It’s that time of year again when rain, shine and music collide to bring us the ultimate summer experience at Falls Music and Arts Festival. One of the largest events happening across the New Year period, Falls has been going strong for a quarter of a century and still never fails to amaze. The bill for the 2017/2018 tour included a bunch of stellar international names including Fleet Foxes, Run The Jewels, Vince Staples, Liam Gallagher, Foster The People, Glass Animals and The Kooks, as well as homegrown favourites like Flume, Angus and Julia Stone, Methyl Ethel, Allday, The Jungle Giants and Julia Jacklin. And that’s just a preview.
Of the four idyllic locations the festival plays, we made our annual pilgrimage to Byron Bay which delivered its usual medley of hot, balmy weather, rainy afternoons and… mud, lots of mud. Clearly it’s our favourite way to ring in the new year.
Day II saw sets from WAAX, Alex Lahey, Manu Crook$, Camp Cope, Julia Jacklin, Allday, Dune Rats, Glass Animals, Fleet Foxes and Run The Jewels.
Photos by Dani Hansen.
Check out our galleries for Day I and Day III!
WAAX
Alex Lahey
Manu Crook$
Camp Cope
Julia Jacklin
Allday
Dune Rats
Glass Animals
Fleet Foxes
Run The Jewels
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
When three of the rowdiest bands around get together for a national tour, you know it’s going to be one hell of a time. Brisbane boys Dune Rats released their sophomore studio album The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit in February and to celebrate they played a run of shows around the country along with Byron Bay favs and label mates Skegss and Newcastle diehards The Gooch Palms.
This is the biggest triple-header we’ve seen in a while. Not even a minor fire evacuation could quench the thirst of the rambunctious crowd following Goochies set, with some banging on bin lids and chanting as they were led outside. In dramatic style, some firemen were seen exiting the venue and the crowd finally received the green light they were anxious for. Nothing like some disruptive combustion to add to the momentum of an evening.
The Gooch Palms
Skegss
Dune Rats
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
Few Australian acts enjoy the type of rabid, diehard fans that Dune Rats do. A quick scroll of their social media and you’ll find fan submissions of Dunies-themed tattoos on just about every human surface you can think of, some you’d never even dream of. Amazing given that this is a band with just one album and a couple of EPs to their name.
Their following remains near cult-like though thanks to relentless touring and their uncanny ability to harness the voice of almost an entire generation of kids and channel it into some of the scuzziest punk rock the country has ever produced. And that following is about to explode with euphoria from their pre-existing fans or a newfound appreciation of the Brisbane trio, because never has it been harnessed better than on sophomore album The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit.
The fingerprints of FIDLAR frontman Zac Carper are all over this both sonically and thematically. From the opening almost Rancid-inspired strains of Don’t Talk that kicks the album off, Dune Rats have never sounded grittier, the nihilism (“I don’t ever wanna work again”) that permeated FIDLAR’s sophomore album is absolutely palpable. The most immediately noticeable difference is in the guitar work, in our interview bassist Brett revealed that Carper had been behind some changes in frontman/guitarist Danny’s set-up and they’re noticeable immediately. It’s rougher, dirtier and louder and it’s all for the better.
6 Pack smacks of FIDLAR as well, a chant-along ode to getting shitfaced in your basement as a teenager off a minimal amount of beer that you can already hear a festival crowd screaming at the top of their lungs over the chorus. The jet engine riffs of Demolition Derby pick the pace up, sounding like early Blink backed by Black Flag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VV8XW9xw
Braindead is a slow-burn chugger, Danny’s rough drawl narrating the downwardly spiralling life of a waster . It’s the middle point of the record that we hear second single and already a gigantic hit in the search for Scott Green, a sentiment that has wasted no time in resonating with fans in its short life. That’s followed up by the End Of The Century-era Ramones-esque Never Gonna Get High (“do it cause you wanna, wanna cause you gotta” another custom made chorus for a seething crowd to holler at the top of their lungs).
