Australian new wave/post-punk band Radio Free Alice have shared “Toyota Camry,” a single lashed with bright guitars and 80s-inspired backing vocals, off their just released new EP Empty Words. The song’s official music video accompanies the release, directed by the band’s creative partner Finn Robilliard.
Vocalist Noah Learmonth shared that “Toyota Camry” was inspired by a line from author Mark Fisher that he always found incredibly accurate: “everyone is bored but nothing is boring.”
“We recorded it with Peter Katis (Interpol, Bloc Party, Frightened Rabbit) in Connecticut in a house that resembled the one in ‘Monster House’, a horror movie for kids about a haunted house I watched growing up,” Learmonth continues. “Around the house were scattered Polaroids of other bands Peter had recorded albums with, legendary bands, like Interpol. Constantly stumbling across these fading Polaroids in the cutlery draw or whatever in the old wooden house felt weirdly fitting for the song — the song’s about lost futures, haunted by the past.”
This single arrives in tandem with the announcement of the band’s first headline North American tour surrounding an upcoming performance at Shaky Knees in Atlanta, GA, this September and two sold out headline shows in NYC (the first selling out in 24 hours). Earlier, Radio Free Alice knocked their debut UK headline tour out of the park with six sold out headline shows in London and a newly announced slot at Reading and Leeds Festival.
Formed in Gadigal Land/Sydney in 2020 before making the move to Naarm/Melbourne, Radio Free Alice — Noah Learmonth (he/him; vocals, guitar), Jules Paradiso (he/him; guitar), Michael Phillips (he/him; bass, saxophone), and Lochie Dowd (he/him; drums) — continue to make their mark with their wildly consistent output and vital live performances.
