PREMIERE: SUNSET JUNKIES // Rock ‘N’ Roll And Then Some

Jul 01, 2018 / WORDS Anna Rose, Contributing Editor / Nothing But A Good Time

Pure, unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll, is pretty much what Sunset Junkies do. The self-titled single from the Brisbane trio oozes summer hit vibes, without being in the Katy Perry mould. “We definitely weren’t going for the summer hits thing,” laughs vocalist Byron Short.

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The band, upcoming album and single, all share a name, a name that means larger than life drums and guitars, unforgettable melodies, and an evolution. “This song was actually written a long time ago, probably a decade,” says Short. “The Sunset Junkies brand has been through the wash–I myself have been a solo artist–when I wrote this song all that time ago, we played as Byron Short and the Sunset Junkies, and it’s evolved with different line-up changes, dropping my name and becoming more of a real band.

“We wanted an update for what the band sounds like now, which is pretty heavy rock. We wanted to give it the treatment it deserves!”

Short describes the song as a “rollicking riff fest–try saying that five time –and it’s a very accurate way to describe the band’s sound. It’s a style of playing shared with the band’s first single Inertia, and is one that we can expect to stay when they release their self-titled album early next year. “A lot of it is riff-based rock ‘n roll on the heavy side of things,” says Short “Heavy is a good term for it. We’ve definitely got some more of this sort of stuff lined up.

“As we’re getting through the album, we’re really taking our time with production, we’re bringing it out single by single and testing out the waters before we drop the album next year once we figure out where we fit.

“A lot of the songs are definitely in this vein, for anything they probably get aggressive, loner song, different influences creeping in like funk and soul.”

Next weekend’s show in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, is the perfect opportunity for Short to test-run a few of the songs that are upcoming on the album. “We try to creep a couple of new ones in each time,” he says. “We thought we might try something new this time around, it’s gonna be a bit more of a party vibe!

“Free entry, cheap drinks, and a band playing–it’s a funky little venue, I don’t know how the big band sound is going to hold up, hopefully we don’t break anything, but it should be a lot of fun!”

Though the song has been a staple in Short’s performances for a long time, next weekend will be the first time Sunset Junkies will perform their anthem under a whole new guise. “Sunset Junkies has always been a crowd favourite, it’s never had a place to live as a recorded version. It’s our theme song, and we thought this being the first album as a band, we’re treating it as a debut, even though we’ve been around – it’s a new sound for us.”