Premiere: Meet Melbourne's Lupine, who share a new single/video, Bottomless

Premiere: Meet Melbourne's Lupine, who share a new single/video, Bottomless

After a break-out year, the band are putting the cherry on top of 2019 with one last track.

Header image by Tai Denzel Truong.

If you came into 2019 not recognising Melbourne-based outfit Lupine, then you wouldn't be alone. At the tail-end of last year, they shared their debut single - Tell-Tale Heart, a punchy and warm display of sound-introducing garage-rock - and the time since has blossomed into somewhat of a break-out twelve months for the band, supporting names like Local Natives and Lime Cordiale amongst shows of their own; quickly paving a name as a new force to Melbourne's live band circuit.

In the 'recorded music' realm, Lupine's looming excitement was reinforced with their second track 1800-MUM-DAD and now, they're making it three from three with a final tease, Bottomless. It's a jangly three-minutes that reinforces the garage-rock sound they introduced on their first two songs; rich guitar work meeting choruses built off strong hook choruses and lyricism that this time around, paint a picture of "reckless love", as the band explains: "Bottomless is essentially a love letter to reckless love, defying convention and of course, coffee," they say on the track.

"It is a love letter to the simple pleasure of sitting with somebody you love and talking about everything and nothing at all. This song was less inspired by other music and more inspired by the Jim Jarmusch film ‘Coffee & Cigarettes’. Listening to it now though I can definitely hear some ‘Ronettes’ influence in the rhythm section of the song." It's nostalgic yet modern and forward-thinking; strong and hard-hitting yet also refined and slick; shaded with DIY haziness, yet also brilliantly clean and polished. Bottomless is one hell of a song, and the perfect introductory point to the Melbourne outfit if you're yet to be acquainted.

Today, we're premiering the single and its official video clip ahead of its greater release this Friday. Directed by Andre Sawenko and Thomas James, the clip is a black-and-white take on the hazy alt-pop tune that brings it to life at Melbourne's Moosa Bar. "Given that the song makes references to coffee and the simple beauty of sitting in a cafe talking about everything and nothing at all, we decided to make a film clip based on the Jim Jarmusch film 'Coffee & Cigarettes'," they explain. "We tried to faithfully recreate settings and scenarios from the film complete with the top-down camera shots and checkered tablecloths whilst simulating conversation to the words of the song."

It's a hell of a watch, so check it out below while you introduce yourself to the band-to-watch in 2020:

Tell us about yourself?

My name is Thomas and I’m the lead singer and guitarist of Melbourne-based five-piece Lupine. Lupine started as a solo project but then turned into a band when I asked high school friends - Lily Sawenko (keys), Tom Putland (guitar) Jake Leahy (drums) and Dean Tosis (bass) to join me.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

Everyone in the band has pretty varied and wide-ranging influences which I think comes through in our songs. The vibe varies song-to-song but generally speaking, I think our music could be categorized as alt-pop/garage.

What are your production and writing processes like?

Generally, I’ll construct the skeleton of a song on my own then take it to the rest of the band to develop. We then basically just play it over and over, refining and building on it as we go until we feel it’s ready to play live.

Can you tell us about your new single, Bottomless?

Bottomless is essentially a love letter to reckless love, defying convention and of course, coffee. It is a love letter to the simple pleasure of sitting with somebody you love and talking about everything and nothing at all. This song was less inspired by other music and more inspired by the Jim Jarmusch film ‘Coffee & Cigarettes’. Listening to it now though I can definitely hear some ‘Ronettes’ influence in the rhythm section of the song.

Any tour dates coming up?

Our next show is at Off Tap Fest which is taking place at The Yorkshire Hotel in Abbotsford, Melbourne on Saturday 7 December. We’re in the process of booking some more shows for the rest of summer, so watch this space!

What does the rest of 2019 – and beyond - have in store for you?

We’re currently planning for the new year - we’ll be releasing another single and music video followed by an EP early in 2020. We’re working on a lot of new material at the moment that we’re really excited about, so there will definitely be more recordings in the not too distant future as well as more live shows!

Where can we find more of your music?

Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp.

Follow Lupine: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM

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