Ball Park MusicDean Hanson is in a good spot. After all, his band Ball Park Music are fresh from a record 2025, in which they scored their first-ever number-one album in Like Love and played the biggest shows of their career in support of Oasis, and are about to head back out on the road for another run of sold-out shows.
On top of that, Hanson has just released Window Seat, Always – his debut solo album under the moniker of Zeano – which compiles ten tracks written away from the band over the years and completes a long-held dream of sharing them with the world.
Really, Hanson should be embracing the world with open arms right about now. Trouble is, he can't currently use one of them.
When the guitarist, singer and songwriter gets on a Zoom call with The Music, he offers a sheepish grin when he reveals the sling his left arm is currently encased in. Hanson recently did a number on himself when diving for the ball in a game of social cricket and wound up in the hospital.
To make matters worse, his side didn't even win the game. “It's all a bit silly, isn't it,” he says incredulously, shaking his head at the preposterous nature of his injury.
“I don't actually know entirely what the journey back to playing guitar is. I spoke to one surgeon yesterday, and he was adamant I'd be back to playing again straight after surgery. Obviously, the guitar strap goes over the left shoulder, so there'd be soft tissue pain and stuff like that, but he said I'd be able to figure it out – even if it meant I had to sit down to play for a while.
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“I postponed my solo stuff album launch; it was just too hard with the prep and everything. Now? I'm optimistic being able to make the Ball Park tour happen.”
At least this didn't happen before the Oasis shows, right? Hanson laughs: “I was literally just talking to my partner about this,” he says. “I'd have played guitar with my teeth if I had to if it meant playing those shows!”
Hanson is now the third cab off the rank within the fold of his band to branch out as a solo artist. Previously, the band's frontman Sam Cromack launched a one-man-band offshoot under the moniker My Own Pet Radio, while bassist Jen Boyce has made music in a project dubbed Little Planes Land.
Both of these projects, however, are over a decade old at this point. Why has Hanson been dragging his feet?
“It's strange how it all works,” he muses. “I'm always open to sharing songs, and we always do amongst ourselves in the band. I was never really expecting to write for myself, though.
“Eventually, I'd just had enough things in the background that I either hadn't ever had the chance to share or didn't need to. These weren't songs written with an objective; I wrote them just because I love to write songs.”
After a while, these solo songs began burning a hole in Hanson's pocket – and, as he started getting older, he started fretting over what his legacy would be once he was gone.
“I started to worry about making sure I gave my Google Drive password to my partner,” he says. “Just so, if I die unexpectedly, at least someone knows that these things exist; these little parts of me.
“That feeling got to the point last year of making the decision: 'You know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm going to invest some time and some money into doing this, just for me. Then I can die happy. That's all this album is – just a few songs to remember me by, man.”
Window Seat, Always is a warm, heartfelt record of folk-rock with only minor flourishes and a focus on Hanson's layered vocals. Although ostensibly a solo record, its creation was done in tandem with some key collaborators.
The first was Hanson's twin brother and bandmate Daniel playing drums across the record – which is something that he, admittedly, hadn't originally envisioned.
“My vision was lush, raw, and stripped back,” he says. “Lyrically, the songs are quite vulnerable, and I thought we might as well highlight that.
“Then, we put drums on the first song we recorded, and I was like, this actually sound really good. That's why I like this instrument a lot – it makes this huge difference. It was nice to find some light and shade and take the record through some peaks and troughs.”
The second person was Boy & Bear drummer Tim Hart, who was behind the boards as producer and engineer. The relationship with their two bands goes back well over a decade, with Boy & Bear touring with Ball Park Music while both had their debut albums out in the world.
Hanson was compelled to reach out, however, when he heard Hart's most recent solo EP Parasol. “I thought it sounded awesome,” he says.
“It's got this really minimalist feel to it, which I'm really into. When I saw Tim produced it himself at his home studio in Brisbane, I decided to reach out to him. I sent him a couple of demos, just as a bit of a pipe dream.
“He called me back almost straight away, ready to make it happen. I think he really understood my vision – also being a member of a band where he wasn't the frontperson, he had experience in making a solo record that steps away from what you're best known for.
“We understood each other when it came to laying it all bare,” he adds. “Not only was his production great, but he divulged his wisdom in a way that was super helpful.”
The album also sees Hanson reckoning with some deeply personal thoughts and feelings, particularly towards the backend on songs like Our Time Was Up and the unsubtle pessimism of Sometimes Your Best Is Not Enough.
When he compares his songwriting style to Cromack's, Hanson offers this: “Sam's more of a poet when it comes to these things. I'm more the kind to spew my feelings into a song.
“It's funny, because before I started writing songs I could never understand how people were able to sing sad songs in front of everyone. After a while, I came to realise these are universal feelings. You might be articulating what's been going on for you, but you also know that other people will tell you they've been through it too.”
Speaking of playing songs in front of everyone: How did the rest of Ball Park react when they heard the album? “I was definitely hesitant,” says Hanson.
“I was worried they wouldn't give me an honest answer. It's intimidating to show something like that to people you're so close to, and have been making music with for nearly two decades now. Thankfully, they were all massive legends about it.
“They all gave me great feedback, and they all seemed to genuinely really enjoy it. They're so supportive, and I'm so grateful for them.”
Zeano’s Window Seat, Always is out now.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
