Three years after the success of their last album 0202, which went to #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, The Rubens have announced their fifth studio album, Soda.
The Menangle alternative rockers have seen major local success since their origin in 2011. They’ve released multiple studio albums, EPs, and singles, also recording a live album with MTV Unplugged in 2019 during a show in Melbourne. Additionally, they’ve won two ARIAs, multiple APRAS, and a J Award, while getting nods from MTV Europe and the AIR Awards too.
Soda is set for release on September 20th, but to fill in the two-month gap until release day, the band have released the title track today.
If you’re a fan of The Rubens, “Soda” swings completely to the left of their signature sound, but it’s an interesting experiment offering fans a teaser for what to expect with the upcoming album.
“We really love this song sonically. We feel like it encapsulates the record, so it makes the most sense to name the album after it,” The Rubens say. “It’s a breakup song where the fault is all on you, and you’re trying to come to terms with the fact you’re a f**k up basically.”
The Rubens are hardly known for using autotune in their music, but after multiple ARIA Award-winning producer Konstantin Kersting played around with it, the band were convinced.
“It didn’t originally have the autotune on there, Konstantin (Kersting) wanted to do a crazy version with the vocals and once he sent it back, we were all like ‘Yeah, that’s it’. We never pictured autotune on there, but it makes it sound slightly disturbing. It brings out the emotion a bit more.”
“Soda” follows the release of singles “Pets and Drugs”, “Black Balloon”, and “Liquid Gold”, with “Pets and Drugs” becoming the most played song on triple j last summer.
Alongside their album release, The Rubens will be embarking on an eight-date national tour, which will start in Forth on album release day (see full dates below).
The Rubens’ “Soda” (title track) is out now. Soda (album) is out Friday, September 20th via Ivy League Records (pre-order here).
The Rubens 2024 Australian Tour
With Support from The Moving Stills & Bean Magazine
Ticket information available here
Friday, September 20th
Australia Forth Pub, Forth, TAS
Saturday, September 21st
Odean Theatre, Hobart, TAS
Friday, September 27th
Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Friday, October 4th
Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
Friday, October 10th
UC Refectory, Canberra, ACT
Friday, October 18th
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
Thursday, October 24th
Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, SA
Friday, October 25th
Metropolis Freo, Perth, WA