For the first time all album the rough edges cop a slight polishing in the poppy, jangly, almost sweet-sounding Like Before, serving as this album’s No Waves moment. The lazy summery vibe lasts all of three minutes before Counting Sheep gets guttural again, an insomniac’s anthem. Buzz-Kill borrows pop hooks from the 60s and throws them into a punk rock grinder while Mary gives off Sex Pistols vibes, Danny scarcely sounding snottier and the guitar and drums crashing head-on in an explosion of Brit-rock fuzz.
It’s all capped off by debut single Bullshit, perhaps one of the best punk songs to come out of this country in the last five years. It’s so deliciously simple and effective, Danny snarling over the top of a marching bassline, the guitars sounding caked in six layers of grime and the hook of the chorus not so much grabbing you as throttling you. In the same interview, Brett revealed its essence was taking the relationship the band members have, the way they speak and interact with one another, and distilling it into a song. Bullshit captures this in three minutes of deliciously infectious punk rock and the same can be said of the rest of this record.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwWzBXIycQ
The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit might not stray too far from the longstanding ethos of Dune Rats (eat, sleep, get fucked up, repeat) but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and it’s why they’re so beloved by fans in the first place. They don’t expect anything deeper, probably wouldn’t want it, and very few bands do that pure punk rock attitude better than Dune Rats.
Carper’s assistance in the recording process has done them wonders here as far as sonic progression, covering plenty of punk rock ground from the past few decades, Dunies have never sounded heavier, grimier and like they give less of a flying fuck and it translates into a rollickingly fun, less than zero frills second entry in their discography. For Dunies fans, this is the record they have been waiting patiently for since their self-titled debut landed three years ago and they’ll find it full of reward for their patience.
Those kids are only going to love Dune Rats more for this.
The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit is out now via Ratbag Records. Stream it below:
The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit (w/ Skegss and Gooch Palms) tour dates and venues:
Sat, 11th Mar: Metropolis, Fremantle
Sun, 12th Mar: The Gov, Adelaide
Fri, 17th Mar: The Croxton, Melbourne
Sat, 18th Mar: The Croxton, Melbourne
Thu, 23rd Mar: The Triffid, Brisbane
Fri, 24th Mar: The Triffid, Brisbane
Sat, 25th Mar: The Metro, Sydney
Sun, 26th Mar: The Metro, Sydney
Image: Tone Deaf
2017 is already shaping up to be the year of the Rat. Specifically the Dune variety, with everybody’s favourite punks Dune Rats about to have arguably their biggest year to date. They’re currently on tour around Australia as part of this year’s Laneway Festival, their sophomore album The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit is out tomorrow and they’re ready to embark on a mammoth national headline tour with Skegss and Gooch Palms to celebrate.
We spoke to bassist Brett while the band was in their hometown of Brisbane for the first of the Australian run of Laneway shows:
Getting ready to play the first of your Laneway shows tomorrow Brett, how’s the feeling in the Dunies camp?
Yeah we’re staying across from the site so we’re already having a bit of a peek over at the setup getting psyched.
Got some interesting shoes to fill as last minute replacements for Young Thug.
*Laughs* Yeah maybe we should go out onstage to a Young Thug song.
Either that or maybe you could get Mini Bar Mike (drummer BC’s little known rapping alter-ego) to make an appearance and drop a couple bars?
Yeeeeah fucking oath we could probably get MBM up there *laughs*. How do you know about MBM?
Someone showed me the video on Facebook a while back, it was great.
The plan the whole time behind that was to make the video and then we were going to premiere it on our mate Duncan’s (Bedlam Records) Facebook wall. So we posted it there and didn’t think many people would see it.
Shit went viral.
Yeah. Me and BC played a show once for 800 bucks and that was the seeds for Mini Bar Mike *laughs*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VV8XW9xw
Beautiful. So Laneway, who else on the bill are you looking forward to catching up with or maybe meeting for the first time?
