You know that friend you had in high school, who your parents inexplicably loved? They called him by his first name – while he referred to them as “Mr and Mrs”. Your Parents, all the while, were unaware this friend would also eat a tin of cat food at a party in return for free booze or need to borrow your calculator in an exam because he’d tried to make his into a bong the night before. Meet The Dead Love ten years on.
None of these are ‘facts’ about the band, but it’s 2018 so that’s irrelevant, although you’d hold confidence in at least the cat food story… and probably the calculator.
While speculating about what they got up to at high school is more than enjoyable (if not a little cathartic for our own teen years) there’s a bit more to cover when it comes to this band. Undoubtedly TDL are chorus-driven and their new single ‘Ordinary’ is timed perfectly for the Australian resurgence of amped-up, pop-laced punk.
To get to know them a little better, bassist Clint Ossington took us on a first date with The Dead Love, the self-professed “shitty grunge” band whose music is anything but Ordinary…
A Night The Dead Love Actually Remember…
We played a sold-out Enmore theatre, funnily enough opening for Cold Chisel which is super random but they’re easily one of the most iconic Aussie bands of all time. All the oldies got there early so walking out to a full house was unreal. I don’t think I saw anyone there under thirty, unless they were somebody’s son. It was definitely mostly 40-60-year-olds, but even earlier on in the day I walked passed and people even older, the golden oldies, were queuing up at midday and I thought ‘Fuck you shouldn’t be out in the sun’.
It Ain’t An After-Party Unless…
It’s gotta be a 90’s hip-hop playlist and a dancefloor, but a dancefloor that isn’t a dancefloor. Definitely in the back room of someone’s house, you get everyone dancing and it’s always the best vibe. Then you get to the point of the after-party and coolest guy in the corner drops his guard and can’t resist getting on the dancefloor. That shit’s the best. These days it always ends up on socials and it’s gonna come back to bite you but personally I love getting on the DF.
“Shitty-grunge” is a sub-genre:
I mean are we really a grunge band? Is it really relevant to us? Some people call us punk, some people call us rock. We just put out tunes and don’t take much of that on, but we go with “shitty grunge”. You know people are always saying grunge died when Kurt Cobain died and someone said to us “you’re just shitty grunge” one time. So, we were like whatever, we’re just shitty grunge I guess. The flipside of that is the amount of people turning up to that grunge/punk movement that’s coming back now.
Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil has a spot in The Dead Love if he wants it:
The Vertigo of Bliss changed my life and music. That album has probably had the biggest impact on me out of any, I introduced the guys to Biffy Clyro and they were like “Oh my fucking god”. The first time we saw them they came out on a Sunday to about 50 people and it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Their melodies and interesting timing, they’re just fucking incredible man. Simon Neil would be the ultimate addition.
How to survive a tour with The Dead Love:
You need to have your ‘business drunk’ on if you’re working with the band and know how to back it up. Indulge, but you need to be a patient person… I’m gonna call them diverse personalities. Just bring your game, bring your drinking game. If you wanna bring a 90’s hip-hop playlist that’ll work too, gotta keep the party going!
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The Dead Love are hitting the road this month off the back of their new single ‘Ordinary’. Catch their full list of dates right here and catch them live at Waywards Newtown tomorrow, March 9th.
