Melbourne’s got a new band… but it’s made up of members you already know.
Bleak Squad is the freshly-formed four-piece featuring some of the most iconic players in Australian alternative music: Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party), Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting). The band’s debut album, Strange Love, lands August 22nd via Poison City, with lead single “Lost My Head” and an accompanying video out today.
“I think the name Bleak Squad speaks to both this loose collection of misfits,” says Adalita of the band, “and the noirish mood of our music.”
The nine-track album is a swirling, guitar-heavy blend of noir-rock, textured drones and emotional weight, with both Adalita and Harvey handling lead vocals. It’s a record of bruised love, restless energy and unexpected chemistry, built largely from jams and gut instinct.
Brown says the idea came to him poolside: “I was sitting around Fitzroy pool one summer bemoaning I wasn’t playing drums enough. So I thought I might start a new project and just called everyone then and there. I can’t remember why I thought it would work. Maybe I recognised we all had a similar way of making music – uncomplicated and instantaneous.”
That instinct paid off. The band came together quickly, with the first recording session at Melbourne’s Head Gap Studio yielding much of the album in just a few takes.
“The first day was effortless,” Brown says. “We played the songs one time to teach others the bits, then we’d record the second take. A lot of Strange Love is that second take. Even though most of the tracks were jams, it sounds like we were reacting and playing to ‘the song’.”
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Harvey agrees: “Marty concocted something good. He guessed at a good chemistry. But everyone put in lots of ideas and committed to the project. Playing music with other people is an exciting thing when it clicks.”
The album includes “Lost My Head”, the loping title track “Strange Love”, and the distorted final cut “Melanie”, alongside slow-burners like “World Go to Hell” and “Blue Signs”. It’s a record with space for each of the four members to shine without anyone stepping on each other’s toes.
“Everything seemed to flow really easily, with everyone just getting a vibe and stepping in or out with the feel,” says Adalita. “We all add our own strengths to everything. And we take turns in the spotlight.”
Now, the band is preparing to take Strange Love to the stage. Two warm-up shows are set for Queenscliff and Meeniyan in August, before headline dates in Sydney and Melbourne this October.
“I just really love the album we’ve made,” Adalita says. “This is the first time I’ve been in a band outside of Magic Dirt and my solo thing. So playing with different musicians I’ve always looked up to and being so inspired by being in an actual new band, is really exciting. They’re just fucking amazing. I really am pinching myself. It’s unreal. I really can’t wait to play live.”
Bleak Squad Live Dates
Friday, August 1st
Queenscliff Town Hall (warm-up show – on sale now)
Saturday, August 2nd
Meeniyan Town Hall (warm-up show – on sale now)
Saturday, October 11th
City Recital Hall, Sydney (Pre-sale July 23rd / on sale July 24th)
Thursday, October 16th
Recital Hall, Melbourne (Pre-sale June 13th / on sale June 16th)
Tickets available from BLEAK SQUAD | Feel Presents
