“The Brisbane indie-pop group dive straight into the six-string haven for ‘Eleven’, and mine a particularly rich indie rock vein.” – triple j
““Arguably Australia’s greatest indie-pop export.” – The Music
“The band are one of the best in the biz.” – Pilerats
As if it weren’t already enough that Last Dinosaurs today announce the details of their long-awaited, third album, they’ve gone and backed that up by dropping a brand-new, self-produced video for their latest earworm of a single, ‘Eleven.’
The new record is titled Yumeno Garden and is set for release October 5 via Dew Process. The album is already responsible for baring two standout singles in ‘Dominos’ and ‘Eleven’ that have lead fans old and new to celebrate the trio’s return to the guitar driven sound that saw them explode onto the scene more than half a decade ago.
Meanwhile, the video for ‘Eleven’ in many ways acts as a consolidation of the ideas and the approach the band took to writing and recording Yumeno ([You-meh-no] = Japanese for “dream”) Garden. “We wanted to give this one the full DIY treatment and remove that barrier of the whole smoke and mirrors of video production,” says the video’s director and editor (and Last Dino’s bassist), Michael Sloane. “The video is a kind of reflection of not only ‘Eleven,’ but the whole feel and process of making the new album. It’s raw and fast, and we’re bursting at the seams to get it out there and be part of the world.”
Shot and edited by Sloane, along with some assistance from his bandmates, brothers Sean and Lachlan Caskey, the clip is emblematic of the hands-on approach Last Dinosaurs are endeavouring to have on every element of the release of the Yumeno Garden. That giddy energy of a band having a blast is in some of their favourite haunts is on full display, with an almostMonkees-like quality to its budgetless, chaotic atmosphere and shape-shifting edits. The only hint of rock and roll excess being a fire engine red Ferrari Sean drives throughout the video. “The song is about living your life to the max and the fast pace of it suited the idea of stealing a Ferrari,” explains Sean.
“We wanted to make something completely raw and without the usual polishing elements that usually come with trying to make a video ‘impressive,’” says Sloane. “We let go of all that and for the first time I think who we are comes across more than ever because of it. There’s something to be said for removing the filters between us and whoever is watching.”
Indeed, it’s been the effervescent energy of the new music and by extension the band’s mindset that has lead to the success of the early singles from it, with major support from outlets like triple j,The Music, Pilerats, and AAA Backstage, who have all applied healthy coats of praise to the band’s already sparkly sheen finish on their new material.
In the aftermath of their last record, 2015’s Wellness, Last Dinosaurs had come to the realisation that the sound they made in the studio
wasn’t necessarily the sound they were setting out to record. As part of the release of Wellness, they’d even decided to put up early demos online, and found that those who heard them connected to these raw tapes in ways that they never did the final, polished product.
It was this realisation that lead them down a path of exploration and minimalism. They decided to strip back their production to the bare-essentials and let the natural beauty of their song writing and the environments in which those songs were inspired, rise to the surface.
“The recording method from writing demos as a beginner to now has hardly changed,” admits Sean. “But this time we wanted to see if we could do the entire album using only virtual drums, virtual percussion, virtual amps and virtual synths and make it sound professional enough to call an album.”
Soon, inspiration began to flood in from everywhere. Sean, inspired by the isolation of the rural Japanese town of Arita (where he spent time post Wellness), delved into his personal life and began exploring the emotions and life moments he and the band had experienced in the whirlwind few years since they rose to prominence.
Meanwhile, Lachlan, who had previously focused solely on his trademark and incredible guitar playing, began to find his own song writing voice as a result of trips through both Japan and California, and would eventually collect enough thoughts to pen half the album’s tracks.
This Caskey/Caskey combination, tied with the grounding presence of Sloane as a sounding board with which all three could filter their new inspirations, all served to deliver the forthcoming Yumeno Garden. It’s been an exercise in rediscovering their roots as well as pushing themselves into whole new realms, and as this new video suggests, they’re having a blopdy fun time of it along the way.
Fans also seem more ready for it than ever before. Their upcoming national ‘Eleven’ tour sold out in under 10 minutes, while the streams for ‘Eleven’ and ‘Dominos’ have already climbed to well over a million combined plays. “It all ties into that feeling that we just want to express more of what is ‘us’, and that we will pull no punches when it comes to showing who we are,” says Sloane. “That feeling of extroversion/boldness in who we are also trickles down to the artwork, music video direction, and how we put ourselves out there as a team. I think the excitement around that feeling is second only to how it will feel to release the new music.”
Last Dinosaurs ‘Eleven’ Tour
w/ Support from Seaside
Wednesday 3rd October: The Foundry, Brisbane, QLD – SOLD OUT
Thursday 4th October: The Lansdowne, Sydney, NSW – SOLD OUT
Sat 6th October: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Sun 7th October: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Yumeno Garden is due for release October 5 and
is available for pre-order now via Dew Process
