Laying early claim to 2018 as their year, Australian rock
duo favourites Hockey Dad drop their latest single I Wanna Be Everybody,
taken from their new album Blend Inn, and announce a run of New Zealand album
tour dates.
Where their 2016 debut album
Boronia celebrated the long
days of summers past and the sublime naivety of youth,
Blend Innis Zach Stephenson and Billy Flemingcoming to us with more perspective after relentless touring took them far from the
streets and waves of their hometown of Windang, NSW. The album title emerges
as a response to that lived experience
“Blend Inn is the part of your head that
you want to go to when you’re overseas and wishing you were back home,
it’s within” says Fleming, “
We’re always
just trying to be comfortable and semi blending in, so it’s the name we gave to
that place you zone out to.”Landing in Seattle, the recording of
Blend Innbegan with renowned audio engineer and producer John Goodmanson(Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Cloud Nothings, Death Cab for Cutie)at Robert Lang Studios. The studios, supposedly haunted, echo with their iconic
past - housing many of rock’s legends over its time including Foo
Fighters, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and most notably, Nirvana,
who recorded their last song inside - the mic used in Kurt Cobain’s final studio
recording still hanging in tribute. Here, Hockey Dad found a home away
from home - immortalising their time in the album artwork, which depicts the
house in a film photo captured by Fleming.
The album is Hockey Dad’s boldest output to date, a natural progression
for the two as they face the tribulations of young adulthood, a theme reflected
across the record.
Homely Feeling emerges as an ode to their roots;
Join
The Club relays the struggle for self-identity in the face of societal
expectation, whilst lighter moments like
Sweet Release see the duo experiment ,
showcasing Fleming on vocals for the first time.
Blend Inn was released February
9th through Farmer & The Owl via Rhythmethod in New
Zealand.
The past 18 months have seen the duo embark on sold out national and
regional tours, perform at Falls Festival Lorne and on the main stage at
Splendour In The Grass, plus tour extensively across the US, Canada, New Zealand,
Europe, the UK. Returning to Australia they hit the road as main
support on a 25+ date tour with iconic Aussie rock band Grinspoon, and most
recently, wrapped up a run with Dune Rats and Wavves playing in some of
the country's biggest rooms.
Whilst the momentum of Hockey Dad lies in their consistent execution of
their undeniable brand of rock- pop on both the stage and in recording - the true
heart of the band exists in their long standing, personal friendship - having
first met as kids, growing up together two doors apart.
TOUR DATES:Christchurch - Friday 30 March @ Blue Smokewith
Soaked Oats
Auckland - Wednesday April 4 @ Whammy! Bar* - SOLD OUTwith Good Boy and
Miss June
Wellington - Thursday April 5 @ Meow*
with Good Boy and Scared of Girls
Tauranga - Friday April 6 @ Totara Street*with Good Boy, Joe's Van and
Spoonfed
Raglan - Saturday April 7 @ Yot Club*with Good Boy,
Miss June and Shaun's Bday
Dunedin and Auckland shows have now sold out.