The fiery indie-via-pop-punk band you need to know, Detour, have released their debut EP ‘Say The Word’. The answer to Australia’s appetite for loud, young and confident vocals, they explore the disorienting experience of modern adolescence when navigating pressures from self, family, friends and partners.
Since crossing paths at 11 years old, 6 years later the 4-piece band from Perth have quickly established themselves as a powerful new force to be reckoned with.
The 6-track EP ebbs and flows between anthemic choruses and introspective moments showcasing the range and versatility of the band.
Setting the stage for a confident and moving EP they open with their most recent release, ‘World is Ending’ – a slow building track that introduces us to lead vocalist Rebecca Milne’s soaring range and showcasing the strength of the band who can dial back the loudness without sacrificing any of the power.
Bleeding into amped-up single ‘Hard to Please’, well-placed distorted guitars form the undercurrent as they narrate common feelings of disappointment and not living up to parents expectations with blistering lyrics like, “My dad smokes cigarettes when He gets stressed. Am I the reason his hair is falling out? He’ll come home and turn on the tv and he won’t even fucking look at me. Tell me what is all of that about/ my parents look at me like I belong in hell”
Continuing through ‘Red Flag’, ‘Know It All’ and ‘For the Best’ they explore oscillating intensities, journeying through introspective moments and cathartic exclamations.
Closing out the EP is previously released lead single, and titular track, ‘Say The Word’ with the EP culminating in the cathartic refrain “F*** this, F*** that, F*** you!”
“The songs on this EP have the common themes of experiences with people that aren’t the greatest and these songs reflect the journey of going through these experiences and the emotional impact they had.
Obviously if they are experiences with not very nice people the emotional impact isn’t going to be great, which relates to the whole name and vibe of the EP as in our song ‘Say the word’, when Becca tells the crowd to say the word they say “F*** this, F*** that, F*** you!” which summarizes the main message as what we would say to all the very not nice people out there!” Detour
All tracks on the EP were recorded at Sumo Sound Studios in Western Australia, with production and mixing leant by Tristan Sturmer (Sparrow, Pretty Ugly’s) with mastering by George Georgiadis (The Vanns, Matt Corby, Babe Rainbow).
The origins of Detour can be traced back when 4 ten year-olds crossed paths at the Rockscholars music Jam session. Annalise Feilding (bass guitar), Rebecca Milne (vocals and rhythm guitar), Jonah Widdis (lead guitar), and Sebastian Smith (drums) have been playing together ever since releasing music under the moniker only recently.
The long-standing friendship of the band lends to a basis of trust and collaboration evident in their writing process and resulting sound.
“When we wrote all these songs on the EP we actually didn’t have a clue what they would end up as. Writing these songs our thought process was mostly wanting to make art and songs that we would personally want to listen to whether that be live or recorded. So when we got the opportunity to record an EP we chose our songs that all had a similar theme and vibe to them but all in very different and unique ways. Becca would bring forth these amazing lyrics and base to a song and then we all just add to it from there!”Detour