Aussie punk band Clowns have emerged blinking from the wreck of the year 2020 with a new double-A-side single.
The five-piece from Melbourne were locked into worldwide touring to support their fourth album, 2019’s Nature/Nurture.
Their first for Fat Wreck Chords, it included 11 blistering songs ranging from frantic punk to slower, more nuanced, psychedelic-tinged rock.
However, before the band could really roll out their epic touring plans, the global pandemic hit, and the world closed down.
Luckily, Clowns are not one to rest on their laurels and harnessed their solitude to write music.
They recorded a bunch of new songs, with two standing out. The first, Does It Matter?, released in May, is about breaking the law.
Vocalist Stevie Williams said: “We all do it sometimes, and if you say you don’t, then chances are you are a liar or a coward.
“Musically, we wrote this song during lockdown as the world was melting around us.”
Hook heavy
The single is a hook-heavy raucous number that demonstrates the prowess of their current line-up.
The band now comprises Williams, drummer and founding member Jake Laderman, bassist/vocalist Hanny J and guitarists Rod Goon and Cam Rust.
The second A-side, Sarah, completes the release with the kind of sound we’ve come to expect from Clowns: blazing guitars, huge vocals, and infectious melodies.
Williams explains: “Sarah explores the idea of how love can be like a drug. Dizzying highs and soul-destroying lows.
“It can elevate your life to heights you never knew were possible, but can at the same time be life-crushingly addictive.”
New music
Williams adds: “While we feel happy to be living a relatively normal life after our Covid episode, we are still unable to leave Australia and tour.
“We’re using this time as wisely as possible, writing all kinds of new music and playing shows where we can. Expect lots of new tunes until it’s legal for us come to you!”
Clowns’ double-A-side single Does It Matter?/Sarah can be ordered from Fat Wreck Chords HERE.
