The Hard Aches Are A Mess But Ain't No One Complaining

The Hard Aches new record, 'Mess'. drops April 13th. 

Adelaide's indie-punk duo, The Hard Aches - AKA The Smith Street Band but for adults - are going to be hitting 2018 hard, what with the South Australian pair recently announcing the details for their upcoming sophomore album, 'Mess', which is scheduled to drop on April 13th via Anchorhead. (Also, yes, I do hate myself a little bit more for that title, thanks for asking).

This time around, the duo teamed up with Melbourne producer Sam Johnson (Camp Cope, The Smith Street Band, and The Bennies) at the Holes & Corners studio. After three long weeks and many a late night, the band had crafted 12 new tracks, of which Grammy award-winning engineer William Bowden, mastered to finalise the release. 'Mess' itself features guest vocals from Camp Cope’s Georgia Maq, The Bennies’ Craig Selak, and Long Island’s own Jeff Rosenstock, who happened to be in the country for Melbourne’s annual punk rock festival bonanza - the Poison City Weekender. So basically, this is a record full of the band's mates and peers joining in on the fun to help cap off what is set to be one hell of a good time.

On the band's new album, guitarist/singer Ben David stated that “...Mess is a collection of songs inspired by the people around us and the experiences we've all shared together or apart. Written with a focus on mental health in a hopeful and positive light. This album is sonically (and creatively) the best representation of us as a band, the album we’ve been working towards creating through years of touring and making music.

He also elaborated on their latest single that, “We’re not burning out, We’re not burning out”. Mess, the first single from our forthcoming album comes from a place of hope, a feeling of knowing that everything is going to be ok regardless of how hard it might be sometimes. “We’re not burning out”. It's always way too easy to feel like you’ve burned out whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally, this is a constant reminder to recharge.”

So go on, recharge your batteries by listening to 'Mess' and quick back for a couple minutes.

Photo Credit: Jay Wennington. 

The Hard Aches are trekking out on the road in April for their album tour with special guests ANTONIA AND THE LAZY SUSANS + SINCERELY, GRIZZLY. Check out the dates below:

FRIDAY 13 APRIL - CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE

SATURDAY 14 APRIL - THE GOV, ADELAIDE

WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL - TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA

THURSDAY 19 APRIL - THE CAMBRIDGE, NEWCASTLE

FRIDAY 20 APRIL - OXFORD ARTS FACTORY, SYDNEY

SATURDAY 21 APRIL - THE ZOO, BRISBANE

TUESDAY 24 APRIL - JACK RABBIT SLIMS, PERTH