Luca Brasi straight up. A.B. Original as well hosting the whole thing. Trials has been a friend of ours for a while and we’ve bumped into Briggs once or twice before so it’ll be good to spend some time on tour with them. First day is really just a big orientation day so it’s good to have some friends to get straight into it. Especially the Luca Brasi fellas, I’m psyched about that.
Should also stick my head into the Camp Cope dressing room and meet those girls for the first time. I’m looking forward to it man, I love that shit. Everyone’s travelling and tired on a festival tour and funny stuff happens *laughs*
You might even catch up with old mate Nick Murphy, and see if you can get his blessing to change the name Dune Rats to Chet Faker?
*Laughs* Before we even found out we were playing Laneway I had a dream that I was laying in the backstage room doing stretches and Chet Faker came in and strangled me and I’m just there screaming “No man it wasn’t me! It was BC man! *laughs*.
I really hope that doesn’t happen.
Hopefully not a prophetic dream! Last time I spoke to you guys was at The Blurst Of Times in Brisbane at the beginning of last year. A lot’s been happening for Dune Rats in that time, can you think of your favourite moment or a high point from the last year?
It was probably a bunch of different little things I guess. Finishing the record was really rad and recording it was awesome. We had a lot of fun with Zac (Carper, FIDLAR), it was really fun because we’re really fuckin’ good friends and we’d always talked about making music together. The European and North American tour with DZ Deathrays was mental. It was something that had always been an idea and we finally found a window last year to do it and it was just a sick tour with those boys.
The record though, it took up a lot of our last year. It was a very productive year for us and hopefully this year we can put out the record and just tour. For this year and even a couple of years we’d hope.
Well that record is The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit which is out on the 3rd of February. You mention you worked with Zac from FIDLAR on it, what has he brought to the record in terms of sound and overall themes?
I think he kind of opened it up to stuff that we originally thought couldn’t work in a song. Just with Bullshit, he was kind of like “you guys should turn what you all say to each other and how you talk to each other into a song” and we’re kind of just thinking that’s the way we talk but he said “no, there’s something in that”. So yeah, he definitely brought a different perspective to songwriting lyric-wise of what can be a song. I mean, it’s just a joke but it’s still a song and he kind of incubated that in us.
He definitely pushed us as far as making the sounds bigger as well, especially with Danny and the guitar, we’ve changed Danny’s set-up a lot from what it used to be for this record which is awesome. I guess we’re just trying to step up and get bigger with it and Zac got us to the point where it was like, well there’s the sound, now we just have to go and make it work for us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwWzBXIycQ
It definitely seems to have worked so far, Bullshit and Scott Green have both become massive fan favourites already. Are there any other tracks on the album that you’d say you were most proud of or a personal favourite?
Man, I’d like to think of the album as all one song really. Each song complements the one before and after it and that’s what we were really trying to do when we were putting this together. So yeah, if anyone wants a recommendation of what song to listen to, they should listen to them all *laughs*
After the album comes out you’re heading out on another massive tour with Skegss and Gooch Palms joining in. It’s been selling out just about everywhere, what does that kind of fan response mean to you?
Man it’s mental. Everyone was hoping we could do a second show in some of the cities and then those sold out so quick. It speaks very loudly to how awesome our fans are to want tickets that bad and we were trying to make this tour a really hot ticket with that lineup, you know Skegss and Goochies. It was so sick announcing it and then watching it sell out that quick man, just really cool.
All three of the bands on this tour have a bit of a reputation for enjoying a bit of a party, are there any steps you take to try and make it through a tour as big as this?
I think we’re going to try to take it all in this time and not be plastered up the walls. You wanna do it bigger and better this tour and if that means having a couple of Mangos before the show and taking it easy afterwards then yeah. I think everyone’s taking it all in in now but then again, peer pressure is very easy to give in to just get smokers and go wild these days *laughs*
That’s it. Now Skegss are a part of your record label Ratbag Records, which I think is in its second year off the ground now. How much work goes in to trying to run a record label as well as being a successful writing, recording and touring band in your own right?
