“There were a few headaches along the way, some a part of the process, some not,” says Shag Rock’s singer/guitarist Alex Wilson. Wilson is talking about the “weeks and weeks polishing a complete album of 11 songs” with world renowned sound engineer Nick Di Dia, whose long list of credits includes Bruce Springsteen’s album The Rising, which won the 2002 Grammy for ‘Best Rock Album’. The group’s album, Barefoot, was produced by ex Powderfinger guitarist, turned producer, Ian Haug, at Brisbane’s Airlock Studios. “Through big changes in [musical] parts and everyone having their bad days, we got there in the end, making it as perfect as we could and pouring our heart and soul into every second of the album,” says Wilson. “Although the album has an inherent purpose in its sound, every song is different from the other, and range from driving indie rock (Lip Addiction), heartfelt story-telling (Stolen), to tranquilising acoustics (Crack the Code and Headland).” Wilson says the group had started out with the intention of recording some demos or a four-or five-song EP; but after some successful writing sessions they ended up with enough songs for a full-length album. “Talk about a change of pace; but it was perfect [in the end] because all our ideas that we’d cultivated … since our debut in 2015 were finally put to tape. The songs changed drastically from when we brought them to the studio to when we walked out the door. “Blood sweat and beers were poured into this album and we couldn’t be happier with the end product.” The group performs at the Pacific Hotel this Friday night March 10.