dust are part of a new wave of Australian bands heading out way, twisting post-punk narratives in a very distinctive way. Absorbing everything from Joy Division to Iceage into their DNA, the band’s shimmering, sub-zero electronics add a frosted, almost marbled aspect to their sound. Hailing from Newcastle in New South Wales, the band first met at one of the city’s many all-ages DIY shows. Recalling the moment to CLASH, singer Justin Teale recalls his youth in nearby country spot Maitland, the sort of town where “if you’re not playing football, and you’re playing music… you’re a loser,” he grimaces.
There’s a real outsider spirit within dust. It’s hard to classify them – much brighter in tone than the Brixton Windmill school in this country, they’re nonetheless a million miles from the current Australian punk gold-rush. “We wouldn’t be where we are without the people in Newcastle,” he points out. “Even though it doesn’t receive too much attention, there are always gigs happening, and the community there work hard to make shows happen. It’s getting harder to play shows there – as a lot of the venues are shutting down – but people have been putting a lot of cool DIY shows on, and there still pockets of bands and other artists that play there that are fresh.”
Able to work without the confines of a big city scene around them, dust have let their idiosyncrasies pour out. Debut EP ‘et cetera, etc.’ was released back in March, and made an immediately impression – precocious songwriting with a distinctive sense of atmosphere, the five-piece took “the first batch of songs we ever wrote” to band mate Adam Ridway’s farm, working alongside producer Wade Keighran.
“The studio process was super smooth, everything came together really easily and there was no pressure around us,” the singer comments. “Wade Keighran quickly became our biggest influence and guide to help us become a band… he’s a very smart guy, and has been around so many different kinds of music – man of many stories as well!”
With single ‘Joy (Guilt)’ becoming a real breakout moment in their native Australia, dust were invited to join Interpol’s next world tour. A celebration of the New York band’s second album ‘Antics’, the shows took dust to Europe for the first time, including London’s fabled Alexandra Palace. While Justin was particularly keen to visit Dublin – mainly to have his photo taken at the Phil Lynott statue – it’s clearly a massive moment for the fast-rising band.
“It’s all the feelings meshed into one, something you can’t really explain,” he gasps. “I feel like an opportunity like that for a band like us is pretty uncanny… we feel so honoured to be a part of this anniversary to an album that had so much influence and shift in music. To see the production and what goes into a band like that is really interesting to watch… we also take a lot of influence of those guys just by watching them every night, very nice dudes as well.”
Left to their own devices on the tour bus, Justin has been soaking up some archive Elliot Smith releases, while dust never miss a chance to hit the cinema no matter which city they’re in. “The emotions and expression a film can give you is something we really try to achieve in our music, we’re also very influenced of film scores and music we find in films. I also love seeing shots and images in films where it just stabs you in the heart.”
Closing by shouting out a few of their Newcastle peers – Feel The Pain, Poltergeist 9000, Pink Carnations, e4444e in particular – Justin Teale finishes by vowing to return when dust have completed their debut album. “We go back into recording when we get home,” he states. “Can’t wait.”
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Words: Robin Murray
Photo Credit: Charlie Hardy
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