Today, on International Dinosaur Day, Brisbane indie rock trio Last Dinosaurs officially release their fifth album ‘KYORYU’. A record in two parts, the album celebrates the brother songwriting duo of Sean and Lachlan Caskey as they weave a space-age tale that serves as the soundtrack to the manga created with friend and writer Erick Carrara and artists Em Niwa (‘KYO’) and Chris Yee (‘RYU’). The ‘KYORYU’ manga details the dystopian future storyline, of humanity’s downfall in the 3023 at the hands of capitalist greed and unchecked narcissism.
“It’s like a warning from the past that we haven’t changed and past history is bound to repeat itself,” Lachlan told said.
With a new release in hand, Last Dinosaurs are thrilled to make their return to Australian stages for the first time since December 2022 to celebrate ‘KYORYU’. They’ll be joined special guest Fazerdaze to perform headline shoes in Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, kicking off on Friday August 2. Before that, they’ll begin their album celebrations in the U.S. with a series of special shows and events in New York City and Los Angeles. The band will perform at the Central Park Summerstage, followed by a SOLD OUT show in New York. They’ll cap things off with a SOLD OUT show in Los Angeles.
Despite coming up in Australia, indie rock band Last Dinosaurs would say they’re an international enterprise – and they’ve got a track record to prove it. Brothers Lachlan and Sean Caskey, along with Michael Sloane have played sold-out headlining shows and festivals across the US, UK, Europe, Southeast Asia, South Africa, and Australia. The success of studio albums, ‘In a Million Years’, ‘Wellness’, ‘Yumeno Garden’, and ‘From Mexico With Love’, have taken them around the world and back, playing notable festivals like Lollapalooza, Corona Capital, All Things Go Festival, and more alongside artists like Florence + the Machine, Bad Suns, Foals, Matt & Kim, Foster the People, and more.
In 2024, the Dinos continued to enthrall audiences launching a cryptic new story in two-part release, ‘KYORYU’. Mimicking the duality of brothers Sean and Lachlan, they chose to each compose one half of the album giving listeners a true yin and yang experience. Inspired by cyber-punk anime from their Japanese heritage, the brothers craft a space-age narrative around unfettered technological advances and unchecked human greed.
With ‘RYU’, Sean introduces listeners to the album’s preface: “The year is 3023. The artificial intelligence revolution has been fought, won, and lost. The earth is blanketed with debris from previous civilizations’ satellites and space junk. The most powerful AI satellite runs critically low in battery, and in its dying months, reprograms its protocols. It now functions as an ancient style radio station, generating music based on algorithms it learnt from the previous civilization. RYU is a collection of transmissions intercepted from this satellite” explains Sean.
The motorik Afterlife takes a grungy wall-of-sound approach while Walking On Ice carries an apocalyptic undertone and far-out guitars. Elton feels like a space-age dancefloor banger while Yin and Yang makes a playful allusion to both the band’s brotherly songwriting duo. The Lachlan penned, ‘KYO’, brings a mind-bending conclusion to the post-apocalyptic tale that focuses on the egocentrism and greed that led to humanity’s downfall. N.P.D highlights the “narcissist to the pathological level,” Lach explains. Elsewhere, Self-Serving Human Being and Paranoia Paradise further explore the dystopian reality.
LAST DINOSAURS
2024 TOUR DATES
U.S. DATES:
June 15 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
June 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere: Zone One *SOLD OUT*
June 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Lodge Room *SOLD OUT*
AUSTRALIAN DATES w/ FAZERDAZE:
August 2 – The Gov, Adelaide, SA
August 3 – Freo.Social, Fremantle, WA
August 8 – Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
August 9 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
August 10 – The Croxton, Melbourne, VIC
With thanks to Nettwerk Music Group
