Fresh from their recent stint touring the U.K. with The Vaccines, Melbourne five-piece Delivery have today shared “The New Alphabet”, the latest track to be taken from their forthcoming second album, Force Majeure, which is out on Heavenly on January 17. The band will be making their U.S. debut in March with shows as part of SXSW and New Colossus.
Delivery enter post-punk territory on “The New Alphabet” (think Television shooting empty VB tins off the back porch). The track scoops the listener up and puts them into the shoes of “someone who thinks they’re topshit”. Both scuzzy and melodic throughout, the track closes out with a noisy guitar section and one final chanting chorus of “See my reflection, it’s an anthem, played as I’m talking to myself”. The new single is accompanied by a home movie style video of the band in full alien get-up around Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and the UK, discovering some of Earth’s finest offerings (the pub, crisps and telly).
Talking about the track, James from the band said: “Weirdly and unintentionally, ‘The New Alphabet’ is something of a spiritual twin to ‘The Complex’ from our first album; both tracks come in at number six on the record, are built around wonky guitars over a slightly loosened groove, and both share a similar lyrical concept that I sometimes revert back to for Delivery. Which is, taking on the perspective of a character who thinks they’re topshit, when it’s glaringly obvious that they’re not.
Not really sure which murky part of my subconscious thinks that’s a fun topic to write songs about, but I guess the idea of someone developing their own alphabet just to save face was too good to ignore. Good news is this song isn’t really aimed at anyone in particular, which also means I can take full credit for the legend move of describing yourself as a “force majeure” – would love to hear that one used in real life.
In typical Delivery style, this track came together a bit like a jigsaw puzzle and there was a lot of rearranging to make it properly make sense. Luckily, once we landed on the unnecessary key-change/noise-guitar solo section, everything seemed to make sense.”
The twelve-track battering ram of an album, from Melbourne’s effortlessly cool five-piece garage punk heroes, builds hugely on the promise that their 2022 lockdown-born debut album Forever Giving Handshakes showed.
Already with an enviable pedigree, their debut attracted fans from Henry Rollins (who has played almost the whole catalogue on his KCRW show) to Rolling Stone Australia (Top 10 albums 2022) through old school DIY word of mouth; Delivery are that rare thing, a true band’s band and a fan’s band simultaneously.
A vital and concise record which thrills with its direct simplicity and excitement, recalling the likes of Parquet Courts or early Modern Lovers, Force Majeure (rarely does a title so aptly describe the contents) opens with the controlled explosion of recent single ‘Digging The Hole’ and doesn’t let up apart from occasional journeys into post punk territory on the Television-esque ‘New Alphabet’ and the wonderfully Wire-ish ‘What Else’.
Force Majure – Delivery’s first album for Heavenly Recordings, a label with a long history of championing young Australian bands, from The Vines to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Confidence Man – is an urgent, joyous noise, the prefect calling card from your new favorite honest rock’n’roll band.
Tour Dates
Mar 6-10 – New Colossus Festival, New York, NY
Mar 12-15 – SXSW, Austin, TX
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