Off the back of 2 EP’s via Rude Records, extensive touring and playing shows alongside Trophy Eyes, Stand Atlantic, Between You & Me, Slowly Slowly & WAAX, Waxflower have returned with the hard-hitting and unguarded new single Undertow.
Having spent the past year fighting disillusionment with music, the band had to strip back all preconceived notions of extrinsic success to focus on the internal gratification brought from writing & releasing songs. Undertow speaks to the impending burnout within the band, as well as the consideration to leave music all together. With a recent triple j survey highlighting 48% of Australian artists considering quitting the music industry in the past 12 months, Waxflower penned Undertow when deep in these spotlighted deliberations.
With the honest nature of the track, the band chose to self-produce, recording the drums at Heliport Studios (The Amity Affliction, Stateside, Pandamic) on QLD’s Sunshine Coast, before reverting to singer Tristan Higginson’s spare bedroom to track all other parts. Featured within the song is Wifecult’s Joey Keating, providing vocals throughout the track’s bridge and last chorus. Mixing was handled by Sam Guaiana (Silverstein, Neck Deep, Between You & Me). Undertow marks the band’s first independent release in over 3 years.
“Undertow is about being disillusioned with aspects of making music. The longer I do this, the more I want to get back to the bare basics – writing and releasing songs. I don’t want to use my experiences with mental illness as PR bait. I’m burned out from tying my self worth to steaming numbers, radio play – the minor success (or lack thereof) of this little band. Let’s just do what we can do, and anything more is gravy.” – Tristan Higginson
“We recorded the song ourselves in my spare bedroom. It was mixed by Sam Guaiana (Silverstein, Neck Deep, Between You & Me).” – Tristan Higginson
Waxflower burst onto the scene with the single Back To Back, before quickly signing with Rude Records (Less Than Jake, The Maine, Stand Atlantic) and releasing their debut EP ‘We Might Be Alright’ via the European label. Tours and shows alongside Simple Plan, The Maine, Stand Atlantic, Between You & Me, Trophy Eyes & Slowly Slowly quickly made them an Australian stalwart of emotionally charged rock. Accumulating 1.1 million+ streams across DSP’s, the band have seen support across Spotify (‘New Music Friday’, ‘Pop Punk’s Now Dead’ ‘All New Rock’ ‘The Locker’ & ‘Rock Out’) & Apple Music (‘Rise & Grind’, ‘Breaking Rock’, ‘New In Rock’). Domestically triple j have been large supporters of the band, with multiple First Plays across ‘Home & Hosed’, as well as ‘Short. Fast. Loud’, alongside triple j Unearthed rotation for a slew of previous singles. Abroad, the band has had coverage & support across Rock Sound, The Guardian, Amazon Music, Chorus.FM, Clash Magazine, BBC Radio 1 & more.
With thanks to Beehive PR
