These New South Whales (TNSW) are a band as unique as they come. With the undercurrent of a punk approach, that is the conviction they hold and the anti-authority sentiment they maintain, their music transcends any notion of adhering to genre standards. 

They’ve been embodying this for over ten years, but their latest LP GODSPEED is another progression entirely. 

Arriving today, the 11-track GODSPEED is an ode to the authenticity and agency any individual has the power to exercise in their life. In classic TNSW fashion, it hits hard, but there are moments throughout that resemble the delicacies of the human experience, projecting the full spectrum of being, joy, grief and all else that comes with it. 

In celebration of GODSPEED’s emanation into the world TNSW are embarking on a unique mini-tour performing in three different cities. In Meanjin/Brisbane, Eora/Sydney, and Naarm/Melbourne the band will perform an intimate record store show complete with signing, as well as hosting their 500th and final (for now) episode of their provocative podcast What a Great Punk.

The tour kicks off on the release day of the LP, November 28th, in Meanjin where they will fill out the store at Sonic Sherpa, before heading to Good Chat Comedy Club to present a podcast episode. The next day they head to Eora to HUM On King for a signing and show, to only venture onto the Lansdowne to talk all things punk. 

Finally, it’s Naarm on Sunday, November 30th for a performance at Record Paradise, before migrating to Railway Hotel Bandroom to round out the live podcasts. This will be the last time the podcast airs, a farewell stricken with bittersweet.

“For now, it’s goodbye to our beloved podcast. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride,” states the band. “But only two things are true in life: All good things must come to an end, and you gotta pay your taxes.”

In the wake of the podcast coming to a conclusive halt, it’s an opportunity for audiences to engage with GODSPEED. The album came to life through the production of Ben Greenberg, a revered producer in the punk and adjacent music scene. It was quite the fortuitous moment for the band and a relationship that drew out a sonic expression not yet shared by TNSW.

“Sonically, it's certainly a progression from our previous three albums,” says vocalist Jamie Timony. “We worked with Ben Greenberg from New York City, who is a producer that we've admired for a really long time. He's worked with some of our favourite bands. He was top of our list, and, you know, we were lucky enough to work with him on it. 

“His knowledge of not just punk music, but music in general, as well as his understanding of production meant that we had so much faith and trust in the way he was approaching the recording and all the production. It felt great to have him at the helm of the sonic palette, he was a really great captain.”

Although the introduction of Greenberg into the recording process shifted the sound, not much has changed by the way of conceptuality in lyricism. 

“I think that lyrically and thematically,” acknowledges Timony. “It's not too different from what we've done before. I mean, we're generally a highly energetic band, angry at the way our country is run, disgusted by racism and bigotry of all forms that we see are so prevalent in our media and in our culture. 

“And, you know, GODSPEED holds a lot of those sentiments once again. There's like a real persistent ACAB sentiment to it and a distrust and disgust with our government and its complicity in, you know, the genocide of the Palestinian people. All those themes are absolutely there.”

Woven into all of that, acting as the centralised thread of the new album, is the importance of agency and autonomy. 

“There's also a theme that I feel very strongly about, which is, I highly value freedom and autonomy and it's something that I feel very protective of,” exclaims Timony.

“GODSPEED is about reclaiming, taking ownership of your own sense of agency and freedom and, communicating that you're the expert in your life, you're the one with the keys, don't let anyone push you around or tell you what to think or what to do. Do it yourself and do it well.”

The band embodies that in the way they’ve approached their creativity and sense of place in the world, through the many layers that they are. And yet, they house an awareness for the importance of experiencing and expressing joy, particularly in a paradigm that discourages such.

“There's a lot of joy in this record as well. It's like it is quite an angry and hard sounding record at times but underneath all of that, there is a lot of joy,” Timony adds.

“Ultimately, we're four people that really love life, love living, we love our friends and we love what we do so we can't help but make fairly joyous sounding music.”

For guitarist Todd Andrews, it’s much the same, yet GODSPEED acts as a work of empowering hope rather than feeling paralysed by despair and anger.

“In the last three records we also sing and talk about these topics, themes focussed around more of a state of despair or anger, but this record talks to those ideas with more hope to feel empowered,” he says.

“Some of the album is the heaviest music we’ve made but then there's other songs that are the most beautiful music we've written.”

With all this in mind TNSW are excited by what will come of sharing the new music with audiences.

“Performing live is just such a cathartic experience,” says Timony. “Being able to really wring yourself out of these emotions and share that with other people who are there to do the same thing and connect with the crowd over these sentiments is a beautiful and powerful thing.

“It’s where the rubber hits the road, playing live, sharing it with others is the most important part of the process.”

And seeing TNSW play live enables that for the audience, a collective expression of emotion that has the power to change the course of one’s life. There’s no one doing it quite like TNSW and GODSPEED is a true expression of that. 

These New South Whales’ GODSPEED is out now. Their instore performance and live podcast tour kicks off this evening, with tickets to the podcast recordings on sale now.

These New South Whales – GODSPEED Instore & Podcast Tour

Friday, November 28th – Sonic Sherpa, Meanjin/Brisbane, QLD
(Instore Performance)

Friday, November 28th – Good Chat Comedy Club, Meanjin/Brisbane, QLD
(Live Podcast Recording)

Saturday, November 29th – HUM On King, Eora/Sydney, NSW
(Instore Performance)

Saturday, November 29th – The Lansdowne, Eora/Sydney, NSW
(Live Podcast Recording)

Sunday, November 30th – Record Paradise, Naarm/Melbourne, VIC
(Instore Performance)

Sunday, November 30th – The Railway Hotel, Naarm/Melbourne, VIC
(Live Podcast Recording)