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Deafcult are the shoegaze band Brisbane has been waiting for

It’s obvious when a band draws influences from many places; from the bands they listen to, to the ones they’ve played in, to the artists that are around them, drawing on them all to create a magical hybrid. There has been a gap in the Brisbane scene for a while, with Melbourne pushing troves of great shoegaze acts, and Deafcult are just the band to fill it.

Deafcult introduction

Brisbane’s Deafcult have had a killer start to their career, with their brand of noise rock influenced shoegaze turning heads after a mere six months as a band.

Formed by members of outfits like Roku Music, The Quickening, Nuclear Summer and The Gifthorse, the Brisbane six piece have only been together since January this year. Moving quickly since then, Deafcult have just released their self-titled EP last month. Recorded and mixed at Brisbane’s Incremental Records by Cameron Smith, a studio notable for their work with Dune Rats and DZ Deathrays.

Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed, with FBi naming them last week’s Independent Artist of the Week, and Triple J’s Unearthed Music Director Dave Ruby Howe giving their track Akira five stars with the review, “Didn’t know I needed this in my universe but now it’s like my whole life force. Thank you.” Not a bad first few months for a group.

Deafcult’s sound sits somewhere between that of their influences – The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, Slowdive – and that signature Brisbane sound that has been bursting out of the scene for the last few years. There is a rawness to their sound that is reminiscent of the early days of Sonic Youth, as well as some guitar tracks that draw on the sound of their Gold Coast neighbours, Violent Soho.

Beemomug opens the EP with a crisp, clean sound, then kicks into the first verse filled with that defining shoegaze sound. Beemomug builds and builds to the final bridge before pushing you into Akira.

While the EP floats somewhere between shoegaze, dream and noise pop, Akira has this underlying rhythm and guitar wail of garage bands of years gone by, reminiscent of At The Drive In’s One Armed Scissor tones, minus the angsty vocals.

The Deafcult EP is well structured and meticulously thought out, moving seamlessly from one track to the next to create a dreamlike story that draws you from one song to the next, a credit to both Deafcult and the producer.

One of the most striking things about these guys is that they prove you don’t have to be together a long time to find your sound or to create harmony within a group. This is one of the strongest debuts I’ve listened to and it’s from a band that have just reached their six-month anniversary. Big things are ahead for sure.

You can listen to the entire self-titled EP on their Bandcamp.