It’s pretty safe to say that 2012 was a dream year for The Rubens, who since forming in February 2011 have seen a rapid rise through the Australian music scene.
Plucked from obscurity when a demo of their track ‘Lay It Down’ went viral online, the four-piece from New South Wales soon found massive radio success, scored the coveted Triple J Unearthed opening spot on the Dome Stage at Homebake, and placed at #57 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2012.
The band went on to sell out their debut national headline tour (including 4 x Northcote Social Club shows & 3 x Good God shows) and their ’Don’t Ever Want To Be Found shows in July (2 x Oxford Art Factory shows & 2 x Corner Hotel). The band also proved to be a highlight at last year’s Splendour In The Grass Festival, packing the GW McLennan stage to the brim, despite their earlier time slot.
The inevitable interest from labels soon followed before the boys found their home in March at Mushroom Group’s Ivy League records.
Little did they know that they were at the beginning of a massive year that would later see them holed up in New York City working on their debut album with producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Regina Spektor, The Strokes).
Their self-titled debut (which we reviewed here) ended up giving the band a Triple J Feature Album nod, and placed #3 ARIA and #1 iTunes chart debuts. All the buzz soon filtered back to the United States, where their association with producer David Kahne had already got label execs talking.
That talk didn’t take long to turn serious, and the band have announced that they have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records for a worldwide release (excluding Australia & New Zealand) of their debut album this June.
Joining likes of Muse, Flaming Lips, R.E.M and band favourites The Black Keys, there’s no doubt that signing to Warner Bros. means they’ll be in good company.
This huge milestone is testament to the rapid success of the band, and comes just as their debut is officially certified gold by ARIA, signifying sales of over 35,000.
“Thanks to everyone who bothered to buy the record rather than download it for free! It’s rare, and bloody appreciated!”. frontman Sam Margin said excitedly on hearing the news.
In a short year the lives of these three young brothers (Sam, Elliot, Zaac) and best mate (Scott), have gone from demoing in bedrooms to playing three sold out headline tours and landing on the bill for festivals such as the upcoming St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival.
On top of this, The Rubens have supported some of their favourite musicians such as The Black Keys, The Vaccines, and recently announced as the support to Bruce Springsteen at his March Hanging Rock shows. With over 80 shows under their belt since April last year and loving every minute of it, The Rubens have no intention of slowing down.
The Rubens will be making their worldwide debut this February/March with back-to-back shows throughout Europe and the U.K then onto New York, L.A and SXSW.