We’re definitely always trying to be active in it. Our role is a lot of A&R kind of thing with our artists, always listening to the demos people send us and that sort of thing. That’s really become our role, doing that kind of stuff and all the other management stuff Matty Woo (manager of Dune Rats) the soon-to-be Macro man has been taking on.
We’re extending our little family at Ratbag and we’re not exactly taking a back seat because we really care about it and want the best for the artists that we put out there. It’s a really cool thing to have a label that puts out music, we think it’s awesome. There’s plenty more to come out of it this year.
Excellent to hear. Also coming out this year is the highly anticipated second season of Dunies TV, any spoilers or hints as to what we’re going to see there?
We’ll pick up pretty much where we left off I think with the stupid dumb jokes *laughs*. Man we’ve been filming a lot more. We’ve gotten heaps more footage already to make it and it’s all good stuff like being on tour with DZ, a lot of funny stuff happened and it just needed to be sat down with for a while as it has. It hasn’t fallen away or anything, we’ve just been so busy and been waiting for a time to put it all in and look at the footage and go “oh that’s sick”.
Just trying to make it all killer no filler! We’ve gotta make it punchy and hopefully it’s very… I don’t know, I just wanna watch it you know!
A lot of fans out there sharing that sentiment I’m sure. Once your album comes out and the tour with Skegss and Gooch Palms wraps up, what’s next after that for Dune Rats? Is there another overseas tour in the mix?
Yeah I think we’ll end up overseas, definitely want to get back into Canada after being there with DZ’s, it was sick. We wanna do a sick regional tour though. That’d be mad, just this huge old-school tour of Australia. It’d be great to get back overseas but Australia is just so epic in its own way. We really want to spend most of this year in Australia touring.
There’ll be fans in regional Australia stoked to hear that, they tend to miss out on a lot of touring bands.
Yeah and they’re the ones who go mad too! Where I grew up, someone like Bodyjar would come and play at the RSL and everyone in the town would show up for it. Even if it wasn’t really your style, if there’s a chance for everyone to go and have a good time together they’re gonna do it!
The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit is out tomorrow via Ratbag Records
The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit (w/ Skegss and Gooch Palms) tour dates and venues:
Sat, 11th Mar: Metropolis, Fremantle
Sun, 12th Mar: The Gov, Adelaide
Fri, 17th Mar: The Croxton, Melbourne
Sat, 18th Mar: The Croxton, Melbourne
Thu, 23rd Mar: The Triffid, Brisbane
Fri, 24th Mar: The Triffid, Brisbane
Sat, 25th Mar: The Metro, Sydney
Sun, 26th Mar: The Metro, Sydney
Image: Supplied
Rapper Young Thug is making a name for flaking on things lately, he bailed on his own music video shoot for single Wyclef Jean recently and today it has been announced that he has also pulled out of his highly anticipated stints as part of the stellar bill touring Australia with this year’s St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival.
It’s understood the issues are visa related, but the news will still come as a huge disappointment for Thug fans as the trip would have marked his first visit to Australia in a touring capacity. Just as the filming for Wyclef Jean went ahead without the rapper though, so too will Laneway Festival, and stepping up to the plate to take his place on the lineup are homegrown heroes Dune Rats, who were announced immediately as a more than worthy replacement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VV8XW9xw
They may lack the trap beats, the near unintelligible but still damn fantastic bars (unless you count drummer BC’s Mini Bar Mike alter ego) and the overall whackiness of Thugger, but Dune Rats will still be on hand to make sure the energy is through the roof with what is always a wild set.
They’ve got a new album The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit due out in early February and we may be gifted a live peek at a few more of their new tracks. The LP’s first two singles Bullshit and Scott Green are already huge fan favourites and anticipation for their sophomore album (produced by noted shred lord and good mate Zac Carper of FIDLAR) is sky high. After Laneway, Dunies will be off on a national tour that has been selling out faster than you can rip a solo on a glass saxophone. If you missed out on snapping up tickets in your city, Laneway might be your next best bet! It kicks off next week!
