dust, the fast-rising alt-punk outfit today announce their debut EP etcetera, etc out March 29 with the drop of their latest single ‘Ward 52’.
Channelling the eccentricity of Injury Reserve and Jockstrap, on ‘Ward 52’ dust present a more insular purview of their experiences, in contrast to ‘The Gutter’’s furious commentary on class division and socio-cultural power imbalances. The out-of-body experience of being confronted with your own mortality is captured here through shrieking saxophone, throbbing bass and erratic percussion. In ‘Ward 52’, dust attempt to make sense of that mind-state, from the daily consideration of your physical ability to complete what was otherwise second nature – basic human function – against the often invisible, cerebral combat of pushing past fear.
Speaking of the single, vocalist Justin Teale shares, “I wrote the lyrics to ‘Ward 52’ over 6 months while washing dishes at my parent’s café. Processing a year of health complications, I tried to encapsulate different stages and experiences during my treatment and the idea of mortality and sickness. It was my first time detailing a personal experience through lyrics, I had the melody and a rough structure floating in my head whilst working and would think about encounters and situations and make lyrics in my head.”
‘Ward 52’ arrives on the heels of dust’s recent announcement of signings across Kanine Records (Grizzly Bear, Chairlift) internationally, Rad Music Management (Hockey Dad, Bad//Dreems), Select Music (Baker Boy, Lime Cordiale, Ruby Fields) for ANZ bookings and X-Ray Touring (Gorillaz, Phoebe Bridgers, The Chats) for international bookings across the UK and Europe.
Formed against the backdrop of the pandemic in 2020, the project of Awabakal land / Newcastle-based dual guitarist-vocalists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale, bassist Liam Smith, guitarist and saxophonist Adam Ridgway, and drummer Kye Cherry, dust offer an invigorating new take on Australian post-punk: progressive, catchy, and irresistible. Just as artistically motivated by the fragmented, free-genre steps of Yung Lean and Burial, merging experimental jazz and electronica into a sound as immediate and bashert as Inhaler and Violent Soho.
In the time since, the group have gathered at every chance available to sharpen their intricate sound, delivering a furiously intoxicating live show to fans across NSW’s east coast most recently at Mountain Goat Valley Crawl with previous appearances at BIGSOUND, This That, support slots with Bad//Dreems, Eliza & The Delusionals, RAAVE TAPES, Towns, Pist Idiots, Party Dozen, CLAMM, VOIID and soon a continental tour of the UK and Europe this April supporting Hockey Dad. See all upcoming tour dates for dust below as they firmly set their sights on a contemporary answer to their hometown’s historic origins.
Sat 4 Mar – Sideways – Ngunnawal Land / Canberra
Sat 11 Mar – The Servo Truck Food Bar – Dharawal Land / Port Kembla
Sat 18 Mar – The House of Music & Booze – Gadigal Land / Sydney
Fri 24 Mar – The Hamilton Station Hotel – Awabakal Land / Newcastle
Sat 25 Mar – Vic On The Park – Gadigal Land / Sydney
Sun 26 Mar – The Lass O’Gowrie Hotel – Awabakal Land / Newcastle