’s really exciting for us!”
The Like will be at MELT in Kings Cross tonight for Lover Loves and on tour with The Strokes across Australia with their new album Release Me out August 30.
Photography: Rachel Yabsley