2017 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival dates and venues:
Saturday 21 January – SINGAPORE – THE MEADOW, GARDENS BY THE BAY
Thursday 26 January – BRISBANE – BRISBANE SHOWGROUNDS, BOWEN HILLS (16+)
Saturday 28 January – MELBOURNE – FOOTSCRAY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE (FCAC) AND THE RIVER’S EDGE
Monday 30 January – AUCKLAND – IT’S A SECRET, WATCH THIS SPACE!
Friday 3 February – ADELAIDE – HART’S MILL, PORT ADELAIDE (16+)
Saturday 4 February – SYDNEY – SYDNEY COLLEGE OF THE ARTS (SCA), ROZELLE
Sunday 5 February – FREMANTLE – ESPLANADE RESERVE AND WEST END
Image: Supplied
Just in case you missed any, we’ve pulled together the best music videos released in the last week for you to enjoy all in the one place. The year may be winding down but the videos are still pouring in from the likes of:
Dave – 71
South London’s rising star is back again, dropping the fourth music video from his incredible EP Six Paths. Yet another cinematic masterpiece pieced together by director LX, the clip sees Dave flexing around sunny Hollywood alongside his crew of friends. Whether he’s made it or not, each one of his videos is certainly making it seem that way, but it’s not in a glitzy, girls galore way, he’s worldwide, and it’s inspirational to say the least. Big ups Dave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VAsCZLW4vk
6LACK – Ex Calling
If you haven’t already heard, 6LACK is Atlanta’s newest R&B talent. After releasing his incredible debut album last month, he’s now back with the eerie visuals to one of the highlight tracks, Ex Calling. A ghostly black and white video, packed with slick imagery and locations, this brooding 808-laced anthem is most definitely worth your attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rh0228Xx0A
REMI – Lose Sleep feat. Jordan Rakei
He’s released one of this year’s best albums, Divas And Demons, and is currently touring the country with another of the country’s finest in Baro, yet he’s still making waves – Melbourne’s own Remi has released another video from D.A.D. Lose Sleep is an extremely personal, introspective slow burner coveringthe racism and mental struggles Remi has faced. The video parallels this, it’s hazy and mysterious, centering around the nightlife he and collaborator Jordan Rakei find themselves in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPqh_nJSafc
DMA’s – Play It Out
One of Sydney’s most cherished exports in recent times, the lads from DMA’s, have returned with a video for the final track on their 2016 debut album Hills End. Play It Out is gritty, jangly indie rock heaven and is incidentally the first track they ever recorded as a band. The video too was their first ever, recorded years ago for a mere $20. On ya lads!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTW3KgxBHcQ
Electric Guest – Dear To Me
Oh yes! LA’s indietronica synthesiser kings are back with yet another feel good anthem. Filled with moody jingles, throwback synths, and an absolutely soaring chorus Dear To Me is an amazing comeback for the four-piece. Pairing this with another slick and smooth black and white clip, packed with lovey moments with couples, this is sure to pull your heartstrings. Also, see if you can spot the cameos from Andy Samberg and Haim!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1AmkMuB0pA
Dune Rats – Scott Green
Brisbane’s premiere punk rock trio are back again with perhaps their craziest release yet, Scott Green (as in ‘who’s got green?’). Featuring their signature gritty guitar riffs, slapping bass, and singalong lyrics, the Dunies are in their finest form here. If that couldn’t get any better, their drug laden music video comes alongside an interactive, choose your own adventure like video clip, making us wonder why every artist doesn’t do this with their videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VV8XW9xw
Fortunes – 501’s
Fortunes’ 501’s is hip-hop laced disco revival at its best. Backed by a seriously grooving bassline, chiming synth tones and booming beats, the Melbourne singer’s silky smooth vocals glide over the mix with ease. The clip too is masterfully created, sewn together with a stream of nostalgia, based around a hot summers day in the local laundromat. Definitely one to keep an eye on in 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJkdTP9Ijc&feature=youtu.be
Novella – Does The Island Know
