A Brisbane band still in their formative stages, having only released their debut single, 'River To The Bay', last month, Whose Party showcase quality instrumentation and potent lead vocals that herald them as a group with the potential to explode on a national level.
Whose Party's debut live performance also saw them reach the semi-final stage of The Brightside's Battle Of The Bands competition in September, further highlighting their skill level.
With inspiration drawn from likes of The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins, Heart and The White Stripes, Whose Party are maintaining the rage with their sophomore single, 'Dark Inside' – a song exploring the tension between authenticity and belonging.
Chunky riffs and a lively rhythm section that bounds with unabashed glee, 'Dark Inside' is grunge alt-rock that grooves hard, luscious alt-pop tones melded to a thrash metal juiciness that's hard to ignore.
Ivy's playful, ethereal vocals also have an hint of grittiness, a glaze of fierce determination slaying your soul.
When that viciously good riff solo arrives two-thirds through, the song amps up several more layers, a swirling sonic mass of thrash, punk-rock and alternative goodness that will give you neck cramps from the relentless head-banging.
"The riff at the start of 'Barracuda' by Heart is so cool and this song started with a riff inspired by that. It was in an odd time signature originally, and we ended up simplifying it," Ivy says.
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (21 November), today scenestr is thrilled to premiere 'Dark Inside'. Enjoy.
"This song came together really quickly because we were lucky to be offered a gig at Black Bear Lodge [22 November], which was a couple months away [at the time]," adds Ivy. "I decided it could be a good deadline for releasing 'Dark Inside'.
"It was quite chaotic and a little unrealistic looking back, but we did it. We were lucky our producer was onboard and it was a great learning experience. We have a lot of music that we'd love to release, and I'm excited that it will only get easier to record it all."
The creative process of 'Dark Inside' also saw the song undergo several variations. "Some parts were changed or even written super last minute, like the bridge, the solo and most of the lyrics," Ivy shares, "but they've become some of our favourite parts. I think we were more creative with it because of the time pressure surprisingly."
A little help from her friends also aided in the song's finished product. "When I finished writing it, I asked my friends for feedback. Only one friend said that maybe the lyrics of the second verse could match the first verse better.
"I forgot about this until it was time to record, and I rewrote almost all the lyrics the day before recording it of course, but I'm glad I did. I'm inspired lately by more abstract writing styles. The meaning of the song is a little complicated and personal, but I hope it provokes thought and brings intensity either way."
Whose Party launch 'Dark Inside' officially at Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane) on 22 November.
