Death By Denim On “Moonbow”

Perth’s favourite indie four-piece Death by Denim are set to release their forthcoming sophomore album Moonbow out tomorrow. Death by Denim have also announced they have signed a deal with ADA/Warner Music Australia.

Moonbow is a dynamic leap from their hugely successful debut album Sleepless and Sunkissed, packed full of rich melody and lyrics that pull you in all directions. The band delivered the first glimpses of what to expect from the album with 2021 hits Small World, Cause A Scene and Feels Like Fiction and they did not disappoint. To celebrate the release of Moonbow, Death by Denim are hitting the road on a National tour in March-April and Mark McGowan cannot stop them getting their album to the masses. Hi Fi Way caught up with the band to find out more about their new album out tomorrow.

How is the build up to the release of your album Moonbow?
As Ronan Keating once famously said: “life is a roller coaster, just got to ride it.”, and in this instance it rings painfully true. We have unrestrainable excitement and anticipation, blended with the underlying and ominous static of existential anxiety, and sprinkled with a touch of nihilistic laissez-faire shananganism.

Were you surprised with how quick the band came up with a follow up?
Not surprised at all! We are constantly writing and sharing ideas to stay inspired and with tours getting cancelled it simply allowed us to jam out the forever increasing and evolving music we have created.

How hard has the last 12-18 months been for the band to make music?
It has been very difficult at times in the last 12-18 months to gather in the same room to create music and jam out our ideas due to the pandemic. We were always so productive when we were able to though as we valued each other’s time and the creative process so much that it made us very productive.

Has it been weird to have the benefit of time to work on finishing another album?
I wouldn’t say it’s been weird so much as it has been irregular and frankly a little exhausting. With the luxury of time comes the paradox of choice, where we have vast amounts of time – and therefore creative freedom – to craft a piece of work that in its essence is meant to be a cohesive and exemplary snapshot of who we are as musicians, only to find ourselves not recording for months and having to re-immerse ourselves back into the musical zeitgeist of this Frankenstein’s monster that we have created. However, we couldn’t be happier with how this album turned out but we all agree that a solid, elongated and concentrated stint in the studio would be the way to go next time.

Do you think the death by denim sound has changed much between albums?
Let me put it this way; if our last album is a Black Forest Gateau, then this new album is A Biscoff Caramel Cheesecake. It’s significantly less dense and complex, but just as – if not more – delicious, leaving an addiction-like craving for more after the last bite.

What are the go to albums that get the band feeling inspired?
We each have such a diverse taste in music which hopefully can be heard in our own songs. Here is a very long eclectic list of albums that have inspired us either individually or loved equally across the whole band:

Matt Corby- Rainbow Valley
Todd Terje – It’s Album Time
Julia Holter – Have You in My Wilderness
Kanye West- 808 and Heartbreaks
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes- What Kinda Music
Tears for fears – Shout
The Weeknd – After Hours
Silk Sonic – A Night With Silk Sonic
Tame impala – Currents
DMA’s – The Glow
Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Idles- Ultra Mono

Are there plans for more music this year?
I believe that as creative, left-brained nut jobs we always plan to expel music in some way or another; actually coming through on these involuntary musical outbursts in the form of live performance or recording is another story entirely. I guess only time will tell if our neurons align enough during this tourney of our gracious sun to create something that can be perceived as not completely destructive to the human eardrum.

Are you feeling more optimistic about more regular touring this year?
It’s mixed feelings in the band due to the uncertainty of everything but our overall goal is to stay hopeful and optimistic about being able to do what we love most which is touring and playing shows in every possible place. We will be doing absolutely everything we can to make our album tour go ahead in late March! We simply can’t wait to show our fans our new live show and play these new songs in the flesh for them.

What’s next for Death By Denim?
After uploading our collective consciousnesses to the cloud as NFTs and subsequently becoming multi-trillionaires in a new cryptocurrency called DurryCoin, the boys and I will be finalising the payment on our $700b Lunar Mansion resting on the peak of the Moon’s highest mound, and writing music entirely dedicated to the earth we left behind, it’s endless wars and pandemics, and it’s delicious beers. We are also looking to tour Europe and the US soon.

What’s something that most fans wouldn’t know about the band?
Some interesting facts about us individually are:

George enjoys being an aqua aerobics instructor to the elderly even in the cold early hours of the morning

Nik is a supreme athlete who once upon a time attended an invite only NBA training in China.

Palle is a serious Pool shark.. you really don’t want to play him, he consistently gets flukey shots in.

Hamish loves table tennis- he could once bend the ball around corners when he served.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Connect with Death By Denim
Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter

On tour on the following dates…