Born from the shores of the Illawarra Escarpment in 2020, Dirty Suits is a band shaped and moulded by the likes of The Bad Loves and Hoodoo Gurus, with a sprinkling of Robert Smith magic.
Dirty Suits' brand of bluesy swamp rock cloaked in avant-garde punk has already produced two albums: 2023's 'Where'd Ya Park The Karma!' and 2024's 'Tales From The Swamp'.
Now they're taken the covers of new single,'Blackwater Bay', a bruising song that bubbles and froths, squealing in intensity, biting with an Australiana-flecked blues rock that's equally intoxicating as it is menacing.
A murky, chugging bassline grumbles to life before striking piano chords pierce the soundscape, the spritely art-rock tones melded to earthy, meaty vocals that entwine the senses, sweltering guitar riffage and rollicking, rowdy drumming carrying you along like seething river rapids.
Lyrically, the song details a man's pursuit of his wife, attempting to rescue her from an insidious cult; but is it a salvage operation or something more sinister. . . a kidnapping.
"The story is of a man trying to rescue his wife from a cult," declares Dirty Suits. "The second story is that the man may not be a good person and the wife may not want to be rescued."
Released today (8 August), scenestr is amped to premiere the 'Blackwater Bay' music video, which brings the song's themes to life, which was filmed in Helensburgh, NSW. Enjoy.
Originally the pairing of Matt Ayliffe and Peter Cunnington, Dirty Suits were joined in 2023 by drummer Luke Brooks. "The big decision was to make the shoot from the husband's point of view and then to shoot it from the iPhone 16 Pro Max with a gimbal mount," the band says.
"This medium was chosen to create a semi-realistic scenario of what it would be like to record the rescue of a family member from a cult – with an obvious piss-take on all that stuff."
Dirty Suits have again teamed with directors Clare Manson and Peter Cunnington to bring 'Blackwater Bay' to life. "Amazing to be on my third clip with Dirty Suits," Clare says. "We're fortunate enough to have the best crew from the 'Gong wanting to be involved and making this song come alive.
"The crew embraced the storyline with ease and really can improvise. I'm so grateful to be back with Dirty Suits and the talented crew. Thank you for trusting me with this again.
"Funny story about the shoot: Nothing wild, but coming around the corner of the bush juggling a smoke machine, speaker, and a run sheet (feeling a bit stressed) only to see a bunch of grown men and women wearing black cloaks and laughing amongst themselves. Classic. Stress is gone. On with this ridiculous job."
The songwriting aspect of 'Blackwater Bay' allowed for some spontaneous creativity. "Writing in 5s was a new experience. Clipping the lyric to suit, and finding that makes the song more forward in the verses then can open up for a six chorus was amazing."
Dirty Suits 2025 Tour Dates
Sat 9 Aug - Ryans (Wollongong)Fri 29 Aug - Link and Pin (Central Coast)
Fri 26 Sep - Dissent Cafe Bar (Canberra)
