Standing Room Only are charging into 2025 with grit & groove
Standing Room Only (SRO), Melbourne’s high-energy indie rock trio, are gearing up for a massive year with new music on the horizon.
Comprising Aaron O’Brien (drums/lead vocals), Jim Currell (bass), and Bill ‘Fozzy’ Folino (guitar), the band blends punchy rhythms and infectious hooks—proven by their 2022 debut Lost Highway and the recent single Big Machine.
Currently road-testing fresh tracks for their second album (out end of this year), SRO thrives on raw, standing-room-only energy—both onstage and in their writing process.
Having shared stages with legends like The Animals and Baby Animals, these seasoned players have honed a sound that’s equal parts grit and melody.
With a loyal ‘Roomies’ fanbase and a trademark swagger (yes, even their logo rocks), SRO is set to drop more fiery singles ahead of their album.
Listen to the title track, ‘Big Machine,’ here.
Check out SRO’s deep dive into the behind the scenes inspiration of their unreleased album below.
BIG MACHINE
Released in late December 2024, this is the first single and the title track of their forthcoming album.
The lyrics for this were written in a hotel room, as the opening line suggests.
Jim: We were holidaying through Europe and we’re in Nice in the south of France.
The regular routine of living out of a suitcase reminded me of the constant grind of touring.
The lyrics essentially encapsulate the idea that a touring artist is simply a cog within a much bigger machine.
Initially the idea for the melody was quite different to what transpired.
Fozz: We were starting the process of looking at songs for the next album and Jim had the lyrics with a tempo and melody outline he’d written for ‘Big Machine.’
I had a piece of music I had written some time ago and asked Aaron to sing those lyrics alongside that music.
It fitted seamlessly and we began the process of making it work.
The song has a very specific feel.
Aaron: I felt the song was very industrial and that’s how I pitched it to the guys.
Once we hit the studio, we were looking for a sound that captured that industrial feel.
In the studio we found a piece of old handrail, you know, the sort you would see outside a train station.
We hit that with a hammer and it was exactly what we needed, we then combined that with an ice-bell cymbal.
We were also experimenting with different sounds to add to it when Jim suggested we just use our voices as another sound effect.
Once you hear the song, you’ll understand how it worked out.
BETTER DAYS
Another song where Fozz provided the guitar melody and Jim wrote lyrics.
The vocal melody was put together by Aaron and they played this for the first time at the Wanstock Festival in Melbourne.
Jim: My initial feeling when I wrote this was that it was quite a dark and agonising song.
It was only when Aaron sent me his vocal melody and we spoke about it that I realised it was actually a poignant song about missing someone you love.
It came together quickly.
Aaron: Fozz suggested we add a brand new one in for Wanstock and this was clearly the best fit.
Rehearsing it in the studio, we felt it’s the most contemporary song that we’ve written. I
still get a tingle when Jim sings a little harmony during the second verse.
It’s quite beautiful.
UP ALL NIGHT
A straight up blues inspired rock riff.
Fozz: This music was actually written during Covid.
We were locked inside and I just spent days on end in my studio playing guitar. I envisioned this song to be about ‘that guy.’
Full of swagger, bravado and ego who walks into a bar and believes he’s God’s gift to women, fighting and booze!
There’s always one of those at every venue you play at.
Jim: It wasn’t a big stretch to picture the dude who approaches every woman in the expectation that they’ll sleep with them.
They also believe they can drink anyone under the table and beat up every person in the place.
Spoiler alert… They usually can’t.
FIRST NATION
Clearly this song is about indigenous Australians.
Jim: I actually woke up one morning with this song and the basic outline in my head.
I went straight into my studio at home and recorded most of the basic demo that morning.
In my head I was channeling Midnight Oil with their power and eclectic punch and musicianship.
Once the basics were done, I leaned heavily on Aaron and Fozz to get it to the next level.
We’re not a politically motivated band but ultimately the song speaks to the changes and compromise we all must reach to be part of a cohesive, empathetic, understanding community.