Shot in the style of a clip from the 80s, Novella’s latest single Does the Island Know definitely shares the same vintage, folky appeal too. A glimpse into their upcoming February album, ethereal harmonies shine through on the track, brilliantly wrapped up among a range of bouncy guitar strums and a bouncing bassline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOn0VwwA7CY
Big Sean – Bounce Back
Chicago’s young stang Big Sean is going big with his latest trap infused banger. Booming 808 and rattling hi-hats ooze the fresh new sounds, no thanks to one Metro Boomin who provided additional production of on the track. Sean showcases a next level flow and lyrical capability on this one, mixing between harmonious singing and fast paced double time rapping with ease. The video is especially arty too, all saturated colours as Sean flexes around different areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phr1pOFK1V8
PLTS – Call Me Out
Byron Bay’s much loved quartet PLTS are back again with another taste of beach rock bliss on Call Me Out. Wonderfully melancholic and introspective, the video shows the band in another light in serving as a tour video of sorts. From playing Tekken to hanging on tour with Brissie boys Columbus, it’s certainly an entertaining watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfwMSmIrvdY
Image: YouTube
@DUNERATSS
@fortunesband
@NOVELLA_NOVELLA
@BigSean
@pltsmusic
This infectious, Popcorn-esque little slice of house comes from Martin King, latest signing of the always wonderful Good Manners label. Don’t let the genre fool you into thinking that Pepsi is a strictly a four to the floor club banger, though – its syncopation and playful repetitiveness make for a track that’ll delight whether you’re raving or brewing coffee on a Saturday morning (trust me, I tried). King has a rich musical background – he’s worked with Banoffee, supported Four Tet, Metrononmy & Caribou, and played festivals such as Sugar Mountain, Falls and Meredith. The dude is definitely One To Watch in 2017.
Thanks to some very fun quasi-retro vibes, this one will make you regress into “carefree teen at a house party” mode if you’re not careful. The Posse are a somewhat enigmatic new five-piece comprised of various music veterans, and this is their very first official release, out through Plastic World (who by this stage we can basically bank on churning out the goods). Happy Accidents contains absolutely no samples, and is a taster for The Posse’s upcoming debut EP Our Thing which will feature contributions from Andrew Elston (Physique/Toni Toni Lee/Catcall), Ross Ferraro & Jarrol Renaud (The Goods), Michael Di Francesco (Touch Sensitive/Van She) and NZ jazz keys prodigy Andrew Bruce.
Wailing vocals, rock-n-soul guitar, super warm 70s production – yeah, this is impossible not to like. And who doesn’t love a good call-and-response chorus hook? Sun Sap are relative newcomers, but they’re already kicking ass and taking names, with support slots for Guantanamo Baywatch, Australia (the band) and The Pretty Littles already under their belt and a show with Polish Club and Food Court still to come before the years’ out. Their debut LP is dropping in 2017, so get in on the ground floor now.
Green Buzzard are one of those bands that seem to have been on the cusp of something huge for AGES but for whatever reason that massive break hasn’t happened yet. This is entirely unfair because their music has always been top notch, but Do You Ever Glow is another step up again. Washed out and psych-spun, with some serious The Cure vibes, there’s a pop infectiousness to the track that we haven’t yet seen from GB – and it’s more than welcome.
Moving past the obvious weirdness of releasing a song called Spring Has Sprung on the literal last day of Spring, this is a #tune. Coupling the trademark Skegss down-to-earth ratbag lyricism with woozy, balmy guitars and a gratifying vocal hook, this is definitely one to blast as you sink tinnies with your housemates at the park. The dudes have also just announced a mammoth summer tour – grab your tickets here.
Alright, this one technically came out last Friday, so we’re kind of cheating but it’s worth it. Dune Rats are a god damned national treasure and their music is always a timely reminder to relax, stop stressing, have fun, unwind, and find out who’s Scott Green. Fun fact: I know someone who heard this song, didn’t get it after multiple listens, and thought Dunies had “changed, man”. Apparently the guys came up with the idea for the track (recorded in the US with FIDLAR’s Zac Carper) after literally spending all day asking strangers at Walmart if they knew Scott Green – because of course they did.
