Maple’s Pet Dinosaur has released “Big Mouth”, the latest single from her debut EP, Child’s Play, due out October 30th.
The 16-year-old Newcastle artist said she wrote the song in a burst of inspiration while listening to her Discern and scribbling lyrics in a school notebook. Built around slap bass, scratching from Incubus’ DJ Kilmore and a chorus made from a crowd to shout back it draws on her love of Mr Bungle and Primus.
“‘Big Mouth’ sounds like the posters on my bedroom wall,” Maple said. “Lyrically, ‘Big Mouth’ explores the idea that a lot of men still think girls should be quiet, so I wanted to celebrate the idea of having a big mouth.”
She said the verses also served as an affirmation when she was feeling doubted. “I wrote these lyrics almost like an affirmation to get out there and believe in myself,” she said.
Maple has previewed the track with DIY videos, including one shot on an Uber dash cam.
“My tastes are hella eclectic, I try to take inspiration from everywhere while avoiding replicating anyone,” she says. “Big Mouth’ deserved the ratchet treatment, so I made a couple of pretty random DIY videos for it.”
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
View this post on Instagram
The single follows the EP’s title track, “Child’s Play”, which addresses Maple’s experience as a teenage girl in adult, often male-dominated festival and club spaces. It’s another step in a whirlwind year for an artist whose debut single, “lego”, first drew widespread attention through a music video filmed on a doorbell camera.
Maple says the attention that followed was useful insofar as it could get her on stage. “I was offered so many opportunities to rinse the doorbell video – fly to the US for talk shows and stuff like that – but that video was only ever meant to be a gateway for gigs,” she said. “I’m not trying to be a celebrity or influencer. I want to be a rock singer, and the best way to do that is by playing shows.”
Maple’s Pet Dinosaur will mark the EP release with an all-ages hometown show at Newcastle’s Tower Cinemas on Friday, October 30th. Trophy Wyfe, Filthy E and the Clean Teens, and Bardvarkk are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale now, and “Big Mouth” is available to stream. Child’s Play drops on October 30th — pre-save now.
