With a headlining Australian tour this December and fourth album 'Natural Born Chillers' out in February, The Bennies are set to have an explosive summer.
After the release of 'Wisdom Machine' early last year, that saw their hit ‘Party Machine’ reach the triple j Hottest 100, frontman Anty discusses what’s next for the band.
“We had some songs that we hadn’t finished writing around the time [of 'Wisdom Machine'] so there’s a few of those on the new album. Then it’s just a few other little bangers we’ve written while touring since then.”
The Bennies supported The Living End earlier this year in addition to supporting The Smith Street Band internationally. Anty says that could be considered a quiet year for the band. “We’ve always been busy and felt the need to push things and work a lot. The last year might seem busy for other bands, but for us it’s been a bit of a quiet one.”
Their upcoming tour will feature the crowd favourites, new single ‘Get High Like An Angel’ and some other tracks from the upcoming record. The band is even in the process of selecting the next single.
“The one I like is a bit different from our usual sound. It’s more of a straightforward, punky-rock song. It’s a bit more of a driving pace and we don’t normally do that sort of tempo. But it’ll probably end up being the other [single option].”
To add to their upcoming schedule, the band is already working on a follow-up album.
“We’ve got a few songs down already so it’s looking good. ['Natural Born Chillers'] is really sick but it’s quite short. We really wanted to get those songs out and thought ‘if we do this, let’s put out two albums next year. F@#$, we need to get on it right away.' So we’ve been jamming two or three times a week.”
The Bennies also changed record labels for the upcoming album, joining Pool House Records with The Smith Street Band. “We’re very close to those guys and they’ve always helped us a lot. So it sort of made sense [to make the move].”
The ‘Get High Like An Angel' tour will feature support from The Sugarcanes and The Cutaways. “We’ve always tried our best to keep it quite eclectic. Our music is a bit all over the place, so it’s nice to have a line-up that reflects that.”
As for the tour as a whole, The Bennies are ready to premiere new tracks and remind the country why it loves the band. “We’re f#$%ing keen. We’ve got a fair party planned, so hope people get g’d up!”
Natural Born Chillers is out 2 February.
– written by Joseph John
The Bennies Tour Dates
22 November - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)23 November - Max Watts (Melbourne)
24 November - The Grand (Mornington)
30 November - The Gov (Adelaide)
1 December - Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
2 December - Football Club (Margaret River)
3 December - Mojos (Fremantle)
8 December - Snake Pit, Proud Mary’s (Central Coast)
9 December - Festival Of The Sun (Port Macquarie)
14 December - The Basement (Canberra)
15 December - Manning Bar (Sydney)
16 December - The Triffid (Brisbane)
17 December - Solbar (Maroochydoore)
31 December - Max Watts (Melbourne)