Perth rapper Drapht released his last album back in 2011, and fans have been eagerly waiting for more ever since. He recently previewed new music at Sydney’s Come Together festival, and has now officially announced his upcoming fifth album Seven Mirrors, set for release on August 19, 2016. The feature-packed album is reportedly said to include Hilltop Hoods, Katie Noonan, Joyride, and Briggs. Perhaps the most surprising name announced is Dune Rats, who feature on new track Mexico, premiered yesterday on triple j.
The track is a great blend of Drapht’s fresh flow and Dune Rats’ hazy guitars. As the name suggests, Drapht takes us through some of his favourite aspects of Mexican culture, from its food, to the Day of the Dead celebrations and more; “chilling on a beach in Mexico” never sounded so good. Dune Rats’ singalong chorus, “what up hombre, you wanna party?” is so much fun, and I have no doubt we’ll be hearing it ring out across festival fields in no time. If this is anything to go by, we’re in for another excellent album from one of the best in the game.
Drapht has so far announced three tour dates in Queensland, and a festival in Canberra early next year. Fingers crossed we’ll be seeing a full tour in support of the new album.
Drapht tour dates
Thursday 25th August 2016 – Magnums Hotel, Airlie Beach, QLD
Friday 26th August 2016 – Harvey Road Tavern, Clinton, QLD
Saturday 27th August 2016 – Shakafest, Gold Coast, QLD
5th – 8th January 2017 – Summernats 30, Canberra, NSW
Here’s the track and album artwork:
Read more: In Defence of Australian Hip-Hop
Image: Danielle Hansen / Howl & Echoes
For fans of Brisbane’s music scene and the rock and roll renaissance it has undergone in the last five odd years, tonight, on perhaps its most sacred ground in the newly-rescued Tivoli, is the Holy Grail. It’s the very first night of Violent Soho‘s completely sold-out-like-hotcakes nationwide WACO tour, accompanied by not just their contemporaries but their very best mates in DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats along for the rollercoaster ride.
For perspective; this is Brisbane’s All-Star Pro Bowl Dream Team lineup, playing the first date of their biggest tour in history to a sardine tin sellout crowd at The Tivoli on a Tuesday night to a sweaty, rowdy crowd of young Brisbane-ites who have spent their formative years blasting their eardrums to smithereens with all or some combination of them.
We’ve hit peak motherfucking Brisbane to put it simply.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNb29qKndE
Walking in I wasn’t aware that Novocastrian splatter punk good time garage duo The Gooch Palms were also on this bill and it is one of the more pleasant surprises to see Leroy and Kat doing a bang-up job warming up the already huge crowd with their old time rock and roll noise and good-natured banter. As far as opening acts go, you couldn’t ask for one much better at breaking the ice than The Gooch Palms on any given night.
Credit to the bands and everyone backstage for fucking exactly zero spiders here tonight either, things are moving that lightning quick and efficiently there’s barely enough time to line up for a beer in between sets. Dunies are up next with You Give Love A Bad Name as their entrance music and their unbridled energy not so much raising the curtain as setting it ablaze.
Dalai Lama Big Banana Marijuana, Fuck It and Funny Guy all cop an absolute belting with the front of the stage seething with bodies. There’s a wall of death to commemorate the opening strains of Red Light Green Light and they road test an untitled new song on us that goes over like gangbusters. Bassist Brett singlehandedly wins the ‘I Think He Might Be Having A Seizure’ award for excellence in the field of onstage energy. How he played bass with that much polish despite treating the stage like a padded cell is a testament to his musicianship.
They throw in a cover of The Violent Femmes Blister In The Sun with most of the words replaced with gibberish, the crowd still loving every second of it. Each of the boys takes a hefty swig from a cask of Coolabah’s finest before tossing the remains out into the crowd, where it gets pounced on like hyenas on a wounded antelope before being thrown around like the most Australian beach ball of all time.
