Ocean Alley have revealed the one song they simply can’t leave out of their setlist for their upcoming Australian tour.
The psychedelic surf-rockers are touring around Australia and New Zealand next year, beginning at Melbourne’s Catani Gardens on January 24th. They’ll be accompanied by some seriously special guests in the form of Nothing But Thieves, Ruby Fields, and more.
But what can fans expect to hear at these shows? As the band told Rolling Stone AU/NZ in a new interview, “Confidence” is a non-negotiable when it comes to their setlist.
“We can’t get away with not playing that anymore,” frontman Baden Donegal said. “It’s one of those songs that’s going to be permanently on the setlist.”
“Confidence” became Ocean Alley’s breakout hit in 2018, going all the way to No. 1 on triple J’s Hottest 100 poll.
With “Confidence”, the “doors were opened and then that would open another door,” the band’s Lach Galbraith told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “It was progression like that. There was a sudden onset of popularity, but there was still plenty of groundwork to lay. Especially overseas.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Ocean Alley revealed the big part Powderfinger legend Bernard Fanning played in connecting them with renowned producer Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine), who helped take their new album, Love Balloon, to a more stripped-back, emotionally resonant place.
After some brews at a music festival, where both were on the bill, Fanning suggested the boys visit DiDia in his studio.
“We kind of had to break the ice a bit, but that didn’t take long at all,” bassist Nic Blom said. “We had a couple of beers, played some golf and just hung out like mates and talked a little bit about music. And off we went.”
Donegal hailed DiDia as “a legend.”
“His rock experience probably suited our style, even though we weren’t going in there to make a rock, or heavier record. It was such an organic kind of way that we came across working with Nick,” he added.
As Ocean Alley’s keyboardist and vocalist Lach Galbraith previously said, the band wanted to explore the “many layered dimensions of love” on Love Balloon.
Out today, the album features standout tracks such as “Left of the Dealer”, which came accompanied by trippy, ‘60s-inspired video directed by Duncan Wright earlier this year.
“Life is a gamble, but when we’re young, we often live in a much more carefree manner—taking all the risks, unaware of the consequences,” Donegal said of the track. “The reference to being ‘Left of the Dealer’ is a poker rule where the player left of the dealer will play first or be next to go, insinuating that your time to face these consequences may be up next.
“I wrote and demoed this song at home before showing the rest of the guys. It was a sound we hadn’t really experimented with before. We jammed it a few times at our space in Middle Pocket and everything came together quickly. Messing around with guitar tones and vocal effects in the studio, we found it resembled some of our favourite bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Canned Heat, which we leant all the way into.”
Ocean Alley’s “Love Balloon” is out now.
Ocean Alley 2026 Australian Tour
Presented by Live Nation, Face to Face Touring, Macro Music, UNIFIED Music Group Supported by triple j
For complete tour and ticket information, visit: oceanalley.com.au
Saturday, January 24th
Catani Gardens, Melbourne
Friday, January 30th
Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane
Saturday, January 31st
The Domain, Sydney
Saturday, February 21st
Freo Esplanade, Fremantle
Sunday, February 22nd
3 Oceans Winery, Margaret River
Friday, February 27th
Spark Arena, Auckland
