“I like to sit with things so they make me feel something genuine,” Darcy of Seaside said of the force behind their new EP Wishbone.
Last month saw the arrival of Wishbone, the latest EP from Byron Bay band Seaside. Encompassing five tracks, the expansive project traces the quartet from tales of love and friendship to desire and romance, as punctuated by a distinct indie rock groove.
Wishbone marks Seaside’s first EP since 2020’s In Another Life, and will be supported by their imminent tour slated for the remainder of this month and early-April.
The four-piece will take to dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Hobart and Sandstone Point, but caught up with them ahead of the tour for a chat about Wishbone, touring, and how “rock is our safe space.”
Catch our full interview with Seaside’s Darcy Dexter below, and scroll down to listen to their new EP Wishbone.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
DARCY: I am at work, I do marketing and PR during my non-Seaside hours!
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you live, what’s the scene like?
DARCY: Not a day goes by that we don’t count our lucky stars to call Byron home. It’s a melting pot of some of the strangest people ever, but it has this magical spark that can’t be explained.
The scene here has changed with a lot of bands from pre pandemic moving away or pursuing different things, but that just makes room for the next wave of bands of which there are plenty :)
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HAPPY: Congrats on your EP ‘Wishbone’, can you tell us about the title and what inspired it?
DARCY: As corny as it sounds, we kind of inspired each other. Working with a new producer who helped us develop our writing skills and attention to details opened up a door for us.
It is about love, friendships, desires, things that passed my mind for even a moment made the cut into the EP. When I was a child, my mum cooked a mean roast chicken, she would keep the wishbones and dry them out- when they were ready we’d make a wish and loop our pinkies around the bone and break it apart.
I loved her and this tradition so much I’d always wish for her to have the big side so her wishes came true, I’m sure she felt the same for me.
This EP is our wishbone, looping pinkies with the world and breaking open the EP- wishing they feel the same way listening to it as we did writing it.
HAPPY: How did the band form, and what brought you all together?
DARCY: We formed through Tom and I’s friendship, quickly snagging Chris before another band did and eventually looping in Kento.
Our mutual love for music consumption and output has brought us and kept us together. We’re also good friends which really helps when you’re living in close quarters on tour.
HAPPY: How has your sound evolved since your first release? It’s been quite an evolution. We used to sound coastal, an homage to our roots most likely, then a bit more indie pop, eventually forming into more of an indie rock.
I write quite dark melodies and lyrics (a side effect of being a hopeless romantic I suppose) and the boys all have their own influence. Rock is our safe space, so we’ve settled here!
HAPPY: Which artists or bands have influenced your music the most?
DARCY: It’s varied throughout the years for sure, right now I’m fixed on Cherry Glazer, Idles, Bloc Party (we ended up having Adam Greenspan who worked with Idles + Bloc Party mix this EP, pinch me moment).
I know Kento loves DMA’s, Tom is a sucker for indie and punk, Chris loves Fontaines DC, The Cure, old Australian rock anthems… we honestly listen to SO much music and are more inspired by the act of writing a great body of work than anything.
HAPPY: What is your songwriting process like? It usually starts with Kento writing an instrumental piece, or Chris or Tom, and I will take it away and write a melody and lyrics.
I like to sit with things so they make me feel something genuine, it makes me believe what I’m singing when we perform.
Kento actually brought us a song yesterday where he’d written the vocal melody too and it’s a banger so I’d love to see a bit more of his melody input in future I think!
It’s good to share those things, some times he’ll hear something that I don’t. Music works that way I find.
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HAPPY: Are there any recurring themes or messages in your music?
DARCY: Love! I love love so much. I often write about experiences I see others go through, or funny stories, even random lines I think about just before I fall asleep. I think a recurring theme is relationships, friends or lovers.
HAPPY: Is there a particular song on the upcoming EP that holds special meaning for you?
DARCY: Housewife holds a pretty special meaning, the song itself is inspired from Desperate Housewives, but I was falling asleep and thought ‘you play the pool guy and I’ll be the housewife’- and that birthed the song.
It was also the first time we’d really pushed outside of our writing limits, I know we were all so proud of it too. That’s special to me.
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HAPPY: You have an East Coast tour coming up, that includes Hobart, can you share a little about what fans can look forward to?
DARCY: Chaos, guitar solos, pure unadulterated happiness to be there + ALOT of sweat! We have a new set with all the WISHBONE ep tracks + a few of our old favs and even a bunch of new ideas.
We like to test our new music on the road to gauge initial responses.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy? You know what?
DARCY: Nobody has ever asked me this but my brain was immediately full of so many answers that that in itself made me happy- that I have so much to be happy about- does that make sense?
In short form, the Seaside boys, my dog, my friends, my home, my family and obviously singing, but I could go on forever which makes me the happiest of all.
