Press Play: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

A special sort of suburban-pop springs forward in Hope Downs, the debut full-length album from Melbourne-based Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. In the truest sense of coming-of-age, the band weaves images straight from a film: a first kiss under a streetlight, a cicada-scream soundtrack of melancholia, a subpar-yet-beloved coffee shop. Humming under these catchy songs is the tricky balance of figuring yourself out and finding some sort of place in the world.

Hope Downs follows Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s first two EPs, Talk Tight (2016) and French Press (2017). Over the past few years, the band has cultivated a flair for melodrama and hook-y guitar pop. Along with driving rhythms and punchy vocals, they express longing for places possibly imagined. Melbourne is often cited as a large inspiration for their sound; a place where they could grow as people and as a band simultaneously. Before formally becoming Rolling Blackouts C.F., the members Tom and Joe Russo (brothers), Fran Keaney, Joe White, and Marcel Tussie played together in various projects in the Melbourne scene. This Australian community is flourishing with other popular acts: Courtney Barnett, Camp Cope, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

You know those nightmares that make no sense, but leave you jumping out of bed and scratching your head for days after? Rolling Blackouts C.F. captures that dream in their new music video for Talking Straight. If you have a fear of running in place, disco balls and neon lights, or mannequins, you might want to sit this one out.