As anxious fans await the release of Hockey Dad’s new record, the Windang duo have now unleashed their latest single, the energetic “In This State”.
Having revealed back in February that their third studio album would be out in late May, Hockey Dad fans had spent the last few weeks eagerly looking forward to not only the release of Brain Candy, but the accompanying album tour. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen these tour dates not only postponed, but the album’s release date pushed back as well.
Now set to be released on July 31st, there’s no word yet as to when Hockey Dad will be hitting the road to bring the album to their fans, though they’ve helped tide them over in the meantime by sharing their latest single, “In This State”.
Following on from the release of tracks such as “I Missed Out” and “Itch”, “In This State” showcases the continuing evolution of the duo, and was inspired by their time at Splendour in the Grass in 2018.
“It’s the first song we completed when we were working on this album,” guitarist and lead vocalist Zach Stephenson explained in a statement. “We came up with most of it the weekend of Splendour in the Grass.
“We had just played a You Am I song with Tim Rogers, and whilst rehearsing for it, I was playing around with the opening guitar chords. Tim seemed to like them, which got us even more excited to finish it and start playing it live.
“To me, it always felt like an album opener. The initial energy it brings sets a great pace for the rest of the album. It’s definitely one of the most energetic songs in the live set for sure.”
Premiering the song via Consequence of Sound, the group note that the You Am I song it was influenced by was “Purple Sneakers”, while Queens of the Stone Age also served as a bit of an influence.
“The way the song was going towards the end, we felt like it needed a little more expression to wrap things up,” Stephenson explained. “We had been listening to a fair bit of Queens of the Stone Age around that time, so we went chasing for a tone that was an echo of that sound.
“The solo isn’t all that much on the technical side of things; we just wanted that particular gross attitude that comes with those dissonant tones.”
Hockey Dad are set to release Brain Candy on July 31st, with pre-orders available now.
