Created in partnership with Mentos
Coast Arcade are loud, fuzzy, and built for the stage.
The New Zealand four-piece channel the grit of ’90s alternative rock and modern emo into sharp, nostalgic songs with serious live energy. Drawing influence from Deftones, Basement and The Beths, they have carved out a sound that hits hard without losing its melodic edge.
Their debut album, released last year, took a long time to come together, but stands as the clearest statement yet of who Coast Arcade are. Now, with more touring and new music on the way, the band are pushing forward while keeping their focus firmly on the thing that started it all: great songs, played loud.
The Mentos Fresh Sounds Class of ’26, curated by Rolling Stone AU/NZ, has officially been unveiled — and now we’re turning the spotlight to even more artists making serious noise. As part of our Up-And-Coming Australian (and New Zealand) artist series, we caught up with Coast Arcade to talk about their debut album, dream collaborations, and why all-ages gigs are crucial to the future of live music.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Where are you from?
Coast Arcade is a four-piece rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Bella and Leo both grew up in Auckland, Arlo grew up in Morrinsville before moving to Auckland for uni, and Thom is originally from the UK but moved to New Zealand when he was in primary school.
Describe your ‘Fresh Sound’ in three words.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
Nostalgic. Fuzzy. Loud.
Name three of your biggest musical influences.
That’s always a dangerous question because we’d probably all answer it differently, but if we had to agree on three it’d probably be Deftones, Basement and The Beths.
Tell us about your latest release.
We released our debut album in October 2025, and we’re still riding that wave. We’d been working towards it for years, so finally putting a full body of work out into the world felt pretty surreal. It feels like the first real statement of who Coast Arcade is, and we’re incredibly proud of it.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?
Another question we’d probably argue over. Paramore has to be up there because we think it’d make so much sense sonically. Title Fight would be another dream, although getting them back together might be the hardest part.
What’s your dream venue to play?
Red Rocks in Colorado. It looks unreal, and the idea of playing a show surrounded by that scenery is pretty hard to beat.
What one thing do you think the Australian/New Zealand music industry needs right now and why?
More all-ages venues, and more people going to gigs.
Some of our favourite memories are from playing all-ages shows when we were younger. They’re such an important gateway into live music, whether you end up starting a band, becoming a photographer, a sound engineer, a promoter, or just someone who loves going to shows.
Australia and New Zealand have amazing music scenes. We just need to keep giving young people spaces to discover them and be part of them.
What’s coming up for you in 2026 and beyond?
More shows, more touring and plenty of new music. We’ve been writing a lot lately, and we’re really excited about where it’s heading. That’s what it’s all about for us.
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A Rolling Stone AU/NZ-backed music launchpad, the inaugural Mentos Fresh Sounds Class of ’26 was created to support the next generation of talent. Head to the Mentos Fresh Sounds Hub to learn more about our official Class of ’26.
