The sun was high on Friday morning in Waterloo Park in Austin. Thankfully Melbourne-based garage punks Delivery do well with heat—their new sophomore album Force Majeure is fire. Joining Paste for a semi-unplugged (well, “one-plugged”) session, Delivery played three new songs from Force Majeure, their first under UK label Heavenly Recordings.
Despite the stripped down format, Delivery’s attitude, energy and natural swagger are undeniable. The five-piece brought us DIY Aussie punk the way it’s meant to be: unfiltered and raw. Check out the full session below:
Full Session
First up, they played us “The New Alphabet,” a song that feels simultaneously like a self-reflecting stream of consciousness and an argument out loud to anyone who’ll listen (and anyone who won’t). The guitar trio (courtesy of James Lynch, Scarlett Maloney and Jordan Oakley) shows off the band’s funk & surf-garage influences, as Bec Allan and Liam Kenny keep the rhythm moving. “The New Alphabet” sounds like a sunny afternoon.
“The New Alphabet”
The titular lyrics feel antithetical to the upbeat melody: “And every time that I walk out of my front door / You’ll see a feat of architecture, you’ll see a force majeure / That’s what the headlines tell me,” confess a sort of cynical disillusionment with mainstream, a lyrical sneering eye-roll that is so fittingly Delivery.
They played “Like A Million Bucks” next, Bec Allan taking the lead vocal. Continuing with the same rebellious energy, “Like A Million Bucks” has guitars that rev up like an engine over the band singing in unison. The chorus, “Eyes shut but it’s so nice to be here / Still losing but it’s so nice to be here (going up),” has that flavor of ‘melancholy with a smile’ that works so well.
“Like A Million Bucks”
Force Majeure sees the band experiment more with their sound, interchanging singers and weaving grooves and riffs in between the typical ‘in-your-face’ of Punk.
Last, they played us “What For?” – an auditory punch in the face, a song that keeps climbing and climbing, an explosion of energy that shows off Delivery’s range exceptionally. Lyrically the song is a narrative, a collection of statements with the repeated lyrical theme, ‘What For?’ – What’s left after we’re not around, why do we do what we do? What’s the point?
“What For”
“What For?” takes all the best parts of the band and puts them together in a way that shines even “un(one)-plugged”. It’s a perfect way to end our session, leaving us energized and excited for what Delivery has next in store.
Thank you to Delivery and to the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, and keep tuning in for more of our SXSW Sessions!
Adi Har-Shemesh is a music manager, writer, and overall music industry person in New York City. She makes playlists and writes about music. Read more of her writing here, or follow her on Spotify or Instagram.
