Brisbane indie-pop five-piece Dumb Things return with their new single Instant Coffee, delivering another immersive slice of hazy melancholia via Coolin’ By Sound on February 16.
Instant Coffee is the second single from their impending third album ‘Self Help’. Its gently pulsing percussion, shimmering guitars and subtle vocal harmonies perfectly augment the heartfelt reflection on routine and solitude. The daily ritual of turning on the kettle becomes a motif of isolation and compromised happiness, the beautifully inquisitive and soulful vocal delivery bringing the feels even as the guitars build towards the quietly epic crescendo.
With Dumb Things’ ranks containing a handful of talented songsmiths, Instant Coffee sprang from the pen of Madeleine Keinonen (vocals/guitar), who offers of the track: “Feeling a hundred miles from others physically and mentally, I was in a habit of brewing too many cups of coffee to keep myself occupied. Steam would rise from the kettle and mist would settle around Mt Coot-tha, where I was living, and I’d be bouncing off the humid, mouldy walls”.
“My ceiling was leaking, and the fog was constantly setting off the smoke alarms and interrupting Mess Esque, The Bats and Emma Russack. As always, the song improved dramatically upon bringing it to the band. Adam’s guitar cuts through the gloom, and that solo after the last chorus makes everything right as rain.”
‘Self Help’’s title track was released as the album’s lead single in late-2023 and was warmly embraced both at home and abroad, with UK blog For The Rabbits praising its “mixture of bright-jangling choruses and downbeat, thoughtful vocals” and US site Austin Town Hall talking of ‘Self Help’ “twisting the pop knife deep into your soul”.
With the poignant Instant Coffee due to be followed by some equally strong hangover-pop numbers before the eventual mid-year release of ‘Self Help’, 2024 is shaping up as a fine year to do Dumb Things.
With thanks to Coolin’ By Sound Records
