Radio Free Alice released their second EP, Polyester, earlier this month, and it’s a record that showcases the raw, live energy fans have come to expect from the Melbourne post-punk band.
Recorded with Nao Anzai at Soundpark Studios and refined during their European tour, it features mixing by Ewan Pearson (Warpaint, M83, Joy Division) and mastering by Mikey Young.
Since their 2020 formation, Radio Free Alice have become one of Australia’s most buzzworthy guitar bands in recent memory. Their 2023 debut EP earned an AIR Award nomination for Best Independent Punk Album or EP, with tracks like “Paris Is Gone” receiving acclaim from triple j and beyond.
To celebrate their new EP, Radio Free Alice provided Rolling Stone AU/NZ with a detailed track-by-track breakdown of Polyester, which you can read below.
Fans can also catch them on a national tour with dates in Sydney, Mollymook, Melbourne, Castlemaine, Adelaide, and Perth through August and September (see full dates here).
Radio Free Alice’s Polyester EP is out now.
Polyester Track-by-Track:
“2010”
This song focuses on the instrumentation rather than the vocals more than any other track on the EP. It’s the first and only song we have with a pretty much totally instrumental chorus. We tried to capture the feeling of unrequited love as a teenager, and the sense of loneliness that comes from that. This came together at home in Melbourne and road-tested over a few months before finally getting around to recording it with Nao.
“Johnny”
Similar to 2010, Johnny’s also about growing up and feeling isolated. It follows the narrative of a young guy who runs away from his very religious family because he feels alone in it. The “Johnny can you call me” was meant to be coming from his girlfriend trying to locate Johnny after he’s ran away. We got the bones of this track done in Melbourne and then finished it while on the road in the UK and Europe
“Spain”
“Spain” is about a wealthy, gluttonous pig of a man and his attempt to manipulate a younger, more attractive woman into dating him through money. I suppose it’s about how money is a social currency as well as a material one, and how dark and twisted that is. A bit like “Johnny,” we had to tinker with this one on the road while touring Europe, adding some extra parts etc. in London.
“On the Ground”
Thematically, “On the Ground” is similar to “Spain.” They both explore the role that money plays in relationships, how it can be used to manipulate dynamics and truth. I was reading a lot of this guy Mark Fisher at the time who really changed my perspective on the role that late-stage capitalism has played in warping culture, and I supposed that’s seeped into our music.
