It's been six long years between albums for Hilltop Hoods, but for MC Pressure the wait was less about perfectionism and more about preservation.
"We had a false start," he admits. "We put those two songs out – 'Show Business' and 'A Hard Day's Night' – and thought the album was going to come out. . . then we just kind of went, 'you know what? It's not ready'; and there was a big part of us as well that agreed the world wasn't ready either. Things were still dragging and weird after COVID."The result of that decision is 'Fall From The Light', a meticulously crafted album that Pressure says is Hilltop's most curated yet. "It probably took us four or five years to make. We all had a bit of a break in 2020 – the world had a break in 2020," he laughs.
"We did just under a hundred shows in 2019 and we were pretty burnt out after The Great Expanse tour. . . I've been doing this 25-ish years now, and you do anything too much, it can weigh you down. You need to refresh and reset to fall in love with it again, which is what I did."
The trio's patience shows. From the soaring album opener and title track 'Fall From The Light' to the final moments of 'The Moth', the record feels intentional. Grand, yet grounded. Cinematic, but still classic Hoods. "There was a thousand tiny details," Pressure says of the creative process.
"We engaged a mix engineer and went back and forth more than we ever have. . . We probably threw more songs in the bin than we ever have for an album before. For every song that made the record, there were two or three that didn't."
The band has again worked with vocalist Nyassa, whose voice bookends the record. "As the album got closer to finished, we decided we wanted to bookend it with her voice," Pressure explains. "'Fall From The Light' felt like the introduction of something new. . . and 'The Moth' felt like closure."
Nyassa's not just a feature artist, either – she tours with the band and has, over time, become family. "She truly is a one in a billion talent," he says. "She'll get in the vocal booth and say, 'Guys, it'd be better if I do it this way,' and we're like, 'yeah, f..., it is better if you do it that way'."
Also lending their presence to the album is New Zealand's Six60, featuring on two tracks including the latest single 'Never Coming Home'. "It was such a natural collaboration," Pressure says.
"We sat in a studio for two days, had beers, made music, became friends. It was fantastic. Some collabs aren't like that, but with those guys, it was organic; just a natural marriage of sounds and personalities."
The track 'Get Well Soon', also featuring Six60's Matiu Walters, became a standout, even though it didn't end up as a single. "We tried it out with a couple of other singers, and it just didn't have the same energy. Matiu smashed it. He's one of those vocalists who crushes it on the first take. So we came back and said, 'Hey, do you want to do this one too?' And he was like, 'hell yeah'."
Before they take on an arena run early next year, last week Hilltop Hoods landed in Townsville for the inaugural One Street One Day festival — a rare regional show for the group that Pressure says couldn't have come at a better time.
"For us, Townsville was fantastic timing," he says. "We're going to Europe for a month in August. I'm staying for an extra month to have a holiday, and then we're rolling out a bunch of other regional festival shows in Australia.
"But this one gave us a chance to get back up there – and we love North Queensland. We've always had a fantastic following up there; and the weather's good. . . it's freaking cold down south."
Of the new material, which song is he particularly looking forward to unleashing live? "'Rage Against The Fatigue'. A mate said if AI wrote a Hilltop Hoods song, that'd be it, and I pissed myself laughing," he grins. "It's such a throwback to our old sound. Fun, bouncy, tough. I think that one is going to come out hard from the blocks."
As always, Pressure brings a depth of emotion to his writing, whether it's on a high-energy banger or one of his signature introspective verses. Take 'Something Bigger Than This', a track rooted in a conversation with his mother.
"She'd just retired, and I asked if she was happy. She said, 'Not really. I always thought I'd have more to show for my hard work,'" he says. "That really stuck with me. The line 'I was built for something bigger than this' came from that."
After more than two decades in the game, Hilltop Hoods are still finding ways to challenge themselves and evolve. For Pressure, the creative spark hasn't dimmed. If anything, it's burning brighter. "There's an energy within me that loves being creative," he says.
"The satisfaction of making something I can be proud of – hopefully in 10, 20, 30 years – is still exciting to me – and the live show. . . the high, the energy exchange with the crowd – that's irreplaceable. That's still probably my favourite part of what I do."
'Fall From The Light' will be available from 1 August.
Hilltop Hoods 2026 Tour Dates
Sat 14 Feb - MyState Bank Arena (Hobart)* sold outFri 20 Feb - Adelaide Entertainment Centre* sold out
Sat 21 Feb - Adelaide Entertainment Centre* sold out
Fri 27 Feb - Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney)* new show
Sat 28 Feb - Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney)* sold out
Fri 6 Mar - Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne)* new show
Sat 7 Mar - Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne)* sold out
Sat 14 Mar - Brisbane Entertainment Centre* sold out
Sat 21 Mar - RAC Arena (Perth)* sold out
