PACES // Sad Dad Punk, Profound Pain & Finding His Voice

Sometimes in the darkest of places, a light can still shine. For Aussie producer and muso Paces, the pivot from technicolour live shows, club and pop creations, and guest vocalists to raw and vulnerable post punk sung with his own vocals has certainly not been an easy road. But it’s one that finds the Gold Coast artist more authentic and engaging than ever before.

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Recently releasing the brand new album THREE SUMMERS, a third album for the solo project helmed by Mikey Perry, Paces truly finds his stride in new and unexpected ways. Gone are the overflowing glossy pop bops and club leanings; in their place are elements of pop punk, indie, and “sad dad punk” leanings that showcase Perry’s creative growth over the past few years while also peering deep into his soul following years of heartache and hurdles.

“It feels great to have this album out there,” says Perry. “It began as just a journaling exercise for myself, I didn’t initially intend to show anyone but the whole process has been very cathartic.

“Also with this album I didn’t put any pressure on myself because it wasn’t going to be released so it’s been a far more enjoyable process this time around.”

Boasting plenty of earworm moments alongside lashings of heart and soul, THREE SUMMERS also ultimately journeys deeply into personal and genuine themes of mental health struggles.

“I started writing these songs when I was in the middle of a physical and mental breakdown,” says Perry. “I was struggling to stay afloat, I was trying to adapt to life on antidepressants and I had completely stepped away from music.

“Some loves had ended and the pain was really profound,” Perry adds. “Truly, I was at rock bottom. My therapist had me journaling every day, and as I was doing that, some of the lines jumped out to me as possible song lyrics. So, I started writing songs instead of the normal journaling.

“Eventually I started turning them into crude demos and tried singing on them, just as a creative outlet really. I thought it would be a good way to redirect some of that negative energy and use it for something creative.”

With nine new tracks now out in the world via THREE SUMMERS, Perry’s painstaking tracklist curation ebbs and flows between varying styles and powerful delivery. And, for an artist who has frequently collaborated with other vocalists including Jess Kent, Tkay Maidza and Kučka, THREE SUMMERS is also the first time ever that his own vocals sit front and centre – and it appears this addition is one that is here to stay in any potential future Paces adventures.

I started writing these songs when I was in the middle of a physical and mental breakdown. I was struggling to stay afloat, I was trying to adapt to life on antidepressants and I had completely stepped away from music.
[ Mikey Perry – Paces]

“There were a handful of songs that didn’t make the cut,” says Perry, “but those ones never really made it off the starting line. The songs that are on the album are the ones that really meant something to me. Some of them came together easily and others I had to chip away at for months. But those ones were important to me and I was determined to find the right version of them no matter how long it took.

“It was so daunting at first,” Perry adds as talk turns to his decision to finally feature himself as a vocalist on his own material “Hearing your own voice is wild! But these songs are super personal stories about a really difficult time in my life, there’s no way I was gonna get someone else to sing them.

“Once I got the hang of it and found my voice, it actually became my favourite part of the process. Now I’m looking forward to doing more of it.”

THREE SUMMERS may not be a first album by any means for Paces, but it has certainly ticked off many firsts that will permeate into the next chapter for Perry.

“It’s definitely the lane I’m in now,” says Perry of the stylistic future for Paces in the not-too-distant future. “All the ideas I have for new songs are in this style, or variations of it.

I’m really feeling a lot of the post punk stuff that’s been coming out lately from artists like EKKSTACY, who I saw recently and was absolutely incredible live.”

Recently throwing an album launch party and with an upcoming tour on the cards, his first since the pandemic years halted proceedings, the Paces party is only just getting warmed up closing out 2023 and going into the new year. And for Perry, the catharsis of releasing the new album and returning to performing after nearly walking away from music is only amplified by the impending joy of even more new material still to come.

“It was so fun!” says Perry of his recent album launch show. “There were so many loved ones in the room and everyone was singing along even though the album only came out that day. It was fkn magical. The biggest singalongs were THREE SUMMERS, SILVER LINING, and DRIVEWAY SONG. I can’t wait to do those ones live on the tour!

“My favourite was THREE SUMMERS,” Perry continues. “I feel like that one does a good job of capturing what I was feeling when I wrote it. And when I sang it live it felt like I was letting go of all those shit vibes. Especially with everyone singing it back to me.”

“I’m so excited to perform this album live! It’s gonna be way different from the shows I’ve done in the past. I’ll have my DJ, Ya Girl Party B, playing the tracks, I’ll be singing the songs, I might have a guest artist here and there, and I’ve got amazing support acts booked in each city that I’m super psyched to watch.”

“And I’ve already begun writing a bunch of new songs,” Perry concludes. “I’ve been busy prepping for the tour so haven’t had a chance to properly develop them yet but as soon as the tour is done I’m going into studio lockdown to smash out some more sad dad punk songs haha!”