Superman cops the biggest cheer thus far but it’s very soon eclipsed by the roar and titular chants preceding Dunies’ latest single Bullshit, the crowd screaming every word despite the fact that the song was officially released not even a week ago. It’s something that has to be wonderfully encouraging for the Dune Rats boys as they work on their next record.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwWzBXIycQ
DZ Deathrays are onstage before you can say Black Rat and they proceed to turn the moshpit into a human blender that I’m all too happy to be caught in. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen DZ’s play as surprise entrants at Splendour In The Grass last year and it’s exhilarating to be reintroduced to live face-melters of old like The Mess Up and an electrifying No Sleep.
Some small, shameful part of me had somehow forgotten that Reflective Skull existed as a song, so it was a delight to hear it’s klaxon riffs bellow through the Tivoli, DZ’s going all the way in on it and seemingly trying to make sure those of us up the front get stomped into the floor.
Like Dune Rats before them, it’s a newie in the ferocious Blood On My Leather making the top of the highlight reel. It is an absolute belter of the highest order and its first live rendition I’ve had the chance to hear did not disappoint in the slightest, half the crowd hurtling themselves into each other without a given fuck in sight, the other half throwing down every bar right along with Shane Parsons (some opting for both).
By the time they’ve thoroughly ripped through a set-closing Gina Works At Hearts, DZ Deathrays have proven above and beyond tonight they’re perhaps one of the best pure noisemakers in the country at the moment and I feel physically spent having moshed along to every one of their tunes.
For the smallest of whiles there I’m also ever so slightly unsure if this crowd, already battered and bruised beyond belief, is going to make it through the headline act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6jLfL_g4w0
Fifteen minutes later the lights go out and a rumbling starts. The opening strains to WACO kickoff How To Taste jangle out across a bracing for impact crowd before the curtain drops with a flourish and Violent Soho are there thrashing out in front of them.
I was so very woefully, shamefully off about this crowd’s ability to last.
Bedlam that’s up there with the best the Tiv has ever seen (certainly some of the best I’ve ever seen in my many ventures there) is the best way to describe it from the inside. From the front, the physical moshpit stretches about as far back as it can get, the whole bottom level just a whirlpool of limbs.
New tracks from WACO blend seamlessly with the old, Viceroy going off like a frog in a sock next to a throwback Neighbour Neighbour early, So Sentimental, Fur Eyes and Saramona Said providing very brief opportunities in between for breath-catching (but mostly more moshing), Evergreen, Blanket and Dope Calypso absolutely crushing in their magnitude. There are multiple circle pits throughout and barely a moment goes by without someone being launched straight over your head. Like most Tivoli gigs though, the crowd have each other’s backs wholeheartedly at all times.
The whole set builds up like a tidal wave and when it hits its zenith and comes crashing down there may be no bigger set-closing knockout combination than the thunderous one-two of Like Soda and a Covered In Chrome that threatens to level the place. Violent Soho leave every last shred of themselves onstage and the crowd know it and love them for it.
And just like that, night one of the WACO tour is in the books and everyone departs into the night. Most, including myself, look like they’ve been caught in some kind of monsoonal weather but it’s actually just a liberal coating of sweat, both their own and belonging to probably several hundred other punters as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwPtaHTABy8
When those punters talk about some of the best shows they’ve ever witnessed in Brisbane, tonight (and without a doubt Wednesday and Friday night’s also sold out shows) should be right up there. To have three of the best bands ever to come out of this city, in their prime and truly representative of the new era, playing triumphantly at home on such an institutional stage like The Tivoli?
Tonight was so Brisbane you could tell people you saw Wally Lewis crowdsurfing past you doing a shoey and they’d probably believe you. Shit, I was there and I can’t even rule out that that didn’t happen.
Buckle up, rest of Australia. The WACO tour is coming and you’d better be ready.