A band who are growing steadily in the Australian pop punk circuit is Melbourne four-piece Cordiform. Bringing with them all-too familiar melodies from the mid-2000s that remind us of Neck Deep and State Champs, these guys are sticking to a musical formula that plays to their strengths.
With their latest single ‘Doomsday‘ a result of a personal health scare by vocalist James Hibble, the band now seeks more time to live in the present and take gratitude for each new day that comes. After all, time in this life is short.
In a time where metalcore tends to conquer the Australian heavy market, Cordiform is set to relight the spark in local pop punk with their self-curated mini-festival next weekend in Melbourne. Pizza Planet will feature the best and brightest pop punk that Australia has to offer on a local scale. Also featuring local heavyweights Drastic Park, Paperweight, Headstrong and newcomers Tiny Red Houses amongst the lineup, the event will ultimately serve as a safe space for friends, fans and like-minded listeners.
Hey guys! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! For those that aren’t familiar with the band, how was Cordiform conceived into this world?
Tim (drummer): James and I met them through mutual friends at Knight and Day Festival a couple years ago and I was looking to get back into making music and James wanted to be in a band, so we ended up hanging out a few times afterwards before finally deciding that we wanted to start a band.
We spent the next six months going to shows together and doing what we called “market research” (going to shows and getting wasted) before finally deciding on starting a pop punk band. We recruited the help of Liam and Brody and got to work writing out debut single and EP and the rest is history.
Your latest single ‘Doomsday’ is a reminder to us all that life is short and comes from personal experience. Was it feelings of hope or fear of not living life to the fullest that got you through that period?
James (vocalist): I wish I could say that it was hope but, in that moment, (Laying in the hospital bed) all I felt was fear. Thinking about how young I was and how much more I wanted to do. It was a real wake up call to how our life can be taken from us in a moment and I needed to live everyday exactly how I wanted.
The following week after I was dismissed, I partied like there was no tomorrow at Unify Forever. I then used both my health issues & the live music at Unify as the inspiration I needed to get my unnamed project, eventually named Cordiform moving.
Even though the song talks of doom and gloom, musically it sounds so upbeat and optimistic. How would you describe your sound to a new fan?
Brody (Guitarist): Cordiform on the surface is through and through a love letter to the 2010s pop punk and emo revival, which we all love dearly. Bands like Neck Deep, Trophy Eyes and The Story So Far are by far our biggest inspiration. But ultimately we are a melting pot of so many different influences, all of which we filter through the pop punk funnel.
Focusing our energy on memorable hooks and fun riffs, our sound is deeply rooted in modern pop punk but with the sensibility of well-paced dynamic pop and enough emo edge to keep that nostalgia flowing in a (hopefully) refreshing way.
You guys are already off to a cracking start for a relatively new band! You’re headlining Pizza Planet later this month, which is a mini pop punk fest of sorts. Where did the idea for this event concept come from?
James: The first time I had the idea was Perish Fest 2022. I never really did anything with it at that time as it seemed so far-fetched to be running a festival as such a small unit / band.
After our huge debut headliner show at Stay Gold, we wanted to have a big follow up but didn’t know how to make it special. It was around the time of planning headliner number 2 that Perish Fest 2023 was announced. I created a mock up poster, ran some rough numbers, and told the band “hear me out” they knew something crazy was coming when I started with that.
It’s a big discussion between Cordiform & friends how the Australian Pop Punk scene in recent years has been dying. With such a lack of small to medium size full Pop Punk bills and increasing number of metalcore & hardcore (which we love) shows. We thought if we wanted this so bad, why not just do it ourselves. We hope that Pizza Planet can be a new resurgence for Australian Pop Punk that bands & music lovers alike want to be a part of.
While the inaugural edition of Pizza Planet is only in Melbourne for now, would you be open to taking this on an east coast tour and extend this show to Sydney and Brisbane?
Liam (guitarist): We would absolutely love to one day. When we had this idea, we were very deliberate to not call it something stupid like Cordi-Fest or anything tied to us because we seriously think we might wanna see it next year, or when we have the time.
And maybe there’s a world where Cordi isn’t there and we just run it. We’re just so keen to see a silly pop punk-themed event and if we stop being cool enough to play we still would run it.
As for interstate, it’s an expensive world but we have friends in all these states who I think would let us crash on their floor in exchange for putting something together. Let’s see how we feel after this one, and I’ll try let you know what we’re cooking next.
One look at the event and it shines a light on upcoming Australian pop punk – these guys are way under represented on the bigger heavy festivals we have in this country. It’s definitely a show that is highly anticipated for pop punk fans everywhere. What’s one tip you can give to fans that’ll help out all the bands on this line up?
James: Following band social media accounts is an easy & great start. We use our social media as a way to promote not just stuff we’ve got upcoming but also promote our friends’ music that we think Cordiform fans will also enjoy.
Step up from that is going to local shows. Bands usually play with genre-similar artists. It’s a great way to see an artist you already like on a bill & maybe find new ones. Seeing a live band can be such a different experience to hearing it on Spotify. The number of bands I’ve heard on Spotify & it hasn’t grabbed me but after catching it live, I can become hooked.
While we’re talking about live music, we know it’s going to be a big day but the opening act for Pizza Planet “doors” will be 3pm. If you get there early it will be a great way to do the above and catch all 8 incredible bands.
Finally, I run a small Spotify playlist highlighting Local Australian Pop Punk. I to keep this as update as possible and am always finding new bands to put in. This is a great place to find some new local artists.
Interview by Tamara May
Get your tickets to Pizza Planet here
