NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE
Announce New Album
“SHELF LIFE”
.
.
.
Northeast Party House have today shared further details of their upcoming record announcing that their third studio album titled SHELF LIFE will be released on February 28th. Accompanying this announcement, the band have also released the album’s title track and centrepiece of the record – listen to ‘ Shelf Life’ here.
There’s no getting around the fact that Northeast Party House are a party band. The Melbourne six-piece took their name from a parent-free, weeks-long bash held at a friend’s place in Year 12, and in the two albums released since they’ve created music that at once celebrates that hedonistic lifestyle and contributes to it. Their highly danceable yet musically complex tunes have been embraced by thousands of fans in Australia and around the world. New album SHELF LIFE, mixed by Drummer Malcolm Besley, at once returns to this blueprint and dramatically expands it. Sure they’re still making party music, but with SHELF LIFE, Northeast Party House have also made their most naked and personal album to date and the one that the band is most proud of.
“The album is exactly what we set out to achieve,” says Mitch Ansell, guitarist and songwriter. Having a clear vision of what that was — an album that lent into their party vibe and created huge dance moments at their notoriously fun live shows — meant that the band was intent on taking their time to get it right. “We wanted to get better at songwriting along the way, which will always naturally make the whole process take a bit longer,” explains Ansell. “But it feels worth it. Definitely.”
The album’s title track and centerpiece, released alongside the album announcement today, was inspired by the band’s marathon bender at Berlin’s infamous Berghain nightclub, as told through the eyes of lead singer and songwriter Zachary Hamilton-Reeves. “My knees are getting wobbly, my face is real sore, I feel like, fuck this, it’s time. Someone said, ‘You look tired,’ and I am. And Jack said, ‘let’s just have one more.’ But I can’t. I’ve reached my shelf life.” Through thumping beats, distorted vocals urging you to “keep on dancing”, screeching synths and a massive, pummeling break that smacks you in the face with the same intensity as a good pill, the track evokes a feeling that will be familiar to anyone who’s overstayed their welcome at a club or party.
‘Dominos’ is another large, loud club track that came together one loose night while on a coastal songwriting trip. Short, punchy words like “hot” and “drop”, chosen for their sheer impact, were the starting points for this cheeky banger with an unapologetic, singular focus: fun.
.
.
As always, love and relationships feature strongly on the album, with added reflection and introspection this time around. Ansell’s ‘Magnify’is a full-hearted anthem that captures the delicious anxiety of a blossoming romance.
.
.
SHELF LIFE also sees the band work with an external producer for the first time — Kim Moyes of The Presets, a band that Northeast Party House names as a key influence over the years. To their surprise, Moyes wanted the band to focus on their strengths as a live act. “I really thought we’d be sitting at a computer going through different synth sounds and that it would be a little more tech and sterile but he really wanted to bring the band out of us,” recalls Ansell of their week-long recording session with Moyes at The Grove Studios, north of Sydney. After they had done some pre-production and recorded vocals and drums with Moyes, the band’s keyboardist Sean Kenihan and drummer Malcolm Besley took over and finished the remainder of the production.
Trying to write songs collaboratively has never been easy as a six-piece, but on SHELF LIFE there were far fewer squabbles, with all members on the same page about what the band was trying to do and producing tracks that everyone felt excited about.
“That’s something I’m really proud of, for the whole group to have built ourselves to this point where we can listen back to the record and it’s exactly what we wanted and that extra bit of time and effort put in was worth it,” says Ansell.
Your favourite party band is back and as well as being a little bit older and wiser, they’re sounding more focused and more fun than ever.
.
.
SHELF LIFE
album out
FEBRUARY 28TH
VIA SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT AUSTRALIA
STREAM / DOWNLOAD / PRE ORDER ALBUM
.
Follow NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
.
.
.
.
