Hurst walk us through their new EP, sadface

"The six tracks from sadface. are a loud execution of that internal conflict I face with the hope that these songs would remind me to pursue real joy, regardless of what’s happening around me or to me… simply put, I penned these lyrics to give myself a reason to get out of bed and kick life in the head and keep creating. The boys and I worked to create something raw, punchy and exhilarating… despite all things, we created fun from sad things." Written by Hurst's lead vocalist Ana Veira, the quote really sums up the Sydney-based rock group's second EP perfectly. It's loud and abrasive rock and roll that is, at times, quite personal and emotion-driven yet still accessible and fun, punching guitar and percussion that swerve between raw and gritty to infectious and replayable - often on the same track.

Inspired by the 90s rock nostalgia of acts like The Pixies and Nirvana, Hurst combine this feel with a more pop-friendly edge, ending up somewhere between the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Paramore - a pretty damn sweet spot if you ask me. sadface., their second EP, showcases this perfectly over its six tracks, and to celebrate its release a bunch of NSW tour dates the band are doing over the next few months, we got the crew to dissect the EP's inner-meanings and creation in a tidy track-by-track. Check it all out below.

01. Rattle Kids

Rattle Kids was the first track written long before the other five and it set the trajectory for our sound for sadface. It was only fitting to have it as track one. This one's about not worrying about maturity and having it all together. I think maturity can be found in security in who you are and owning it. So make it count.

02. Purple & Green

Purple & Green resemble the colours of bruises and so this track is a confession that I’m not okay, I’m feeling super vulnerable and whilst it doesn’t make sense why, I do believe that there will be something good, a silver lining, that’s waiting on the other side of it. The music has this itching tension that opens up in the choruses, it perfectly describes my brain state.

03. Conversation

This one's kind of tongue-in-cheek for me, I suck at maintaining focus in conversations so the message is simple, “Don’t tell me anything valuable because I’m not listening”.

04. Metaphysical

Our drummer Nick first came up with the chord progression, I recorded him strumming it out on my phone and spent a good while working out melodies and lyrics that sat well with the vibe we wanted. It’s the little things in this song that really make it for me, like Jake’s alternate guitar lines and the asymmetrical structure. We did a lot of things different here, and I’m living for it.

05. Margins

Margins is our most pop-punk influenced song, it’s also been one of our favourites live because of the high energy chorus. I love the little builds in this track and that the vocals are more melodic and sweet.

06. Colourful Misfits

The four of us were hanging out in Newtown once and rocked up to a random punk gig. When we walked in everyone kind of stared at us like we were outsiders. I hadn’t felt out of place like that in a really long time, but once the band started we all kind of meshed together and it didn’t matter who was who. We were all moshing and stirring trouble, and it was the most fun we’ve had in a long while. We wanted to capture the energy of that night in the song, it needed to be high energy and unpolished, it took about 40 different guitar solo takes until we settled with one we were happy with.

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