Melbourne's Nicoteenagers have achieved a lot in the few years since their inception.
Their first release also happened to be a full album titled A Tale for Two in 2019, and their subsequent singles Ravolture, First Time’s A Charm, and Heart In A Hold followed quickly in 2020. Of course, we all remember what happened with the rest of that year, but Nicoteenagers capitalised on the world’s shared downtime, enlisting the help of Alain Johannes (QOTSA, PJ Harvey, Eleven, Desert Sessions) for the single What Are We Missing Here?
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
“Coming out of COVID was pretty sick…pretty sick, what a weird choice of words,” laughs frontman Drew Gardner. “We probably wouldn’t have been able to work with Alain if COVID wasn’t a thing because he was just kind of bumming around doing nothing.”
Gardner explains why Johannes was at the top of the band’s wishlist. “I wanted his sound; he has such an individual personality in everything he touches. I grew up on QOTSA, but as I got older, I realised the things I liked about them was what Alain was pulling into it.”
The result is a driving track that is as close as any local group has ever come to replicating the swagger of QOTSA. Nicoteenagers and Alain perfectly blended their individual styles to create a unique sound that is deathly attractive.
Drew describes Crawl as an anthem for the misfits, which is a group the band includes themselves in. “We grew up together in high school before we were a band, and we were the kids in school who didn’t really have a spot. I wanted this song to be an anthem for people who feel like they don’t have a place because they do have a place. The Nicoteenagers has always been that for us, so I want it to be that place for a lot of other people who feel like they are a little out of sorts.”
The new single from the Nicoteenagers, Crawl, will be released on May 5, and you can catch the band for the single launch at the Leadbeater Hotel in Richmond on May 20.
This article was made in partnership with Nicoteenagers.
