Over the past few years, change has been the only constant in many of our lives. Aussie festival favourite and dependable joy-merchant Paces (Mikey Perry) saw his life turn upside down. He’s since gone through a musical renaissance either because of or in spite of that. 2022 saw Paces pivot from his trademark tropical electronica to a new sound that affixed edgy hyperpop with his lifelong love of punk & emo styles. Stepping in front of the microphone for the first time, his singles Adrift & Butterflies explored personal pain, fears and growth in a way that was both moving and exciting. The next single Brain Got Hands is as intimate as it is energetic. Candid personal thoughts atop a tense chord progression and urgent drums before a wailing wall of punk energy blasts us at the apogee. “Brain Got Hands is a snapshot of how I was feeling when my depression was at its worst. It was a pretty hopeless time and despite doing everything to manage my mental health I just kept slipping further under.”
Alongside the announcement of Brains Got Hands, comes the revelation that we can expect a full length album from Paces, later this year. Three Summers will be his third LP but the first with this new sound. “In the past I’ve been focussed on making escapist pop music which I thoroughly enjoyed doing at the time. This album is quite different as it’s much more personal plus I’m singing on the tracks, doing all the songwriting, and it’s a different direction in terms of genre.” Authentic in essence and innovative in style Three Summers will be a triumph in expression and a cathartic release of energy. “For the last few years I’ve been hurting pretty deeply for a few reasons and one of the best ways I’ve found to cope is by writing songs. I was writing songs every day as a form of journaling, just trying to channel the negative energy into something creative, and then at some point I decided to take it a step further and actually record them.” Tonelly new, but with the outstanding production standard we would expect from Paces, Three Summers is upbeat, brash, vibrant and sincere. Hoping that his existing fans will join him on the journey but ultimately motivated by something more intrinsic, Paces says: “The songs were really just made for me but if anyone out there connects with them, that’s a bonus.”
Brain Got Hands is out on the 2nd of June via Off Leash Records.
