The second verse.
After nearly two decades of silence, Newcastle alternative-rock band Post Script Philosophy are breaking their hiatus with a single that feels like an exorcism.
Formed in the early 2000s, the band, centred on childhood friends Daniel Jones and the late Josh Ingram, built a fierce legacy on the East Coast of Australia, sharing stages with acts like Blindside and Antiskeptic before tragedy struck.
In 2006, Ingram was killed in a car accident returning from a show. The band disbanded within a year, the weight of loss too heavy to carry.
Seventeen years later, a reconnection has birthed ‘Butterflies,’ their first release since that devastating chapter.
Returning with a matured, chaotic blend of melody and might, Jones reveals the track unpacks his greatest fear: losing his wife and children. It is a raw, confessional return that turns lingering trauma into art.
In an exclusive interview, the band discusses unfinished business, fatherhood, and why they will never say “yes” to everything again.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
GK: Big day at work! I’m a high voltage electrician and just finished a 12-hour shift on a mine site, and as I’m writing this, Dan is teaching Year 6 kids at a school in the Hunter Valley.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you love about it!
GK: As a band, we’re all from different parts of the Greater Newcastle Area; specifically, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Maitland and Lake Macquarie.
This area has everything you need, great coffee, breweries, beaches, walking trails and a healthy live music scene. This is an amazing area to raise a family, which we are all doing.
HAPPY: ‘Butterflies’ started life as an unreleased track from nearly 20 years ago. What was it about that original version that stuck with you all this time?
GK: The driving opening riff. When we started jamming again, we felt that the opening guitar part had an energy that we couldn’t let go of.
Everything else in relation to the original version changed, from the lyrics to the groove, and then the final arrangement of all its parts. Returning to PSP, we all come back with a more mature approach that transformed the song into something so much better than it originally was.
HAPPY: You’ve described this as your most personal song. Was there ever a moment you considered keeping it private rather than releasing it?
DJ: It didn’t really cross my mind to be honest. I’ve always used songwriting to work through the most challenging of times, whether that’s a relationship breakdown or dealing with the loss of a friend.
The truth about Butterflies is that even though it touches on my family life, these feelings of anxiety, fear and that sense of being overwhelmed, they’re universal. By being open about some of my struggles, I hope it helps other men (and young males) realise that what they’re feeling is normal, and that they’re not alone.
HAPPY: What do you hope listeners who’ve experienced sudden loss take away from ‘Butterflies’?
DJ: Butterflies is more about the fear of failure, rather than a sudden loss. In saying that, the song still sits in that same idea of processing fear and uncertainty, while finding a way through it.
My goal is that Butterflies gives the listener reassurance that what they’re feeling is normal, and that, with time, it is possible to move forward.
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HAPPY: Looking back at your early days playing the Cambridge Hotel and Metro Theatre, what’s the biggest difference in how you approach music now versus then?
GK: In the early days it was always ‘let’s play everywhere, all the time, no matter what’. We have always loved playing shows, but those early days came at a price.
We played a festival slot in Queensland on a Saturday afternoon (a week after I’d got married) but then had to be back in Newcastle to support Swedish band Blindside the following day on the Sunday. That was crazy, and I still owe my wife a proper honeymoon.
Now that we’re all Dads, we simply cannot say “yes” to everything. We have the motivation to push PSP to be bigger and better than ever before, only this time we will not neglect those who depend on us.
HAPPY: Now that ‘Butterflies’ is launching a new chapter, can fans expect more new music or an EP in the near future?
GK: Absolutely!! We recorded another track at the same time as Butterflies which will be out late May or early June. Our goal is to then hopefully be back in the studio later this year for some more recording, with either an EP or an album to be released at a later date.
HAPPY: Your sound came from “throwing together different musical interests and allowing the mayhem.” Have those individual influences changed much over the past 20 years?
GK: Not heaps, I’m still listening to a very broad range of music though my favourites haven’t changed. Bands like Thrice and Story of the Year, while they’re still going, have changed and matured. I feel I’ve been on that same journey while staying true to my roots.
HAPPY: If you could go back and tell the 2006 version of Post Script Philosophy one thing, what would it be?
DJ: When I put this to Guy and Pete, the other members of Post Script Philosophy, Pete responded along the lines of ‘we should have pushed through together and we shouldn’t have parted ways, although now it’s great we’re back together experimenting with new sounds and ideas’.
A part of me regrets that we called it a day back in 2006, but at the same time, I think we needed that time apart after Josh’s (original bassists) passing. We all had a lot of growing and maturing to do, both as people and as musicians, and I don’t think we’d be making the kind of music we are now without that time apart.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy? :-)
GK: Early morning coffee with the Mrs
DJ: the opportunity to share with your readers about Post Script Philosophy (as well as hanging out with my family 😊 )
