It’s no secret that New Zealand has a thriving binge-drinking culture. As does Australia. As does England. As does Scotland and so forth. If only some Kiwis, Aussies, and Pommies had mates as good as the DARTZ boys.
The Wellington band – The Band from Wellington, New Zealand – may love a beer or three, but they’re properly prepared to work for their drink.
On “Earn the Thirst”, they extoll the virtues of, well, earning the thirst. “The song’s about putting in the hard yards before you have a beer,” the band explains. “Sometimes it’s tempting to skip straight to cracking one open, but it’ll hit so much harder if you put in the work and get sweaty first. As soon as we figured that out, we made a song about it.”
The buzzy punk rock song is full of trademark tongue-in-cheek DARTZ lyrics, including the sublime, “With great booty comes great responsibility,” taking Stan Lee’s Spider-Man adage to the natural next level.
DARTZ aren’t just preaching from on high, though, and “Earn the Thirst” is filled with great advice. “Walk to the pub, Uber is corrupt!” lead vocalist Danz repeatedly insists; “Jumping jacks… death drops… running from the cops,” are equally healthy suggestions.
The song’s music video, shot by Ezra Simons on Super 8mm (also check out his stellar work on Jujulipps’ “Airplane Mode”), shows DARTZ practicing what they preach, offering encouragement to each other on the weights and enduring some exercise in the park before enjoying a Lion Red.
DARTZ certainly earned the thirst last year when they toured around the country in just 12 hours, doing so in honour of Crate Day. In a couple of months, they’ll embark on a comparatively leisurely jaunt around New Zealand on their national single tour.
Fans can catch them performing in Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Auckland through October and November (see full dates below). Expect “Earn the Thirst” to earn its rightful place as a fan favourite in the thunderous and humorous punks’ regular setlist.
DARTZ’s “Earn the Thirst” is out now via Flying Nun.
DARTZ National Single Tour
Tickets available via dartzfitnezz.com/tour
Saturday, October 7th*
Meow, Wellington
Friday, October 27th**
Darkroom, Christchurch
Saturday, October 28th^
Dive, Dunedin
Friday, November 3rd#
Galatos, Auckland
*with Ripship & Maiden Name
**with CrustaceanZ
^with L. Hotel & Audio Visual Drop Kicks
#with Dick Move & Melanie
