Not quite what you’d expect with a name like that, Totally Unicorn are actually a metalcore outfit from Sydney, who have just dropped their debut record Dream Life after years of waiting.
The album features none other than Karina Utomo of High Tension as a guest vocalist, and packs all the chugging riffs and eardrum-tearing vox you could reasonably ask for, while also sprinkling some softer textures and melodies amongst the chaos.
Totally Unicorn have detailed the record for us below, which has taken a few detours to get here, as the band have navigated some personal hurdles since 2010. Finally, they’ve emerged victorious.
Dream Life is out via Farmer & The Owl/Inertia, and the band are about to embark on a big album launch tour (dates below), with the enticing promise that “Sweat will be swapped. Nudity will absolutely happen. Riffs will be riffed.”
Old Cute & Purified
All of the music and lyrics for Dream Life were originally written, then completely re-written over the course of the following two years. During that time, myself and a few of the other guys in the band were going through very difficult times. If all the previous Unicorn tracks were party songs, this album is definitely the come-down. For this particular song though, I remember walking home from the pub after having spent all my paycheque and had nothing left for the week to eat or pay my bills. I think we all know what that feels like.
Welcome To Slugtown
Get rid of the poisonous people in your life! I had a big one in mine. I worked and lived with this person and they made me into someone I disliked and who other people did as well. This song was originally titled ‘Hits & Money Pits’ and was the first song that we wrote for the album. This is our FUCK YOU song.
April 29 Brothers
Mike and I received news of two big shitty life-changing events on the same day… We met up that day with our dogs and just walked and talked shit. Life throws you some fucked up shit at you sometimes, but mates (and dogs) make things better.
Glow Of The Wine Teeth
You know when you walk into a shit party and the only way to get through it is to get absolutely shit-faced? I’ve had a few experiences like that, but this is about one in particular where all I had to drink was a couple a shitty bottles of red wine. All these idiot people laughed at me as the backyard lights reflected off my stained red teeth…
You Smell Like A Trophy
One of my favourite things to do (with a beer in hand or not) is to walk down Enmore Road and King Street in Newtown. When I first moved up from Wollongong I used to walk the street nearly every day. There’s always something fucking crazy or weird to see. In some strange way it makes me feel normal.
Customer Service Station
If you work in retail you can relate to this song. I actually wrote it on the toilet at work after being yelled at by a customer demanding they talk to a manager or at least someone who didn’t look like they were homeless. Remember that saying “The customer is always right”? Well that is a total load of shit. Be nice to the people serving you!
Borrow
The give and take with friends is not a big thing for me but sometimes you have a mate in your life that does a lot of take. You still love them because they mean well and you are just trying to help them out or get them out of a rut. This song is about letting that person fight for themselves for a bit.
Part Time Model
This song nearly didn’t make the album as there was a very mixed opinion on it. But once we asked our good friend Rob Smith (Heavy Heavy Low Low / iwannadie) to put some vocals down on this track it all came to life. It fits the dark shitty mood of the album really well. I’m guessing he was watching a lot of weird foreign films at the time.
Space Congratulations
I guess touring with a lot of punk bands over the past few years has taken an affect on the band and the result is this song. Lyrically I was lost with this right up until the moment we were actually driving to the studio to lay down the vocals for it. I literally wrote it sitting in the passenger seat during the 10 minute journey to the studio, and it turned out to be one of my favourites. I guess it sums up the album and the confusion at the time.
Convict Brick
This song was all written in the studio with massive help from our engineer & producer Tim Carr. Kerim had a few assorted riff ideas that he laid down with Mike just in case we wanted to use them later. But basically we had a half hour beer & smoke break and came back to this amazing track that Tim had pieced together! I really wanted to have Karina (High Tension) on the record somewhere and thought this would be the perfect track for her. We gave her free reign to do what she wanted and couldn’t be happier with the end result. It feels like my Mum telling me off: “Realise Your Potential, You Fucking Dick!”
Dream Life
I think this song, musically, is the biggest departure from all previous songs we have written. For this track to be the final song and title of the album, I knew it needed to be lyrically strong and all-encompassing. I sort of viewed myself astral-traveling, looking down at myself and the band during this whole period. I guess as some kind of drunken god… What would I think? What would I change? Nothing probably…
TOTALLY UNICORN – ‘DREAM LIFE’ TOUR
With guests PAGAN
Sun 11 Sep – Weekender Fest’ – Reverence Hotel, Melbourne (SOLD OUT!)
Thu 15 Sep – Crown & Anchor, Adelaide – TIX HERE
Fri 16 Sep – Babushka, Perth – TIX HERE
Sat 17 Sep – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Fri 23 Sep – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne – TIX HERE
Sat 24 Sep – The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart – TIX HERE
Thu 29 Sep – Newtown Social Club, Sydney – TIX HERE
Sun 2 Oct – Yours & Owls, Wollongong – TIX HERE
Fri 7 Oct – Foundry, Brisbane – TIX HERE
Sat 8 Oct– The Northern, Byron Bay
