Upstairs at The Tote Hotel on a Friday last month, RINSE played their debut Melbourne show.
However, the sold-out set (17 November) in no way felt like a first-time thing, despite being the first gig for several members of the four-piece live band.On record, RINSE is the project of songwriter and producer Joe Agius. When he's not working with other artists on music videos and artwork for bands like Pond, Joe splits his time between RINSE and writing and performing with Hatchie, the project of his wife Harriette Pilbeam.
"RINSE has actually been going for more than ten years. It was my first band when I was like 19," Agius says. "I played a battle of the bands in Brisbane, and it kicked off for a couple of years – then I had a break with it. But there's nearly zero documentation of that whole time. Now, it just felt appropriate to rework it and give it a new life again."
It was around the time of this break that Joe's other project, The Creases, took off. After having supported the likes of Franz Ferdinand and DMA'S, and playing festivals such as Splendour In The Grass and Falls, their debut record 'Tremolow' was released in 2017 – going on to hit the ARIA Top 100 physical albums list.
"After fronting a band for five years, I didn't think that I wanted to do that again. Honestly, the show last week was, for me, testing whether I want to do it or not. If I didn't enjoy it, I probably wouldn't play another show again.
"But I had so much fun – which is something personally, I find really difficult to feel in the moment. I get so stressed out, and I'm not somebody who's very naturally that comfortable up there. I was stressed about it all week, and then I slept for two days after that show.
"I care so much about music, often to my detriment. I care so much about the sound, how it's perceived. But that show really changed my mind – I tried to, for once, not worry and accept compliments, which is something I'm not good at doing."
It's easy to see why compliments flew after the band's show at The Tote. Every detail was meticulously planned and executed, with Joe having extensively programmed and timed his own lighting rig to accompany the set.
The stage, at times immersed in oscillating blues and softer hues, was elsewhere nearly pitch-black cut by strobing flashes of white and red, timed to cast daggers of light on the beat. This established a mood to fit each song uniquely, upping the standard set by more generic rock light shows by sharing more in common with electronic sensibilities.
"Something I'm trying to accept and understand, is that what people see and hear is often different to what I feel. It was going to be just a recording project – but it's hard to have tangible evidence of how your music is going, unless you're playing shows.
"You're kind of sending it into a void, and you can check the Spotify and see people are listening to it, but unless you're playing shows it's kinda hard to know how it's actually resonating with people.
"Ritchie, the drummer, he played in Hatchie, and we've done a few RINSE shows before. Brodie, the guitarist – he's fairly new. He plays in Flyying Colours – he's one of the best guitarists I've ever worked with.
"Brodie gives [the music] a new life, live – it's a bit more rough around the edges. Noisier. . . he gets it. One of the next EPs I'm doing, I'm hoping to do it together with him."
The Tote show was the first RINSE gig ever for bassist Andrew Dooris, member of Brisbane's The Jungle Giants. "I just found people I knew I didn't have to worry about – we did one rehearsal. I was lucky. I let go and I had fun, and I just want to do it more now."
RINSE tracks like 'I Thought I Knew You' on their latest EP, 'Sinker', feature hard-hitting, Nine Inch Nails-esque industrial beats. Elsewhere, these elements intertwine with the likes of single 'Does The World Even See Me?', which carries influences from Depeche Mode and New Order with relatable, humanising hooks.
Their previous EP, 2021's 'Wherever I Am', featured the hit 'Back Into Your Arms' with Hatchie. 'And I've been making changes every day, to show you that I am not just what you say / And I won't try to understand the way you feel inside your head this time / Until I'm back into your arms.'
Live, these songs carried an anthemic energy, with the entire crowd singing back in catharsis. This is a common thread in RINSE songs that carries through their dalliances with every genre, with every track featuring memorable, infectious hooks.
"There's definitely a big influence of Nine Inch Nails, especially on the last EP. In general, I've always been such a big fan of Primal Scream, especially records like 'XTRMNTR' where it's a bit more dirty and industrial.
"I love Ride, too. For me, it's combining things in a way that's unique to me. I'll take the rhythm and the upbeat-ness from like, Primal Scream or Happy Mondays, and combine it with shoegaze guitars.
"That's not something I see many people doing at the moment at least. You'll go see a shoegaze band and it's quite slow, and not very melodic. It's finding these elements that aren't mainstream, and combining them with pop music so that people don't realise they're listening to pop – but it is."
Earlier in 2023, RINSE released 'Does It Feel Like Heaven' – a breezy, euphoric tune, sharing more in common with the likes of Moby and The Flaming Lips.
"We found that with Hatchie, a lot of people told me that was their gateway into shoegaze or dream-pop, rather than the other way around. They were pop people, but they're into My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, all that sort of stuff now. That's cool to see.
"I love ballads and big melodies, and balancing that with aspects of the bands which I thought were my little secrets growing up in a small beach town, like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Which of course, unknown to me, were very popular outside of Kingscliff.
"I mean, even MBV songs – the melodies are catchy. You can hum the melodies from memory. That's a necessary aspect for me with music, it needs to be something catchy you can remember and recall."
In this way, RINSE are able to keep audiences guessing, with the only prediction being that you can expect something good. "I don't want to be pigeonholed at all. "I'm working on a few EPs. They're all written, and they're all pretty different. I just love so many kinds of music. My attention span is sh.t at writing ten to twelve tracks that are all similar.
