Newcastle, Australia is not the kind of place you form a soft band. Daisy Chain came together here in late 2022, five people from past heavy and emo-adjacent projects deciding to mash their sounds together and see how far they could push the edges.
By August 2023, they had a three-track debut out and a year of shows under their belts. Now they’re back with a self-titled EP that hits harder, leans heavier, and still keeps that screamo swing between collapse and clarity.
Written alongside the first EP but dragged through another year of noise and sweat, the new one kicks off with “Pig House” — already out since August 13 — before diving into “Meat”, “Betting”, and “Stranger in the skin”. The riffs bite sharper this time, a nod to growing up in a city where hardcore dominates every bill. “It’s still screamo,” they say, “especially in the vocal delivery and the dynamic swings between harsh and delicate instrumental passages.”
Guitarist Dane doesn’t hide where the DNA comes from. Conation — a local screamo-inflected hardcore act from the early 2000s — left a mark. Screamo’s never had deep roots in Newcastle, but Daisy Chain have linked with crews from Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne to keep the circuit alive. “Some bands we’ve particularly loved playing with — and learning from — include Gil Cerrone, The World at a Glance, Dream Inertia, Keratin, Blind Girls, Doris, and more. Many of those bands have helped lay the groundwork for what screamo looks like in Australia now, and we hope to do the same for the next wave.”
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That “next wave” shows up tonight. The EP launch at Hamilton Station Hotel pulls in Rails, plus younger bands Goblin Violence and April — both carving out their own followings through DIY, all-ages shows. “We’re hyped to introduce them to some older heads as much as we are to play to their younger crowds. That kind of cross-pollination is really important to us.”
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If you want the record raw, the EP’s streaming now. If you want it loud, the doors open at 8.
The EP was recorded, mixed and mastered on Awabakal land by Joe Andersons at Woodriver Studios. All songs written and performed by Daisy Chain: Ben Bullivant, Dane Loomes, Josh Nickisson, Nik Bonomini & Will Mitchell
