Every year come the first week of September, the best headline acts and the best upcoming acts around the country come together in Meanjin/Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley for BIGSOUND in front of the industry’s most prominent tastemakers and influential execs. In recent years, the event has seen a focus on the indie/pop mainstream scene. However, this year, it seems all that is about to change.
It seems that the team at BigSound have noticed the steady growth of heavy/rock in front of music fans. In 2024, prominent alternative/rock acts like Stand Atlantic, Sly Withers, Belle Haven and Dear Seattle will set the Valley alight with their gritty, rockier blend to highlight to the industry that music with an emphasis on fast-paced guitars is very much still what fans yearn for.
Brisbane emo/rock outfit Sunbleached are also poised and ready to unleash upon the BigSound audience this week. While 2023 saw the band perform as part of Destroy All Lines Showcase, this year they’ve levelled up and landed a spot on the official festival schedule alongside the aforementioned.
With brand new EP, I Crawled Into the Hole freshly released, this Brisbane four piece are determined that their latest collection of songs are their strongest and most passionate work yet. Vocalist Josh Baker tackles anger and frustrations in tracks like ‘Beware of the Dog‘, delivering an exemplary display of Sunbleached’s tenacity to forego grittier, angsty material much like a wide array of international heavyweights before them.
Catch our chat with the boys below as they reveal valuable insight into I Crawled Into The Hole and contain their excitement being a part of the Australian music industry’s biggest week of the year.
Congrats on your new EP, I Crawled Into The Hole! What was the process of creation like for this EP, was it different to your previous extended releases? Who did you work with on the record?
Josh: Thanks so much! We are really happy with how it turned out! The EP follows similar introspective themes that our previous EP covers, this time however we produced the songs with our long time friend Dylan Cottee, which feels a little more natural as we’ve demoed most of our songs with Dylan. The drums were also written by different members of the global community.
Is there a central theme or concept that connects the songs on the EP?
Josh: The themes discussed in the EP cover a range of personal experiences I’ve had over the last year or so, from dealing with personal struggles to celebrating personal milestones and victories such as getting married etc.
You’ve already been able to tour a few songs across the country recently, how has the reception been so far? Do you have a favourite song to play live?
Josh: We’ve really enjoyed playing some of the new material at these shows, but a highlight for us is always playing ‘Rain on Hot Cement’.
Bradley: ‘Rain On Hot Cement’ is always super rewarding for me to play live. It’s the point in the set where I get to relax and just enjoy the moment.
Zane: Instantly my first pick would be ‘Closer’, the song is super fast and gritty with heaps of natural driving momentum. Definitely the most fun to play live.
You’ll play BIGSOUND this week – How are you feeling about officially being on the lineup, and what can people expect from your showcases?
Josh: It feels good, we played an unofficial showcase for our booking agency DAL and were added to the reserve list last year, so it feels like a bit of a natural progression and we are stoked to be considered and to play alongside such an incredible group of artists. As to why people should come and watch our sets the answer is simple, we love a good time, we live to rock and we love each other.
Have you been to BIGSOUND before? What was your previous experience like?
Brent: I’ve been lucky enough to attend as a punter twice previously. I saw a range of acts but one that stood out to me was KEYAN!
Who else are you keen to check out at BigSound? Any conferences on your to-do list?
Josh: Very keen to check out TOWNS and Dear Seattle. It’s super lucky that we are showcasing with both bands on the 2 nights! Other bands we are keen to check out include Armlock and Same Pains!
What comes next for Sunbleached?!
We have a project that we are currently working on that we are super excited to share, but that’s about as much as we can say currently!
Support Sunbleached by streaming their latest EP, I Crawled Into The Hole here.
The band will perform at BigSound on Wednesday 4th September at Soapbox Beer and Thursday 5th September at The Brightside. Grab a ticket here
Sunbleached – I Crawled Into the Hole EP tracklisting:
1. No Cure For Life
2. White Lace
3. Beware of the Dog
4. It Makes Me Sick
5. Hell is Repetition