"I'll listen to something and get really into some kind of production or music, and write four or five songs that are like that. So, it just made sense to group them in EPs, and allow myself to play so many different kinds of shows and keep the music coming quicker.
"I want it to be something that you can't predict. If some people like certain songs, and they didn't hear them on this EP, then they might hear them on the next. I need it to be ever-changing and interesting to me, for me to care about it. But in my music there needs to be some overarching theme that carries across over everything – just whatever it's wrapped in is different."
Ever-changing is what listeners get when it comes to RINSE, with every record showcasing new influences and production methods. "The last EP was a more collaborative effort than I've done before. I just did every song with a different person. A few were with my friend Jeremy who lives in America. We went upstate in New York, up past Woodstock.
"He has a house up there, we went up for a week and recorded five or six songs. Two of them are on the EP. He's an amazing guitarist, he plays lots of the guitar, and helped with production and programming.
"I came from a world of seeing these bands where one person writes all the music, and I thought I had to be the same – but I just found so much more inspiration and life in working with other people, and I'll definitely continue that way."
While RINSE prefers to flip the script and push the boundaries of listener expectations, there are some philosophies that extend to the band's entire output.
"I think most great songs have to sound good stripped back on one instrument – on a guitar, on a piano, and singing. To me, that's when you know it will sound even better with production and everything else around it. But the core needs to be strong enough to shine through.
"There's a big difference between writing music and writing songs. I mean, I'm not good at playing instruments. I'm average at a few things, and I can only play the songs I've written. I'm not attracted to, you know, jamming with a bunch of people. I'm only really interested in writing songs."
Though his tastes and influences tend to stretch to the '80s and '90s, Joe constantly looks for the best in music from all times. "I discovered this old Australian band a while back called Single Gun Theory – they're one of the best new things I've found. Severed Heads as well – another Oz band.
"I'm not really influenced much by anything that's new. I think that's part of my reason for doing RINSE – I'm not hearing anything that I really want to hear. So if I'm not hearing that, then I'm going to make it myself. Gary Numan, Tubeway Army – that’s some of the best s#!t ever. The synths are so tough."
By avoiding the easy road of writing for the masses, it can make a career in music an uphill battle unless you set yourself apart. Artists facing challenges like automation and absurd touring costs are identifying, and championing, what makes the human element and live experience so vital.
"It's a tough thing. We did that show, and we're like 'what do we do now? We just play again?' That's coming from a place where, with Hatchie, we've toured America so many times now, where you can drive for an hour and play a different city where there's a brand-new crowd.
"You can't really do that [in Australia]. For me, that's very difficult, because I just want to go on tour and play a bunch of places – but we don't have that infrastructure here. We mainly have shows on Thursday to Saturday in Australia. It's hard to have people show up in the middle of the week for a smaller band. But in America, you can go out on a Tuesday, and loads of people will be there."
When pressed on who he'd like to tour and work with, Joe mentioned diverse inspirations. "I mean, Primal Scream. . . Filter's playing soon. I used to cover a Filter song in RINSE, 'Take A Picture'. That song rules. Echo & the Bunnymen, New Order or Depeche Mode. All those obvious ones.
"Beach Fossils – I love their new record. Yves Tumor. . . Blur are one of my favourite bands, I'd love to play with them. The Voidz. Julian Casablancas was half the reason I started playing music.
"With a producer, I know what I want – it's about finding the right people who are into the same things. Harriette (Hatchie) and I have done writing sessions where we've worked with people who just know us from our name, but they've never listened to us properly before. We'd write the song and go 'we're never going to use this'."
After seeing the music world from both independent and label representation, Joe's perspective on the industry offers plenty for new bands to note.
"I think there's so much pressure now on starting these Instagrams, making these posts – making everything seem amazing. But in terms of it being real, nobody's really coming to shows, or going to remember you if you disappear for a year or two and make a record, if everything's surface level.
"It's really important to create an organic, grassroots crowd of people who care about your music, and for it to be tangible. They come to your shows, buy your merch or records, and you need to be able to care about these people – and not be some flavour of the month.
"I'm doing that thing in a new city now. Getting back to seeing as many shows as I can, meeting and connecting with people – and not caring so much about streams."
When it comes to what's next for RINSE, Joe and the band continue to focus on the records, building things up in Melbourne, and strengthening the local scene. "I get to draw the line further back with RINSE. I'm not changing myself to fit any pigeonholes here. I made music for triple j for years, and I'm not doing that again. It didn't make me happy.
"I'd be happy with some kid discovering me in 10 or 20 years, and to be his cool lil secret he's obsessed with, just like I used to do with bands I found growing up. I'd rather be that kind of artist at this point.
"The fact is, performing music isn't forever. You'll probably end up stopping at some point, so all you can try to do is be proud of what you've accomplished – making music the way you want to make it and being able to hold a bunch of records you made in your hands someday and being proud of them all."
As for where you can catch RINSE next, it's safe to expect things sooner rather than later, with a Melbourne Christmas gig in the works. "I'm not going home for Christmas.
"So, I'm thinking of organising a fun Christmas show with a bunch of friends. Maybe Harriette (Hatchie) will play, and some others. I want it to be a gig where you don't just leave or go home after the show – I want people to watch all the bands, hang out and dance all night. Like an office Christmas party, but for bands. We'll see."
