Since the early days of alternative music, the city of Sheffield has been a place
where underground artists can forge their sound and build a career. In this series,
Mad Sounds with Jake Bollington, I document the scene in and around this beautiful
city and interview the bands that you need to know about.
This week, I spoke with James and Bec of Australian garage punk ground Delivery.
Formed in Melbourne at the height of the pandemic, the group have released two
critically acclaimed albums, signed to Heavenly Recordings, and opened for bands
like The Vaccines, Happy Mondays and Franz Ferdinand. The five-piece rock outfit
are embarking on a tour of the United Kingdom this October and they will be
performing in Sheffield on the 4 th of November.
I sat down with the pair over Zoom to discuss their new single, their upcoming
album, and the band’s love for Sheffield venue Delicious Clam. We began our
conversation with their origins in the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAMES: Bec and I started the project together when we were in lockdown and when
it first began it was just the two of us doing something to pass the time, I suppose.
And then, while we were still in lockdown we made it into a band because we got our
housemates to be the other members… Even at that point, I think we knew we
wanted to play live, but we were like ‘I don’t even know if playing live is going to be a
thing after this!’
BEC: I remember Danny saying he would play drums in the band and I was like ‘Oh,
is this even a band?’ (laughs)
Once the lockdown was over, the group quickly made a name for themselves playing
live in Melbourne, a bustling city with one of the most active independent music
scenes in the world.
BEC: We’re pretty spoiled… There are some really cool venues… The Tote, The Old
Bar, The Curtin, that are ingrained in the indie underground rock and punk scene.
JAMES: In the more DIY and underground scenes there’s really strong community
elements… It’s encouraging for bands to exist, and there’s not many barriers to
becoming an active musician in our ecosystem… New bands are starting at all times.
Though they hail from ten-thousand miles away, the group are frequent visitors to the
United Kingdom and to Sheffield. By now, they’ve played here enough to have
visited dozens of UK venues, but among their favourites is Sheffield’s own Delicious
Clam.
BEC: It was the first place we ever played, and we go back so many times to keep
playing there. We’ve become really obsessed with their in-house cocktail, the
lagerita, which is a margarita topped up with lager (laughs)… It is like those people
that you meet that you just instantly get along with…. You feel like these are people that I want to keep coming back to and the places that I want to keep playing,
because I want to support that community, even if it isn’t our community at home.
As well as being an international tour de force live, the group’s recorded music has
been a tremendous success with critics and audiences alike. They have explored a
range of styles across their two albums so far, but have always maintained a focus in
producing direct, honest guitar music.
JAMES: I think being an honest rock and roll band is quite an admirable goal for any
band, and sometimes you probably achieve that more than other times. For a band
like us, a big part of it is making music that’s fun to play and fun to hear. We do
prioritise it being an enjoyable thing. I also think at the same time, our songs are
getting increasingly complicated and sometimes I’m like ‘How honest is that?’
(laughs)… The next record, which will start being revealed quite soon, I feel like
we’re becoming more dishonest (laughs) in a good way.
Speaking of the new record, the group’s new single is a synth-heavy punk track that
incorporates a thrumming electronic arpeggio throughout. It is a new frontier for the
band’s sound, and a major departure from their previous singles. Given that Sheffield
is the city that perfected electronic pop music through bands like Cabaret Voltaire
and Heaven 17, it seemed only appropriate to ask the group a question about the
role of synthesizers on their next album.
JAMES: The next record… (laughs) You’ve noticed a theme quite early. We
approached the next record in a way we hadn’t approached an album before which
was giving ourselves, not a theme, but a starting point… The result of that is that
there is a lot of new layers to the music. A lot of keyboards, a lot of synths… The
album isn’t really this anymore but at one point I remember thinking I wanted it to be
synth punk, without being the genre ‘synth punk.’ (laughs) Synth and punk!
I was lucky enough to hear the band’s new single early through an advanced link,
and it is far and away their best single yet. Reminiscent of the energy of groups like
Le Tigre and Sonic Youth, it is an anthemic track that takes what was special about
the band’s first two albums and builds on it in a really exciting way. Sacrificing none
of their punk rock credibility, ‘Measuring Cup’ bridges the group’s garage rock
sensibilities with a new electronic feel. Sheffield bands take note: synthesizers are in!
Hear the new songs live at the Delicious Clam next month on November 4th, and
order yourself a Delivery-approved Largerita!
The group’s new single ‘Measuring Cup’ is out now, and their next album ‘Zone 3’
will release on the 26th of February.
Image credits: Heavenly Records & Delivery
