New Haven, Connecticut is perhaps best known for it’s distinct pizza style and home of Ivy league powerhouse Yale. It’s also home to Estrogen Highs, a rock and roll band who for ten years have released a string of indie rock and garage punk records with a distinct New Zealand pop influence. Their latest album "Hear Me On The Number Station”, their second on Chicago label Trouble In Mind keeps things ticking over. Like really ticking over.18 songs! Led by vocalist/guitarist Stefan Christiansen’s relaxed delivery, the new album is full of quality if charmingly shambolic lo-fi rock that nods it's head to the Clean, the Go-Betweens and Sebadoh.Before the release of "Hear Me On The Number Station” we sent Stefan some questions.Noisey: Sorry to start off on a bum note but what was your reaction to the recent passing of New Zealand musician Peter Gutteridge?
Stefan: It was very sad to hear that Peter Gutteridge passed away. He was an amazing artist and a big inspiration. I'm very much regretting not going down for his show in Brooklyn a few weeks back. He'll be remembered very fondly by many. Perhaps, if nothing else, his death will open the door for more reissues and more folks discovering the power and grace of his work.I like the diversity of the new album. Were the songs written in bursts or over the whole two years since the last record?
Yeah there's been some bursts in there. I write in cycles and each record is a representation of a particular time period and particular cycle. This one happened to last longer than others. There's enough material from this cycle to make two or maybe more LP's but some of the stuff that didn't make the new record will make it's way to some EP's I have ideas about."This Harsh Country" sounds pretty angry. What makes you angry?
“This Harsh Country” is a little more self-loathing than angry but I guess there's always some anger floating around when you use the term 'self loathing.' I think I'm pretty angry person. Not always what I want to write songs about anymore but lots of things make me angry. Mostly humans. To quote Meanwhile 'I blame society, for all the shit.'It would be difficult to write a jangley pop song as good as "Privilege". Is it about Yale students?
Ha “Privilege” is a love song, though the person it's about claims it sounds awful mean. If I was going write a song about Yale students it would be called “It's OK (To Mug a Yalie)”.You have played various covers in the past. Is there any in the current set?
Not recently. We were doing “Dean's Dream” by the Dead Milkmen for a while but stopped. I've wanted to get a new one in the mix. I want to do a song by the The Embarrassment and I have a long-standing fantasy about recording a version of “Carousel” by an old Connecticut band called One Hundred Faces
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Stefan: It was very sad to hear that Peter Gutteridge passed away. He was an amazing artist and a big inspiration. I'm very much regretting not going down for his show in Brooklyn a few weeks back. He'll be remembered very fondly by many. Perhaps, if nothing else, his death will open the door for more reissues and more folks discovering the power and grace of his work.I like the diversity of the new album. Were the songs written in bursts or over the whole two years since the last record?
Yeah there's been some bursts in there. I write in cycles and each record is a representation of a particular time period and particular cycle. This one happened to last longer than others. There's enough material from this cycle to make two or maybe more LP's but some of the stuff that didn't make the new record will make it's way to some EP's I have ideas about."This Harsh Country" sounds pretty angry. What makes you angry?
“This Harsh Country” is a little more self-loathing than angry but I guess there's always some anger floating around when you use the term 'self loathing.' I think I'm pretty angry person. Not always what I want to write songs about anymore but lots of things make me angry. Mostly humans. To quote Meanwhile 'I blame society, for all the shit.'It would be difficult to write a jangley pop song as good as "Privilege". Is it about Yale students?
Ha “Privilege” is a love song, though the person it's about claims it sounds awful mean. If I was going write a song about Yale students it would be called “It's OK (To Mug a Yalie)”.You have played various covers in the past. Is there any in the current set?
Not recently. We were doing “Dean's Dream” by the Dead Milkmen for a while but stopped. I've wanted to get a new one in the mix. I want to do a song by the The Embarrassment and I have a long-standing fantasy about recording a version of “Carousel” by an old Connecticut band called One Hundred Faces
“Hear Me On The Number Station” is available September 30 on Trouble In Mind.