The second half of 2026 will belong to Western Australian indie rockers Figurehead, as they prepare to release their next batch of new music.
Figurehead have spent the past few months writing, recording, and "getting their ducks in a row" before embarking on the next chapter of the band.
Starting the year with single 'Shotgun', Figurehead have followed up with their latest track 'Heart Like A Sunset'. "It's a break-up song and it's a danceable song," vocalist Joe Caddy says.
"It's kind of like a cathartic release in a sticky situation like that because break-ups can be difficult. This song is highlighting how important it is to be honest as well as kind and sensitive during those rough relationship breakdowns.
"It's got that bubblegum-pop quality to it, so you have to look a little bit deeper past the initial sound of the song and hear the lyrics to get the full scope of what it's about.
"It's for people to see themselves or hear themselves in this tune; it's a pretty universal topic, but sometimes hearing someone's personal words about something so universal can ring true."
'Shotgun' and 'Heart Like A Sunset' represent Figurehead at the pinnacle of their creativity after more than ten years as a band.
A personnel change in 2023 solidified the band's line-up, allowing them to refine their particular sound and style of songwriting. "We've definitely found our stride in the past couple of years," Joe says.
"Everything we've done has been really good, but we've got our pace and we've found a process that really works that's more efficient. When I joined in 2019, it was a pretty big shift for the band, so some of that older stuff is like the prequel to what we've become.
"Everyone in the band's musical journey stretches even further back past ten years. We're really maturing in our sound, and you can hear that."
One of Western Australia's more consistent forces in indie rock in recent times, Figurehead have earned a formidable reputation from the studio – where Joe can precisely attend to every detail – to the stage, where the band comes alive.
"I love the live aspect of being a musician because we have Ross [Mace, bassist] and Declan [John, guitarist] who have these awesome parts they've come up with, and they stick to those parts, which allows me and Josh [Fairweather, guitarist] to really play with the tunes live," he says.
"Every show feels quite different. There's a fair amount of improvisational elements, so I never really know what to expect. It becomes this beautiful chaos, and the live energy is quite chaotic.
"We're always jumping around and I'm pretty clumsy with mic stands – there's always some chaotic visual element going on as well; and the people really get behind the tunes. We have some choruses in the set that people just love to sing, which is really validating."
Joe says there a handful of Figurehead shows coming up on the horizon. "Everyone in the [local] music scene at the moment are a good time to be around – sink some pool, sink some bevvies – and there are some great venues in Perth to do that as well.
"There are so many great little spots where everyone feels like bit of a community."
Figurehead 2026 Tour Dates
Sun 26 Apr - Rock For A Reason @ Indian Ocean Hotel (Perth)
Fri 12 Jun - Live And Local @ Gage Roads (Fremantle)* supporting The Vanns
