Rising post-punk outfit dust return with new single ‘TRUST U SEE’, et cetera etc remixes EP out now

Photo by Nikola Jokanovic
April 24 2024

PRAISE FOR dust

“I discovered them in Austin Texas, their live show blew me away and I had to check out their music”

Nabihah Iqbal

“By any barometer, 2023 was a breakthrough year for Newcastle post-punk band dust”

The Newcastle Herald

“Making everyone wish they were as talented as them”

Monster Children

“Raw, razor-sharp intensity through a broad range of filters”

NME

“A classic post-punk quality to it... Refreshing in terms of how lush and smothering they all sound”

Anthony Fantano (theneedledrop)

“Not only bound to dominate the world of rock music, but look set to do it on their own terms”

Tone Deaf

“A band who have been gaining local momentum with sell-out powerful live shows”

Pilerats

‘TRUST U SEE’ is out now, buy/stream it here.

Ascendant Awabakal Land / Newcastle based post-punk outfit dust have returned with their first treat of new music in a year, new single ‘TRUST U SEE’. Today’s release is the group’s latest taste of music alongside the earlier drop of et cetera etc EP remixes featuring Godriguez, 700 Feel, Soul Wun and more. LISTEN + WATCH TRUST U SEE HERE + LISTEN TO REMIXES HERE.

In the year since their debut EP dust have worked to valiantly graduate from in demand support act into a seasoned live outfit. Appearances at The Great Escape, BIGSOUND, SXSW (Sydney and Austin) alongside multi-date tours supporting Interpol and Bloc Party nationally to Hockey Dad across the UK. Today’s release ‘TRUST U SEE’ is the clearest example of dust’s live show prowess. A set staple that converts first time audience members to buzz-wielding adherents, leaving dust on the cusp of everyone’s lips come performance end. Arriving with video by Nicola Jankovic, ‘TRUST U SEE’ buoys with the driving punk that’s seen the group continue to rise, with ebb and flow steered by dust’s emblematic saxophone.

‘TRUST U SEE’, in their own words, is an “alarming and visceral sonic exploration of both literal and underlying feelings. Justin’s literal lyrical recount of searching for pain relief and feeling frustrated is paralleled with metaphorical messages of trust, relationships and frustration. TRUST U SEE became a staple opening song in the live set, forming it organically into the final version of the song before taking it to the studio. We were able to have a new outlook on recording and experimentation. It was our first time recording properly in a studio and we were able to be very hands on and take time in post production to get the song to express what we wanted.”

Marking their most significant year of activity, earlier dust dropped a series of remixes of their debut EP et cetera, etc, with contributions from Godriguez, 700 Feel, GAUCI, Fritz and baby bruh plus Soul Wun. For the band, this re-imagination of their original compositions posed an “exciting opportunity to collaborate with some of our favourite artists and show our interest in genres outside our own. We intentionally withheld prompts or any guide and let each artist take any angle they wanted, with whichever song, and show their own sound. We wanted each song to be different and contrast each other while still keeping the energy of the original on the EP.”

In its original format, et cetera, etc flanked by hits ‘Joy ( Guilt )‘, ‘Ward 52’ and ‘The Gutter’ sought praise across triple j and Unearthed, NME, RAGE, Music Feeds, FBi Radio, 2SER, PBS and more, including the attention of theneedledrop’s Anthony Fantano to NME dubbing the group as “wildly promising.” Critical acclaim continues to follow the group, with their recent stream of shows in SXSW Austin catching the eye of Nabibah Iqbal and punters alike with showcases side-by-side with bar italia and Automatic that “absolutely blew the door down on us, the rest of the bands, and the several hundred nighthawk music fans who lurked about the venue” lauded Monster Children.

The group prepare for a hefty string of dates returning to support Interpol across the UK and Ireland joined by Iceage. More locally, dust will join Armlock at their upcoming Naarm / Melbourne appearance in May. With hometown shows that assert their position as “the stars of the night,” (Beat Magazine), where the wind will blow dust in 2024 is guaranteed to be both seen and heard.

Formed against the backdrop of the pandemic in 2020, the project of Awabakal land / Newcastle-based dual guitarist-vocalists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale, bassist Liam Smith, guitarist and saxophonist Adam Ridgway, and drummer Kye Cherry, dust offer an invigorating new take on Australian post-punk: progressive, catchy, and irresistible. Just as artistically motivated by the fragmented, free-genre steps of Yung Lean and Burial, merging experimental jazz and electronica into a sound as immediate as Inhaler and Violent Soho, this idiosyncratic joining of the fringes comes together much like their roots in the steel city, Newcastle, and the band’s careful balance of in-betweens. Through their debut EP et cetera, etc in 2023 dust set their sights on affirming their position in the local scene as vital and exciting. Born in the middle of periods of normalcy and uncertainty; not quite close enough to the major city scenes nor far enough isolated away; equally inspired by the groups making waves on both sides of the Pacific, dust take these keen observations to offer an invigorating take on Australian post-punk: progressive, catchy, and irresistible. In time, no doubt a contemporary answer to their hometown’s historic origins.

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