The Tullamarines Are Back With New Single ‘Lying’

Adelaide’s most lovable overthinkers, The Tullamarines, return with their most emotionally raw and melodically addictive single yet, Lying. Drenched in sunny, 90s pop-inspired instrumentation and layered with lyrical vulnerability, Lying explores the quiet battles with self-worth, performance anxiety, and the masks we wear to get through it all. Underneath jangly guitars and shimmering choruses lies a song that cuts deep tapping into the insecurities that so often accompany the creative process, while still finding light in the chaos. It’s a track that walks the line between melancholy and euphoria, offering catharsis for anyone who’s ever felt not quite good enough, and comfort in knowing they’re not alone.

Following the success of Running On Empty, which earned full triple j rotation and became the station’s most-played song earlier this year, Lying continues the band’s signature approach of tackling internal chaos with warmth, energy, and vulnerability.

Cram four perennial over-thinkers into a Tarntanya/Adelaide jam room, sprinkle in some love, care, anxiety, and affection, and you get The Tullamarines. Josh, Angus, Benny, and Lucinda first connected on the local gig circuit and bonded over their shared love of songwriting. Now a bunch of inseparable nervous wrecks, they bring high-energy catharsis to every live show and track, capturing a unique blend of earnest emotion and fizzy indie-pop optimism. Angus Purvis from The Tullamarines talks to Hi Fi Way about the single.

Another massive year so far, can you believe how well it’s going? It doesn’t seem like that upward trajectory is stopping anytime soon.
Yeah, it’s very crazy. Kind of feels like it’s coming out of nowhere, but it’s very cool. My boss listened to my music and said it was good, so that’s a win! But yeah, we’re all kind of shocked, but very happy about it.

Does it ever feel like you need to pinch yourself? Like, is this really happening?
Yeah, for sure. The best way to visualise it is probably this time last year, when we walked out on stage, things were good, but you didn’t necessarily feel super successful. On our last tour, though, we walked out on stage and people screamed. We were like, “What the hell? What’s going on?” So yeah, it’s very cool.

Congratulations on the new single Lying! I’ve had it on repeat today. What’s the story behind it?
That one was mainly written by Benny, the other guitarist in the band. But as Tullamarines, we all write verses, pick the best ones, and sing what we wrote. The song is about imposter syndrome, which is fitting given where we are now, this newfound success. It’s also about self-worth, not believing in yourself, struggling to love yourself. I think a lot of people our age deal with that, and that’s really the gist of the song.

How does the creative process work for the band? Does it depend on the single or the ideas being brought to the table?
Yeah, it’s very fluid, which makes it a hard question to answer. Some songs come fully written, one person will record everything, send it to the rest of us, and we’ll jam it, adding our own flavor. Other ideas start as old voice notes, we’ll dig up something from two years ago, play around with it, and realise it’s pretty cool. Sometimes, two people catch up, one has an idea but can’t finish it, and that’s where collaboration helps. It’s always changing, but that keeps it fun and exciting. We all came from bands where we were the only songwriter. Having multiple songwriters now means if you’re struggling to crack a song, you have three other people who can help steer it in the right direction. Sometimes, you have one idea but the song ends up being something completely different, something you wouldn’t have thought of on your own and you’re ridiculously happy that someone else saw the potential and took it a new way.

Are you focusing on dropping singles as they’re ready, or building toward a bigger collection, maybe an album?
We’re definitely building toward something, I don’t think we’re allowed to say what just yet! But we have a lot of music banked that’ll be coming out this year, and hopefully even more after that, assuming we haven’t killed each other by then!

Is it tough being in the studio, writing, recording, pulling everything together? Do disagreements happen?
Not really. We’re all a little bit control-freakish, so we each have our own ideas. But usually, the best idea prevails, and when there is a disagreement, it’s a calm conversation. We try everyone’s approach, and by the end, someone has to be brave enough to admit their idea wasn’t great and someone else’s was better. The other three band members are all studio nerds, they love every second of recording, so the energy is always high. Unless we’re tracking drums, that’s boring as hell!

Do you get people saying, “Are you sure you guys are from Adelaide?”
Yeah, quite often! When When Lying premiered on Triple J the other night, one of the hosts accidentally said we were from Melbourne. It’s a funny name for an Adelaide band, but hey, it seems to be working!

Was hearing your song on national radio a huge buzz?
Absolutely, it’s always cool and surreal. When we started the band, we thought, “If we get played just once at 2am on Triple J, that would be a dream come true.” Now they play our music all the time, it’s so silly! Seeing other stations pick it up too, that’s another pinch-me moment.

With the songs you’re working on, are they following a similar path, or will there be some twists and turns, maybe a bit of light and shade to add contrast?
In the past, we’ve mostly just released whatever songs we had at the time. While it all sounds like us, there have definitely been different eras of Tullamarines, times when we’ve gone in one direction, then another. For the music we’re releasing this year, every song has its own identity, but there’s also a strong through-line connecting them.We’ve been trying, and failing, to create that cohesion before, but this time, we really focused on it, and we think we’ve succeeded.

In terms of influences, are there any key ones that everyone in the band gravitates toward?
We’re a mixed bag, we all like very different things. There are definitely things that we appreciate but don’t necessarily gravitate toward. When we started the band, we leaned toward early-to-mid-2000s Australian and British indie bands, Ball Park Music, Jungle Giants, The Wombats. Those are the bands that made us go, “Let’s be in a band together.”

The months ahead are looking pretty big, you’ve got some exciting tours lined up, with Ball Park Music, The Preatures, Old Moves, and Dice, just to name a few. Are you excited?
Yeah, it’s gonna be busy! Our bosses probably aren’t thrilled about it, but we’re keen.
There’s only one way to get good at playing music, and that’s messing it up in front of lots of people. So we’re excited.

Will there be a push toward playing overseas? Have you been able to gauge interest from international audiences?
Yeah, we’ve been keeping an eye on things. Our Spotify numbers show definite interest overseas.
We’ve also had a few shows where people on holiday from other countries have come to see us, which is really cool. We absolutely want to play overseas, it’s just about timing. We’ll leave it to the people who know when the right time is to tell us when to go for it. But yeah, we’re super eager to get across the oceans.

What’s next for The Tullamarines?
Playing more shows, more than we’ve ever played before.
We’ll be performing for bigger audiences than we’ve ever played to, which is really exciting. Lots more music coming too. Most of all, just enjoying being in a band and making music with friends, that’s the main thing. There’s plenty of exciting stuff ahead, and we can’t wait for people to hear and see what’s next.

Interview By Rob Lyon