Announced in August, UNIFY Gathering have released yet another bumper line-up of quality alternative and heavy acts for their return in 2022 with Australian punk-rock band Short Stack making the bill alongside headliners The Amity Affliction and Violent Soho.
Signing with UNFD back in March after a six-year hiatus, Short Stack is back with a heavier sound that is sure to make old fans as well as new ones scramble to see their set at Tarwin Meadows in January.Lead singer and guitarist Shaun Diviney expresses his excitement to play music to an actual live audience as well as going to a festival again, after the global events of the last 18 months and having to reschedule their own national tour on multiple occasions.
"[Being able to play UNIFY Gathering] is crazy. It's absolutely mental," Shaun declares.
"We had a bucket list, and UNIFY is something we have really wanted to do. Aside from that, getting signed with UNFD and putting out an album were our main bucket list items.
"We feel so grateful, appreciated and humbled," Shaun adds, regarding the excitement fans have had for their comeback. "I feel a bit unworthy. We are blown away every time."
Comparative to their older hits like 'Planets', the three-piece have kept to their roots while exploring raw, head-banging worthy tracks via their 2021 singles 'Live4' and 'Burn You Down'.
Breaking their hiatus with 'Burn You Down' in March this year, a track manifesting authentic frustration via its lyrics, combined with hard-hitting breakdowns and electronic-flavoured production added to the mix, the progression in their music is a reflection of their growth since they disbanded in 2015.
Shaun says other bands like Architects and Bring Me The Horizon are some of the main influences to their current sound.
"The music that we've always wanted to put out was similar to what we were listening to at the time. It felt like a natural progression," he says.
"We have a home studio. . . so we started the demos at home then we would just record live drums, flesh out the guitars and vocals in the proper studio.
"We worked with Stevie Knight [producer for Stand Atlantic, The Dead Love]. He knew exactly what we wanted to do. We showed him what we wanted to sound like and he did an amazing job."
With the potential for Short Stack to return to the stage with the big hair and eyeliner they sported in their early days, Shaun mentions the possibility they may play new music at UNIFY Gathering.
"I looked so cool. It's so funny, as the further away we are from [the early 2010s] the cooler I think [the look] is.
"I know for the rest of my life, I can never make fun of my kids for anything that they wear, ever,” Shaun laughs, talking about how he cannot wait to show his children what he looked like back in the day, before discussing new music.
"Hopefully we will have a single released before UNIFY. We are hoping for an album by early next year as well."
Alongside new music, there'll also be fan favourite tracks like 'Sway, Sway Baby!' they'll add to their festival set list.
"['Sway, Sway Baby!'] is my favourite song to play. It's the song that people know the most. Every time is super fun to play, and it's easy too."
UNIFY Gathering 2022 takes place at Tarwin Lower (South Gippsland) 20-23 January.
UNIFY Gathering 2022 Line-up
The Amity AfflictionViolent Soho
Alpha Wolf
Banks Arcade
Bugs
Bloom
Dream On Dreamer
Gravemind
The Last Martyr
Ocean Grove
Plini
Pridelands
RedHook
Short Stack
Starve
Stepson
Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers
Teenage Joans
Thornhill
To Octavia
WAAX
Wildheart
Yours Truly
Plus more to be announced
Short Stack 2022 Tour Dates
Thu 16 Jun - The Cambridge (Newcastle)Fri 17 Jun - Basement (Canberra)
Sat 25 Jun - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
Thu 30 Jun - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Fri 1 Jul - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Fri 8 Jul - The Croxton (Melbourne)
Sat 9 Jul - The Croxton (Melbourne)
Fri 15 Jul - Max Watts (Sydney)
Sat 16 Jul - Max Watts (Sydney)
Sun 17 Jul - Max Watts (Sydney)
Wed 20 Jul - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thu 21 Jul - The Gov (Adelaide)
Sat 23 Jul - Astor Theatre (Perth)
