Get to know Sad Hill and their ripping latest track, Mantras For A Failed Academic

Featuring ex-members of Emperors and Coveleski, Sad Hill are a ripping Perth indie-punk trio about to do some really great things for our local rock scene. The three-piece promise to have a big 2018 with the release of their debut album, but before that happens, they've just shared their first single Mantras For A Failed Academic. Perfectly put by triple j's Gemma Pike as "ripsnorting punk rock", Mantras For A Failed Academic brings an energetic punk-rock sound to the limelight, with blazing guitars, frenzied percussion and deep vocals all coming together in the short three-minutes of power. It's a strong debut by a band that promises to be one of Perth's most exciting in 2018, so dive into the track below and get to know the trio a little better before their album arrives next year.

Tell us about yourselves?

Adrian used to play in a criminally under-rated punk band called Coveleski and Dane & I used to play in a criminally over-rated indie rock band called Emperors. We started getting together about a year ago to hang out and write songs. Dane & Adrian hadn’t met before, and I’m proud to have introduced them because I think they’re in love now.

What kinda tunes we talkin’?

The three bands we have a mutual love for are Pup, The Bronx and Weezer (just the first two records obvs) so we try our best to rip them off, but I’m not sure we’re good enough to sound much like any of them. We just try to keep the songs catchy, short and fast… we’re not interested in doing anything more interesting than that.

Production/writing process:

It starts with the three of us entering the rehearsal room armed with beer, self-loathing and enough first world problems to make an Instagram model blush. Adrian does the riffs because he is a guitar lord. I do the singing because nobody else can be fucked. Dane belts the shit out of his drums as only he knows how. Then we go to Blackbird Studio with our friend and bonafide studio-wizard Dave Parkin to record everything and make it sound better.

Can you tell us about your new single, Mantras For A Failed Academic?

You know that moment when you’re freaking out about something and you have to look in the mirror to psych yourself up ‘Boogie Nights’ style? It’s about catching yourself in that moment and realising you’re just a piece of shit and so is everyone else and whatever you’re doing is probably not that important or worth worrying about. The idea of having a Tony Robbins-esque mantra to get you through it amuses me.

Any shows coming up?

No – we’ve been offered a few, but Dane’s been out in the desert doing what sounds like very hard labour on a gold-mining site. So we’ve had to turn them down. However, I’m sure if people keep asking us we’ll do one soon.

What’s the rest of the year have in store?

There are only a couple of weeks left right? When is this being posted? I’m a Promoter and I work for bands so I’ll continue to do that over the holidays. I picture Adrian busting out Dime-Bag Darrell solos while sitting on an inflatable pony in his backyard pool. And as I mentioned, Dane is digging for gold. Hopefully, he returns with a nugget in his pants.

Where can we hear more of your music?

We just have the one song up at the moment. But we have a whole album recorded and that will be out in 2018.

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