New album. New tour. Same debauchery. Dune Rats are back, baby.
If ever a band lived every day like tomorrow was the apocalypse, it's the Brisbane trio – who are almost as well known for their off-stage antics as for their catchy garage rock and punk gems.Being a bunch of hot messes hasn't held them back, though. In fact, it's probably still their biggest catalyst as they hurtle towards their tenth year together. Just maybe, however, there are hints the band are growing up in ways not even they might have expected.
Set for release in late January, third album, 'Hurry Up And Wait', steps into new territory for the group, says bassist Brett Jansch. “Nobody is Peter Pan and stays young forever,” he says.
“Because we write together, we want to write about things we actually give a sh.t about, and when you get a little bit older, your life is changing.
“Not everyone wants to hear another song about cocaine and Scott Greens and sh.t, you know what I mean? I like when albums by bands I love are different and they take it in a new direction.”
The band avoided difficult-second-album syndrome with the wild success of 'The Kids Will Know It's Bullsh.t', which hit number one in the ARIA charts upon its January 2017 release, but such a lofty achievement isn't taken too seriously in the Dune Rats camp. “Different album, different things,” Jansch says.
“It was rad that that album went to number one, but let's see how this one goes. I think the songs are way better on this one than the last one. That's not to say the last one was sh.t, but it's just the evolution of the band and not trying to fall back on the same way to write a tune or the same things to write about.
"We're pretty psyched. It's taken a long time; we finished recording at the end of January this year and I'm f...ing psyched about how it turned out.”
The band took time out to record with long-time friend and collaborator James Tidswell of Violent Soho on production duties. “It was probably one of the most laid-back recordings we've ever done,” Jansch says.
“We wrote the songs pretty quickly, then when we went to record, we went to the Grove, which is a studio at the Central Coast in New South Wales. It's a place where you live there and record there as well, so we were constantly churning the album over and getting it done, while we were having beers and sh.t. It was a very pleasurable recording experience.”
Dune Rats - QLD cover Dec 2019
With a large and loyal following built from years of criss-crossing Australia and putting in serious mileage overseas, the band is in a solid position to capitalise with 'Hurry Up And Wait'. The record pays homage to the group's whirlwind touring life and associated excesses, among other strange and wonderful tales.
And while they may be a little older they aren't necessarily that much wiser, recently telling triple j of the story behind latest single 'Crazy' being one of the excess and indulgence they have become (in)famous for. “'Crazy' is one of our heavier songs that we wrote over in LA when we were surrounded by a lot of excess,” singer Danny Beus said.
“Everyone is doing anything and everything because it's available, whether it's taking drugs, eating sh.tty food or being surrounded by technology. All this stuff at the end of the day, whilst awesome at the time, doesn't leave you any better off even if it feels that way in the moment.
“We didn’t set out to make a big album, or a polished album, or an album about partying because the last one did alright, or an album not about partying because we want to get away from that. It’s just writing about different stuff in our lives. It was always just going to be Dunies.”
Following a European jaunt, the trio are hitting the road for an Australia tour starting in late February, taking in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne with support from Ruby Fields, Northern Beaches indie-rockers Dear Seattle, and Wollongong three-piece Totty. “[Europe has] been a blast; such a good time,” Jansch says.
“It hasn't been that real relentless touring like in the past when we've done 30 shows in 2 months in the UK or the States. We've kind of just been blagging through cities we've loved and the shows have been really, really fun.
“[Back home], I hope people can get there early and check out Totty, and stay the whole night. The whole night will be full of enjoyable music and good times, and stepping up into venues of that size will be awesome for us. Hopefully that means 3,000 people having a good time, so I hope it's a great place for people to get loose and sing-along.”
'Hurry Up And Wait' is set for release 31 January.
Dune Rats 2020 Tour Dates
Sat 29 Feb - Thebarton Theatre (Adelaide)
Sun 1 Mar - Metro City (Perth)
Fri 6 Mar - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
Sat 7 Mar - Big Top Luna Park (Sydney)
Sun 8 Mar - Festival Hall (Melbourne)
