3AM (LA LA LA)

3AM (LA LA LA)

Album ∙ Dance ∙ 2024

Confidence Man

“We’re very lucky to move here and we’ve been loving it,” Confidence Man’s Sugar Bones—Aidan Moore—tells Apple Music, reflecting on the act’s relocation to London. “[We’re] figuring it out and just having lots of fun in a new place. And it really rubbed off on this album.”

Energetically co-fronted by Moore and fellow vocalist Janet Planet (Grace Stephenson) over dynamic, nostalgic backing from producers Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie, Confidence Man taps into that fresh thrill of exploring a new place on its third album. From the nocturnal headiness of the title track to the bratty festival fun of “BREAKBEAT”—on which Planet announces that she’s not dropping the pill in her pocket until she hears the titular rhythmic flourish—the record celebrates partying at any hour in any setting. Read on as Moore takes us behind the scenes on five extra-playful tracks in particular.

“WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU’LL FIND?”

“This song took a while to piece together. But once we figured out that we had to smash two songs together, it happened really quick, and we knew we were onto something good. It’s just a really dreamy track. It has a nice float to it—and also that killer riff. The perfect setting for this would be if you’re in bed really, really relaxed, and you’ve got the best set of headphones, and you’re getting a foot rub and watching a movie set in London. Yeah, that’s probably it.”

“I CAN’T LOSE YOU”

“It’s about being out of it and wasted in a strange situation, but managing to find a connection amongst it—and just that human urge to find other people and stick with them. We actually thought this beat was someone else’s: we hit them up to try and get the stems, and then realized that it was actually just one of Reggie’s old beats. So props to Reggie for forgetting such a good beat. Then it came really quickly. It goes off live. It’s just got that big pop energy, and the crowd seems to start bouncing when it starts hitting. We wanted this track to be a big, anthemic, festival pop moment.”

“SICKO”

“We went out to the bush for a couple of days [near Melbourne] and set up our studio, and that track came out of nowhere. But it was shelved for a while, until we were back in London six months later. We pulled it off and gave it another run, and it scrubbed up so well. We really just wanted to push that dark, creepy, kind of sexy angle. If you wanted the perfect setting for this, you’d be strutting down an alleyway and there’s thousands of photographers peering out the buildings, taking photos of you from the storeys above, and you are just looking so damn good.”

“JANET”

“‘Janet’ is a bit more light-hearted. We just wanted to capture our weird relationship and put it down on paper. We really wanted something fun and light and summery with this track. It’s actually based off a sample, which the astute dance connoisseur will probably be able to pick up. Can you figure it out?”

“3AM (LA LA LA)”

“This is another late-night venture that’s really just trying to capture that hysteria and energy and sort of angst that you can feel in those early hours, especially when you’ve had a few. We haven’t played this song live yet but it’s a big band favorite, so I know when we do it’s going to be absolutely nuts. We realized with this song that it would be a journey track from the start. It’s just got that deeper vibe to it: a little less pop, but it’s just so moody. You should probably listen to this one not in the sun at all, [but] in a deep, dark club somewhere underground. With your friends still but, yeah, no sun for this one.”