DZ Deathrays have returned with another storming new track Fear The Anchor (feat. Ecca Vandal). The track is the latest to be lifted from their fifth studio album ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’. Set for release on Friday 9th July 2021 via Alcopop! Records (UK) and I OH YOU (ROW), the album is the follow up to 2019’s ‘Positive Rising: Part 1’. Fear The Anchor sees the DZ boys team up with Melbourne artist Ecca Vandal, a collaboration that will have fans burning for the live rendition.
Fear The Anchor is a metaphorical middle finger to the systems that perpetuate hate and engage in fear-mongering on a daily basis. Even with the track penned prior to the pandemic taking over, Fear The Anchor continues to resonate in everyday life. Watch the video clip via YouTube below.
“We asked our good friend Ecca Vandal to join us on this track,” says guitarist Shane Parsons. “It was such a pleasure and honour to have Ecca on Fear The Anchor, she absolutely shreds it! We actually changed the key in pre-production so both our voices fit the track and I think it was for the better. When it came to working on it in the studio it was really fun to bounce ideas around between everyone and have Ecca add extra melodies throughout the song. I hope we all get to share a stage again and thrash this one out!”
A fearless, unique and powerful new voice, Ecca Vandal is a true original. Spending her formative years as a trained jazz musician, her passion for the expression and improvisation of jazz led her to fall in love with the DIY abandon of punk, and her ability to effortlessly balance between soulful melodics and raw, unapologetic power have drawn acclaim from the likes of NME and Rolling Stone. A long-time friend of DZ, Ecca Vandal jumped at the chance to work with the guys on Fear The Anchor.
“I’m a massive DZ fan!” she enthuses about the project. “I get hyped listening to their records and their live energy is just wild, so it was super cool to finally collab on something! They are all such killer musicians and songwriters, consistently releasing quality music. I’ve always been inspired by their endless creativity and drive!”
Fear The Anchor (feat. Ecca Vandal) is out now.
More info on ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’
Produced and mixed by Miro Mackie, Fear The Anchor adds another fiery element to Positive Rising: Part 2 following previous releases—the anthemic sonic pep talk Fired Up and the guitar hero All Or Nothing, which acts as a testament to the objects that serve as reminders of home when the band are far from it.
Both tracks were met with acclaim from fans and industry alike with adds to local and international rock playlists on Spotify and Apple Music plus coverage from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, DIY, UPSET, The Music, Scenestr, NME AU, Music Feeds and triple j.
With a moodier tone than its predecessor, ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’ draws the outline of an apocalyptic scene, one that sees the band – Shane Parsons, Simon Ridley and Lachlan Ewbank – stepping outside of themselves, seeking out new perspectives and surveying the world from above. From up there, they don’t always like what they see, but ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’ offers a somewhat-hopeful ending to the sprawling rock saga.
‘Positive Rising: Part 2’ is out July 9th and it’s available for pre-order now at https://www.ilovealcopop.co.uk.
The band also recently announced a new Positive Rising grant in assistance with Fender and the Artist Studio that will see the fuzz-rock trio lend a hand to burgeoning guitarists from regional Australia.
Three recipients of the band’s Positive Rising grant will receive a Fender Squier guitar and Fender amp, along with one year’s worth of fortnightly online guitar classes. Recipients will also score the band’s latest album, 2019’s ‘Positive Rising: Part 1’, and its forthcoming follow-up, ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’, on vinyl, plus a limited-edition pack of DZ Deathrays guitar picks.
Entries for the grant are open now via the band’s website, and will close at 11PM AEDT on March 31.
Band members Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley, who both grew up in Bundaberg in South East Queensland, say they were inspired to connect regional musicians to quality instruments and instructions.
“One of the biggest hurdles starting out in music for me as a teenager was just being able to afford quality equipment that was not only actually enjoyable to play but also capable of being used for a gig, or even just an amp loud enough for playing with a full band,” explained guitarist Ridley. “Growing up in a regional town, the quality and range of instruments available at the time was really limited. To be able to help people overcome that initial barrier and give someone the ability to jump straight into it is something I’m very grateful to be a part of.”
With COVID restrictions lifted in Australia, DZ Deathrays recently took their new material to the stage on their All Or Nothing Tour for lucky Aussie fans to get their shredding fix up close and personal.
For more information on DZ Deathrays, visit www.dzdeathrays.com.
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