alt. Ignite A New Chapter With Their Dark New Concept EP ‘Nevermore’

After a period of writing and rebuilding, alt. return to the stage for a special one-night-only headline show in Adelaide this Saturday (June 20). In celebration of their upcoming concept EP Nevermore, this all-ages show will see the band bring their most ambitious story to life yet. Set in the year 2073, “Nevermore” follows a lone protagonist navigating a dying Earth stripped of its resources, before fleeing to a new planet, Nephilim, only to discover history repeating itself. Faced with humanity’s endless cycle of destruction, they ignite a revolution to reclaim power for the people. Guitarist Oscar Harding talks to Rob Lyon about the EP and launch.

It seems like things are really shaping up again for the band with new EP Nevermore?
Yeah, we’re super excited to get new music out. This one’s been a long time coming, it’s probably been in the works for the best part of two years. After we released Advance, we toured pretty hard to carry that record out, and we started shaping what we wanted the next chapter of Alt to be. We began writing, and the EP has actually been finished for a bit over a year now, so we’ve been sitting on it and figuring out the next steps.

Was that partly also the mechanics of the industry?
I think… not particularly. This is going to be mostly a digital release to begin with. But there’s a reason we’ve gone with an EP this time around and not an album, so yeah, I think there’ll be an EP Part 2 in the works, if I’m not saying too much.

Going for more of a concept EP, was that a deliberate decision, or did it just kind of evolve that way with the songs that you were writing?
I think it mainly came from Dan, our singer. He was really interested in writing a concept EP, and he’s a big reader, so he naturally gravitates toward sci‑fi worlds and the way those stories are written. He wanted to leave his mark on the record and build his own concept, which became Nevermore.

Was that something that, in terms of the direction that you wanted to go in, is that something that you kind of talked amongst yourselves? Like, okay, we’ve got a clean slate now, we’ve done an album, we need to start thinking about the next group of songs, whether it’s an album, whether it’s an EP and what direction you want to take it?
Yeah, and I guess Nevermore was initially going to be an album, that was the intention, and it was really late in the piece that we decided to scrap a bunch of songs and pick our favourites to turn into Nevermore the EP. As you’ve probably seen from the singles, Sucker Punch and They’ve Always Lived in the Castle, they’re all pretty high‑energy releases, so there’s not much downtime. It’s all pretty up and about, which I think comes from being on the road, seeing what works for the crowd, and understanding what we think they want to hear.

Were you sort of surprised when you start seeing these songs take shape?
Yeah, we are, and it’s great when I go back and listen to the record now, my favourite song always changes, which I think is a good sign of a record. You like different songs for different reasons, and a different day or even the weather can dictate what you gravitate toward. Even the non‑singles on this release are super strong, and we’re pretty hyped to play them on the June 20 at the Nevermore EP launch.

Is it more like everyone is getting better at what you’re doing, writing songs, playing your instruments, and just gelling as a unit, in terms of the strength of these songs so far?
I think so. Every record you write is another moment you share together. I think you definitely become more cohesive. You start to understand what influences everyone, what drives them, and how they work. I come from more of a dance‑music background, while Simon, our main songwriter, can churn out anything but is heavily influenced by Bring Me the Horizon and Linkin Park. Dan has more of a pop influence, and our other guitarist Dan leans into hardcore and down‑strumming. Having all those influences in one melting pot is pretty exciting.

So how do you see the changes between Abeyance, which is a really awesome record, and where you are now with Nevermore? How do you think the alt band sound has changed?
We’re still working with the same producer, Callum, so sonically it’s still going to feel familiar in terms of how the records sound, it’s more that the songs themselves have grown up. One of the great things about releasing an EP is that we can be a bit more dynamic with how the band evolves its sound. Some of my favourite bands never slow down when it comes to evolving, and having an EP gives you the chance to pivot quickly. So yeah, we’re super excited to show the world what we’ve got with Nevermore, and what’s coming further down the track as well.

Do you feel any pressure, particularly having such a strong album like Abeyance, that the pressure’s there to kind of match or eclipse what you’ve done previously?
I don’t think pressure is the right word. We write music for ourselves first and foremost, so the biggest pressure is just getting the record done and being happy with it. In terms of what our fans will think, I believe they’ll like it because it’s coming from such an organic and genuine place within us. That’s what Alt has always been, and that’s what alt will continue to be.

What are some of the shared influences amongst the band, and are they significant in terms of shaping this particular release?
Personally, I grew up listening to bands like Enter Shikari, and House of the Hurricane was one of my favourite Australian bands. We all loved Bring Me the Horizon, Parkway Drive, all those iconic bands from my mid‑2010s era, so that period has always influenced us. James, our drummer, comes from more of a rock background, so he prefers less screaming, but I think that creates a great dynamic in the rhythm section. You’ve got James leaning rockier, and the rest of us leaning more into the dynamic metal side, and that contrast works really well.

With Nevermore, are there plans to do a vinyl or a CD release, or is it just dependent on what the streaming numbers look like, or what’s the go there?
I think we’ll always look at doing a hard copy release, but I think that will come later down the track when there’s maybe some more music to put on another side of the record, if that makes any sense.

Are you looking to play the entire EP, and all the hits as well at Lion Arts Factory on Saturday?
I think so. We’re still ruminating on the setlist at the moment. The EP will definitely be played in its entirety, and we’ll be bringing back a lot of old favourites from Abeyance and also the dysfunctional era, songs we always seem to return to. Putting together a setlist is always interesting because everyone has their own favourites, and what I like isn’t necessarily what everyone else likes, so you really have to make a case for each song. The beauty of a headline show is that you can make it more than just a band playing on stage. We’ve always put a lot of time and consideration into how the show looks, the lighting, the production, all of that, so it’s exciting to finally have a bit of budget to bring that to life, compared to when we’re playing supports.

Who is supporting?
We’ve got Bad/Love, some good friends from Melbourne, playing the show. They’ve played Adelaide a heap of times and have been a staple around Australia for years now. Then there’s the upcoming band Akira Slide, who’ve been doing some crazy shows and recently supported Hands Like Houses. Matt, their guitarist, is in a cover band with our singer Dan, and Simon helped produce their latest EP as well, so it’s a bit of a family affair with Akira Slide and us, and then Bad/Love. Some of our first shows were with Bad/Love, so it’s great to have those boys coming back over for the show.

Having such a powerful back catalogue now, do you start to spread your wings a bit broader than Adelaide and even Australia, and start looking at trying your luck more overseas? What’s the plan there?
Yeah, definitely. That’s been one of the biggest talking points over the last year or so, where and which territories we hit next. We’ve been really fortunate over the last few releases to have the support of Sharptone, who are US heavyweights in terms of record labels. And looking at the stats we get back from Spotify and Apple Music, we’ve always had pretty strong listenership in the US, so we’d love to get out there. We’re just trying to find the right opportunity. Visas are pretty expensive, and with the way the world is at the moment, it’s not exactly the best time to head to America, but we’d still love to go and play for the fans. I think it would only propel us in a positive direction and then European tours… I go to Europe every year anyway, so to be able to do that and play shows on the side would be a dream come true.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch alt. this Saturday June 20 at Lion Arts Factory with Bad/Love and Akira Slide, tickets HERE