‘Outside Looking In’ is the latest single from Melbourne/Naarm-based musician Dougal Shaw, released under his Dr Sure alias. ‘Outside Looking In’ is the first taste of BUBBLE, a seven-track mixtape that Shaw recorded in the span of two weeks in 2020.
When he’s not playing guitar in Cash Savage and the Last Drinks and handling operations of Marthouse Records, Dougal Shaw has been leading the “no rules” punk collective Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice for the past handful of years. BUBBLE is a sibling release to Unusual Practice’s twin EPs from 2020, Scomo Goes to Hawaii and While Aus Burns.
Dr Sure – ‘Outside Looking In’
BUBBLE steers away from the full band, acerbic post-punk sound of Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice’s two long-playing efforts, 2021’s Remember The Future? Vol. 2 & 1 and 2019’s The West, the former of which nabbed a nomination for Best Rock/Punk Work at the 2022 Music Victoria Awards. Instead, Shaw returns to the “anything goes” experimental sound of the aforementioned EPs, reacquainting himself with gothy synths and bold drum machines.
Lyrically, ‘Outside Looking In’ acts as a gateway between the cutting social commentary of Remember the Future? and the relative insularity of BUBBLE. “My mind running / But I’m standing on the outside looking in,” Shaw sings in the song’s second verse. “My eyes vacant / ‘Cos I’m standing on the outside looking in.”
Dr Sure’s BUBBLE is out on Friday, 14th April via Marthouse Records.
Further Reading
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