Premiere: Esperance alt-rock group Car Park Social unveil self-titled debut EP

The regional West Australian four-piece also share a new video today, ahead of an EP launch show tomorrow, February 20th.

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Since catching our attention with a string of singles throughout 2020, Esperance-based alt-rock group Car Park Social have blossomed into an act on the cusp of brilliance in regional Australia. The four-piece bring together influences spread from Tame Impala and King Gizzard to POND and Led Zeppelin for a sound that floats somewhere in between this wide-ranging net, moving between heavier, almost punk-like alt-rock right through to their more subtle and psychedelic-leaning work; their many sides joined together by crafty songwriting at their core.

It's a range that shines on their self-titled debut EP, premiering on Pilerats today ahead of its greater release tomorrow, February 20th. The four-track release encapsulates the heights of Car Park Social as somewhat of an early introduction, proving their knack for fierce alt-rock while also bringing a welcoming moment for anyone who might've not come across it in the past. Recorded in the historic Coolgardie Train Station back in October, Car Park Social is the group hitting their stride - and it's so exciting to see.

Despite its short-yet-sweet four-track duration, Car Park Social seems to represent every facet the group have explored through singles in the past year - as well as routes to perhaps be explored ahead. Songs like Blind welcome the group at their heaviest, capturing the cathartic heart of their work as they shine a light on climate change and the impacts of it on our future. On the other side of things, meanwhile, there are songs like Here Come The Kids, which may have meaning just as important, but is shown in a more subtle and shimmering way.

That urgency present throughout the EP's themes are really the thing that links it all together; Car Park Social being an opportunity for the group to shine a light on the issues affecting them and the world around them through the buoyancy of their sound. Lead single The Captain and the Queen - of which we're also premiering the video to today - continues this, examing internal and external change and the longing affects it has on your surroundings.

The video of that single - which you can watch below - is an ode to where the EP was recorded; Car Park Social seeing the group travel out to Goldfields in regional WA to record at the Coolgardie Railway Station. "We couldn’t have come up with a better creative scenario," says the group on the recording process. "A lock-in session in a historic train station in the middle of the Goldfields, with a bunch of music industry stalwarts leading the way. This EP is about linking regions and forging friendships through the medium of making music."

There's also a launch for the EP happening at Esperance's Cannery Gardens tomorrow (you can find more information on that here), but in the meantime, take a dive into the EP above and the video clip for The Captain and the Queen below, as they both premiere on Pilerats today.