Polish Club are back and bigger than ever. Their fourth album Heavy Weight Heart, dropping today marks a bold new chapter for the Eora-based rock duo.
After a rollercoaster year—breaking free from their label, both getting married, and frontman Novak undergoing open-heart surgery— the band is charging ahead, totally independent.
Their latest singles, including “Manila” and “Heavyweight,” capture the raw, brash energy they’re known for, but with a more heartfelt, poetic edge. Recorded at Marrickville’s Golden Retriever Studios, and with support from top songwriters like Robby De Sa and Budo Miller, Heavy Weight Heart is their most personal, yet electrifying record to date.
Now, they’re set to hit the road with Spiderbait and headline their own tour this October—proving they’ve got plenty more fight left in them.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
POLISH CLUB: I’m googling all of my plants and trying to figure out if they’re overwatered or underwatered.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you live, what do you love about it?
POLISH CLUB: Gadigal Land Sydney is the only place on earth where the cost of living is this high and schmucks like us still insist it’s the best city on Earth.
HAPPY: Heavy Weight Heart is your fourth album and is being released independently. How does it feel to be releasing this album on your own terms?
POLISH CLUB: Relief is the preeminent feeling right now. We started writing this record almost two years ago now and recorded it almost a year ago.
We thought it would be our final major label record, but we decided to part ways with our label before the release of this one, so it’s kind of surreal to have treated this album as a major label release while also being fully responsible for it’s release.
We’re really excited about being able to double down on our autonomy by releasing heaps of music next year.
HAPPY: The past year has been full of major changes for you both—becoming independent, getting married, and Novak’s open heart surgery. How have these experiences shaped the music on Heavy Weight Heart?
POLISH CLUB: The record is very much a reflection of the huge life events we’ve both experienced of late. JH came up with the not-so-subtle double entendre title (get it?).
We’ve always been fairly candid people and I’m not one to shy away from being open with lyrics, but there was definitely a larger emotional range to pull from throughout the past couple of years.
I think that’s probably plain to see in the songs on this record. The surgery was horrible, but I think overall there’s a light and contentment that pushes through in the album.
HAPPY: You’ve already released four singles from the album. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind each of these tracks?
POLISH CLUB: We really wanted to make sure to give both ‘Manila’ and ‘How Dare You Fall In Love In This City’ their moments, as we’ve kind of retrospectively come to see them as companion pieces, from Manila to Sydney.
A reflection of the constant tug of war of comfort and confusion within both of those cities.
‘Heavyweight’ is very much a reflection of the aforementioned contentment that perhaps our previous love songs have been missing and ‘Tied in a Knot’ was us doing our best Beatles impression alongside the classic lyrical theme of “I feel like shit and I don’t know why”.
HAPPY: Working with Simon Berckelman at Golden Retriever Studios, what was the recording process like for Heavy Weight Heart? How did Simon and Yianni Adams influence the final sound?
POLISH CLUB: We’ve recorded at Golden Retriever so many times and somehow this is our first time doing so with Simon, who owns the joint.
As is the case when you get to work with the owner, there’s a familiarity there that you just don’t get with others, so it was a real pleasure seeing someone so comfortable in their own place.
JH and I realised not so long ago that we’ve essentially been producing our own music this whole time to varying extents, we just don’t know what plugs into where and what this plug in does etc etc.
So I’d say that if JH and I were the heart, Simon and Yianni were the hands and probably the brains of the operation.
HAPPY: You’ve collaborated with some impressive songwriters on this album, like Robby De Sa and Budo Miller. How did those collaborations come about, and what did they bring to the table?
POLISH CLUB: We love Robby. It’s such a joy working with him. Speaking of hands, he’s so bloody quick on the tools.
It’s really a wonderful catalyst to capturing fleeting ideas that perhaps we wouldn’t get down on our volition.
And with Budo, it was a real full circle moment for me personally, having met him years and years ago through a former partner of mine.
He has really come so far since then, but it was plain to see that he was a huge talent even back then.
HAPPY: The album balances heartfelt and poetic lyrics with your signature brash rock sound. How did you manage to strike this balance in the new songs?
POLISH CLUB: At some point during writing a record, we just have to give up on worrying about that balance.
It’s an inevitable point of contention, but we try not to dwell on it too much.
At some point, even with these bigger full band songs, the songs themselves have to mostly work as drums, guitar and a vocal.
As long as we cover that for the most part, we’re fine.
HAPPY: You’re about to support Spiderbait on their Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour. How excited are you to be part of this iconic celebration, and what can fans expect from your live performances?
POLISH CLUB: We’ve had so much fun with Spiderbait on their tour.
It’s such a refreshing experience to be able to play on someone else’s tour, there’s no pressure on you to do anything or sell anything.
You just go out on stage in front of bigger crowds than usual and play for half an hour at 100%.
And of course Spiderbait are wonderful people. It’s a dream.
HAPPY: Winning the 2024 Most Played Rock Work APRA Award for ‘Good Time’ must have been a big moment for you. How has this recognition impacted you as artists?
POLISH CLUB: It was 100% unexpected (for me at least, I mean JH did prepare a speech so who knows). We somewhat (totally) took the piss with that song and just had fun writing a dumb rock song.
I think we initially wanted to do a britpop song, at least that’s where the chords came from. But essentially we just chucked in as many catchphrases as possible and called it a day. True art.
HAPPY: How do you see Polish Club evolving in the future, especially now that you’re independent? Are there new directions or projects you’re excited to explore?
POLISH CLUB: We’re just going to shift into overdrive in terms of releasing music.
I’m kind of done with worrying about being a content creator or trying to cover as many bases as possible in order to get it on the radio or in front of as many people as possible.
We’re both at a point where we’ve been so frustrated with not being able to record and release as much music as we want to.
Now that we are independent and self-managed, we’re just going to crank out records I reckon. Cheaply and cheerfully.
HAPPY: With your own headline tour coming up in October, what are you most looking forward to about sharing Heavy Weight Heart live with your fans?
POLISH CLUB: It’s been years since we’ve had our own proper tour. And it has been years since we conceived these songs. So to be able to finally play them to people who have heard them is something we don’t take for granted. We’re very lucky to be able to do so.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you Happy?
POLISH CLUB: All of the above.
TOUR DATES
Touring with Spiderbait – Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour
TICKETS HERE
Tue 13 Aug | The Fortitude Music Hall | Brisbane
Fri 16 Aug | Hindley Street Music Hall | Adelaide
Sat 17 Aug | Odeon Theatre | Hobart
Fri 30 Aug | Bar on the Hill | Newcastle
Sat 31 Aug | Waves | Wollongong
Sat 21 Sep | Enmore Theatre | Sydney
