Los Angeles-based emo punks Spanish Love Songs are heading down to Australia for a headline tour this August. Their first-ever stops down under, Melbourne punters will be lucky enough to witness the band on the release date of their new album, No Joy.
Kicking off on Saturday, 19 August, in Canberra, the band will make their way to Sydney, Newcastle, the Gold Coast and Brisbane, before closing out their debut Australian tour on Friday, 25 August, in Melbourne – the very same day that No Joy will be unveiled to the world.
General tickets go on sale on Wednesday, 7 June at 10 am via Chop Dog Entertainment. You can sign up for pre-sale tickets here before they go on sale on Monday, 5 June at 10 am.
“G’day to everyone who has ever asked us to come to Australia,” the band wrote on Twitter, while on Instagram, they added, “It’s long overdue, but we’re coming to Australia for the first time this August! It would be mighty cool to see you all there.”
In February 2020, Spanish Love Songs released Brave Faces, Everyone, an album that inadvertently helped their listeners get through the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Spanish Love Songs stay relevant with distinctive and gut-wrenching stories that are not just personal, but eerily political,” The Music’s album review stated.
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The review added, “Spanish Love Songs absolutely nail confessional punk – it’s been a while since we’ve caught so many feels from a record of this nature. Lead singer Dylan Slocum was made for this gig, perfecting the American emo sound with his angsty tone and fist-clenching stories. The rest of the band are perfectly cohesive and together they just might make emo great again.”
Last week, Spanish Love Songs released a new track from No Joy, Haunted, in which the band hit peak emo status.
Infusing elements of Bruce Springsteen-inspired nostalgia and percussive acoustic guitar that build to some of the band’s biggest hooks yet, Spanish Love Songs bring summer vibes to a chilly Australian winter.
“Haunted is a reintroduction of sorts for us,” Slocum explained in a statement. No Joy is the sound of Slocum, his wife and keyboardist Meredith Van Woert, guitarist Kyle McAulay, bassist Trevor Dietrich, and drummer Ruben Duarte finding peace in quieter moments and embracing the negative space.
“This is the closest we’ve ever gotten to figuring out how to translate what I hear in my head with more clarity,” Slocum shared.
If Brave Faces Everyone was packed with richly personal, no-holds-barred lyricism awash in existential dread, hyper-personal cultural ruminations and attempts to answer life’s big questions; No Joy provides an exhale after that intensity. You can pre-order the album here.
Aussie fans can expect trips down memory lane, with the band often playing a handful of tracks from 2018’s Schmaltz, as well as a solid showing of Brave Faces, Everyone, and No Joy.
SATURDAY 19 AUGUST – THE SHAKING HAND, CANBERRA
SUNDAY 20 AUGUST – SIN OR SWIM HARBOUR CRUISE, SYDNEY
MONDAY 21 AUGUST – HAMILTON STATION HOTEL, NEWCASTLE
WEDNESDAY 23 AUGUST – VINNIES DIVE BAR, GOLD COAST
THURSDAY 24 AUGUST – BAD LUCK, BRISBANE
FRIDAY 25 AUGUST – STAY GOLD, MELBOURNE