Exclusive: Stream Suburban Haze's new EP ahead of its release this Friday

Suburban Haze occupy a space somewhere between the likes of The Pixies and Fugazi, with some Buckley and Nick Cave thrown in for good measure. The Newcastle-based four-piece this week follow up the release of their previous EP The Lost with an excellent new six-tracker, It Will Never Happen, due for release this Friday on Spit The Dummy Records. They've given us a cheeky advance stream, which you can tuck into below, with some track annotations below that, and a couple of homecoming launch shows happening this coming weekend.

Competition: Suburban Haze have kindly offered up 3x vinyl copies of their EP for you to win, simply EMAIL US with SUBURBAN HAZE in the subject header, and your address in the body to go in the draw.

Bed Keep Me

This was the first song we wrote for the album and certainly determined the direction we took with the rest of the record. I think to date this is the song that best represents what we do as a band. Dealing with themes of depression, specifically the effects of insomnia and how it affects a person's mental state. The song moves between jangly clean guitars and uplifting distorted guitars with choral vocals. The song also features a guest spot from Self Defense Family's Pat Kindlon in the bridge.

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So many of those in authority positions are just using those positions to take advantage of people. This song is basically about fuckwits who somehow end up in positions of power. Noodling clean guitars and orchestral synth take the main stage on this heavily new-wave inspired song. Keeping a consistent tempo throughout allowing the listener to get lost in the groove of the song.

Roam

Seeing close friends struggle with addiction can be a sobering experience. This song is about watching the joy of taking recreational drugs turn in to something more sinister and the inability to pull people out of downward spirals. Taking on an Americana influence, this song works its way through a minor sounding country riff before building to an epic end section.

Every Frame A Scribble

This song is based on those people who look out only for themselves and don't care about what happens to other people. Apply it to pretty much whoever you want - the affluent, religious figures, Beans from Even Stevens... Anyone! A primarily instrumental song, Every Frame A Scribble takes from all the influences of the previous songs to create an almost post-rock seven minute song. The song has a large focus on dynamics containing both the quietest and loudest sections on the record.

Snakeskin Suit And Tie

Written while working a meaningless and brainless job, this song is just venting the frustrations of soul-sucking work. I hate this "you need to have a job" rhetoric that gets around in Australia, when we are approaching the age of automation it seems outright stupid to be clinging to the dated idea. When stacking shelves my main thought focus was "I could be doing so many more important things but here I am". When the robot uprising happens I'm placing my bets on the robots. Opening on gentle finger picking the song works its way into a chaotic noise section before moving into an extended jam. Featuring guest vocals from Gay Paris' Luke Monks the song becomes one of the more straight forward rock songs on the EP.

Kodachrome Kids

Sort of like cat-fishing everyone you know. On the internet you can be anyone you want to be, and set up exactly how people see you. It's amazing seeing how much effort people put into appearing a certain way on social media. My attempts to come across as a gigantic fish who plays table tennis have unfortunately not been very successful as I have had trouble getting past the Facebook censors. Again taking on the dynamic range found throughout the rest of the EP, Kodachrome Kids sets itself apart by having organ take the lead role throughout the verses (our friends beat up old organ that we had to pitch-shift to keep in tune). Kodachrome Kids ends the recording with gang vocals through the chorus and subtle experimentation throughout the entire track.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

THU 7 APR – THE HAMILTON STATION, NEWCASTLE NSW w/ Safe Hands, Introvert, and Caveman (Free, 18+)

FRI 8 APR – THE DRONE, NEWCASTLE NSW w/ Dog Act, Introvert, and Jacob & Altai ($5, AA)

Follow Suburban Haze: FACEBOOK / BANDCAMP