Delivery have unleashed Force Majeure, their second album, out today via Heavenly Recordings.
Following up their 2022 debut Forever Giving Handshakes—a record that landed on our Best Australian Albums of 2022 list—the Melbourne garage-punks return with a release that’s been worth the wait.
Led by this week’s single “Deadlines” and backed by standout tracks like “The New Alphabet”, “Digging the Hole”, “Only a Fool”, and “Operating at a Loss”, Force Majeure isn’t just a follow-up; it’s a statement of intent.
To celebrate, the band is throwing a free live show at Sound Merch’s Real Life Record Store in Melbourne before supporting UK indie favorites Los Bitchos at The Curtin Hotel on January 22 (tickets here).
Described as a “vital and concise record which thrills with its direct simplicity and excitement,” Force Majeure also marks the band’s first album since signing with Heavenly Recordings—a label that’s previously nurtured Aussie acts like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Confidence Man.
Bassist Bec Allan explains the band’s approach: “We were really conscious of having ebbs and flows on this album, of giving people a sonic break. We wanted to put in different moods, have different singers, slow it down, make it groovy so it wasn’t just bang-bang-bang.”
Guitarist James Lynch agrees: “There’s definitely something punk about keeping your cards close to your chest rather than being full on every second you’re playing. Dialling it back a bit is definitely part of our collective DNA these days.”
Above all, Force Majeure is a communal effort. “We always wanted to open the floor up to anyone who wanted to write a song for the band,” Allan reveals. “It was always meant to be collaborative, whoever is in the band. And while we definitely always like to make sure songs rock all the time, we always end up adding what we like to call James Lynch-isms.
“One of us would come up with a song with a good honest rock ’n’ roll verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure and James would listen to it and go, ‘What about if we do it this way.’ It immediately added a bit of spice and flavour. It’s what makes us different.”
Allan and Lynch are joined in Delivery by Liam Kenny (drums), Scarlett Maloney (guitarist), and Jordan Oakley (guitar), with all band members chipping in with vocals when a song calls for it.
Delivery’s Force Majeure is out now via Heavenly Recordings / PIAS.
