Melbourne four-piece The Groundswell follows up some big shows with a new single that will definitely make your playlist.
Let’s be honest: there are a lot of bands. Like, a lot. How could you possibly keep up with it all, let alone find your new favourites?
Well, one method would be to take a look at their track record and see if they’re kicking goals. For example, let’s say a band sold out their very first show at the Worker’s Club, then sold out The Evelyn, the Gershwin and basement rooms at The Espy, supported Jessica Mauboy and toured with The Rions. That might indicate they are worth a look.
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Funnily enough, a band did do exactly all of that, and they’re a Melbourne indie rock four-piece called The Groundswell.
Their new single Stuck is out now and it’s a great starting point to get acquainted with these young rockers. We caught up with band members Archie Scally and Ben Heinze to learn more about the band’s beginnings, their quick rise and what the future holds for them.
“We’ve kind of been gigging for about a year and a half now,” explains vocalist and guitarist Archie. “We’re four best mates who went to school together and in our final year of high school, we were in lockdown but lived a street away from each other and started making demos and jamming, so it felt natural coming out of lockdown to give it a crack.”
The ‘giving it a crack’ that Archie humbly mentions was a sold-out first show at the Worker’s Club – no small achievement for a band that previously didn’t exist.
“That was insane. We followed that up with a festival called Back to Base in Mildura, which had us opening up for Jessica Mauboy which was pretty cool, and we’ve been in the studio all year recording an EP that we’ll possibly release later on in the year.”
The first hint of what this new EP may sound like comes in the form of the band’s latest single Stuck, an evocative song about the passionate throes of young romance and its troubles. Inspired by travelling and falling in love, the song has a sound from a time much older than the average band member’s age.
Recorded at Aviary Recording Studio in Abbotsford, the track features nostalgic guitar tones pulled straight from the ’70s and a sense of space that bands usually take years to perfect. “We’ve found our sound a bit more, especially in the last two songs we’ve released. We think we’ve found a new, individual sound.”
“We try not to lock ourselves into a definitive genre, but at this stage we seem to have a broad appeal which is working for us,” adds Ben, the group’s bass player.
“The songs we are working on now have a stark difference to the things we’ve already released.”
The Groundswell’s older material was self-recorded and produced; however, with Stuck and the forthcoming EP, a producer, Fraser Montgomery (Allen Stone, Bumpy, Ash Grunwald), has been added into the mix.
“Our producer has definitely helped refine our sound. We’re not insane gearheads, but when we went into the studio, it really opened our eyes about how you can take songs to the next level by focussing on guitar tones and things like that. Our guitarist loves the Eagles and ’60s rock n’ roll, but we all listen to different music from War on Drugs to Silverchair and stuff like that. We love it all.”
The group played their last headline show for a while at the Prince Bandroom on the day this interview took place, but from there, it’s time to buckle down and finish off the new EP.
“We’re going to drop a few singles off the EP throughout the year and will definitely play some more gigs. It’s been exciting – now that we have the EP together and are sold on how we want to do it, it’s just about developing the roadmap. We are looking at some big things for next year, which will hopefully include a little tour as well.”
The Groundswell’s new single, Stuck is out everywhere now. To keep up with all of the band’s latest work, head here.
This article was made in partnership with The Groundswell.
