24 June 2022 - 0 Comments

Wellington band, Anxiety Club is set to drop a swag of new music - with a new sound born out of a challenging period that tested their resolve more than ever before. Today they have released their newest single Carousel on all major platforms. More singles will follow in July and August before album Old Dreams is released in September.

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Like many bands unable to perform or tour over the pandemic, Anxiety Club used the down-time to focus on new songs. But more troubles came. “Our drummer had just moved to Christchurch, the bass player had also left town, our rehearsal space was about to get bulldozed and I was nursing a pretty bad arm injury – I couldn’t even play guitar!” said lead singer, Kev Fitzsimons. “There was a strong sense that the universe was trying to tell us something. But Clint [Meech, Anxiety Club keyboardist] and I talked each other into pushing ahead. The songs were good, we still had something to say and we realised that we didn’t have to go about this the old way”.

The new way would see them set aside re-building a band immediately and instead finish the album themselves - leaning into synths and technology and calling in some mates. Those mates included Chris Armour (Miles Calder, OdESSA) who has been the group’s guitarist since late 2018, bass player Andrew Bain (Fur Patrol) and audio engineer Will Donbavand (Dermot Kennedy) who mixed the album in London. They also found Zach Simao – a drummer in LA – who added beats and percussion and singer Maygen Lacey (also in the US) who contributed to the lush, layered vocal arrangements.

Carousel is an atmospheric, melancholic slice of dream-pop. Lead-singer Kev Fitzsimon’s vocals are as strong as ever as he delivers another set of heart-breaking lyrics. On this release – and much of the rest of Old Dreams – guitars take a back seat to synthesizers, drum machines and electronic soundscapes.

There have been many highlights for the band since arriving on the scene in 2017 (with anthemic single Be Still). The acclaimed singles and EPs, tours and festival shows that followed were really just the first necessary steps in a journey that has led them to Old Dreams. Anxiety Club have found their voice and are now making the best music of their career – it just took a global pandemic to force them to pause, dig deep and find it.

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