RatkingPerth hardcore favourites, Ratking have today released new single Bitter Irony ahead of the release of their highly-anticipated self-titled EP on Friday, July 10th.
Ratking have solidified themselves in Perth’s hardcore scene and carved their name over 12 years with one album and four EPs. They’ve paid their dues touring across Australia and Internationally while supporting the likes of Comeback Kid, Suicidal Tendencies, Drain, and Every Time I Die.
It’s always a bold statement when a band does a self-titled release, and for Ratking, this EP is no different.
“This set of tracks embodies everything we've worked towards as a band over the years,” vocalist Josh Reeves shares as he sits beside guitarist Nicolas Finch in his backyard in Perth.
“We just thought, if we're going to do it, this is going to be the one that we do it with… It feels like it's the best title for what we've done this time around, the amalgamation of all the other releases we've done, put into one…
“We’re really stoked on this.”
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Since their 2014 release Commonwealth, Reeves has always had something to write about. Whether that’s politics, mental health, or addiction, Ratking doesn’t shy away from confrontational themes.
Their songs like 2020’s National Anthem Redux and 2018’s Vote4Me take a hard look at the state of the nation and are today more relevant than ever. Reeves explains that this has only fuelled the fire for this upcoming release more than ever before.
“There's some pretty aggressive themes about everything going on in terms of cost of living, we have controls where we vote, but no control on what happens after that,” he notes. “Someone gets elected and they still go by their own book. There's a lot of anger in it.”
Today’s single, Bitter Irony, detours from the political void on the EP and instead puts the spotlight on over consumption and intoxication.
“[Bitter Irony] is about similar themes to Binge And Burn and Gotta Light?,” he notes. “Intoxication, essentially, but not in a ‘Ohhhh’, like we're glorifying it at all. [Instead], it’s being blinded by having something like that to take away depression, and then realising afterwards that you had what you wanted there all along and you didn’t need the booze or the weed or whatever it might be to get you through it.”
Even with all of their achievements so far, one of their favourite shows ever is when they sold out a steam boat on the Swan River in Perth within 24 hours.
“I think Pagan did it over east and we just thought it was a cool idea,” Finch remembers.
“So, AJ [guitarist] organised it all, and then we got a good line-up of some friend’s bands, and just put it out there. I think it being kind of the weird show that it was, it sold out way faster than we thought it would.”
A combination of drunk metalheads and moshpits above shark infested waters sounds like a recipe for disaster but surprisingly, no one ended up in the water. Although they did have to redistribute the weight on the boat.
“They had a lot of things like, ‘if anyone jumps off, you can be arrested’ purely as a liability thing for the captain, because they're like, if a drunk person drowns, it's on them,” Reeves explains.
“They did have to reorganise where everybody could smoke,” Finch continues.
“Because the smoker section was so heavy, it was tilting the boat. So they're like, ‘Fuck it, you can just smoke anywhere on the boat. Just stop hanging out on that one corner.’”
Despite their love for Perth, being so far away from the rest of Australia can be a challenge and can limit the opportunities that come their way. The band try to plan ahead these days, especially because it’s harder to tour on a whim when rent, flights, and the cost of living are more expensive than ever.
“It's different in Perth too, because we're so far away that it's very rare that a promoter wants to take a chance on a Perth band to open up on a national tour,” Finch explains. “So, it's much easier and cheaper for them to book someone from over east.
“This is something that we've discussed with all the big promoters in Australia that give us a lot of great shows and opportunities in Perth to open up for those bands,” he adds.
“Like, ‘Hey, what do we have to do to get the full tours?’ And they're all super keen, but they're like, ‘Oh, I mean, if you can fly over on your own dime and do it,’ so the offers are not necessarily as attractive when you're this far away.”
This has seen Ratking create a DIY ethic that has enabled them to create their own opportunities. Sometimes booking their own international tours has been easier than trying to map out some of the offers they receive.
Western Australia may be expensive to leave, but it’s just expensive to get to. This means support slots open up for local bands on tours when the national support can’t make it to Western Australia.
“The bands that are supporting for the East Coast runs, they'll often do Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia shows, but then they'll skip Perth. We'll get the Perth tail of it, which is great,” Reeves says.
“Depending on when you're looking at it. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly to the States, or it's cheaper to fly to Europe than it is to fly to Sydney and [back to Perth], because our domestic rates are just that crazy sometimes.”
Ratking are thrilled to see the Perth hardcore scene that they grew up in thriving better than ever. This is thanks to an eager next generation waving the flag.
“There are so many more bands and it’s so good to see that we’ve got young people getting involved and getting back into that genre,” Reeves beams.
“It’s awesome for us because we’ve now got a bunch of bands we can now just play with. Whereas before, we'd have to slot in on opener sets.”
“There's a couple guys that have taken over,” Finch continues. “Like, really making an effort to book all-ages shows, which we didn't have for like 10 years.
“I feel like there were no all-ages shows. And now there's a younger crowd, they're all like, freshly 18, 19, 20, booking those shows and playing in the bands. I don't feel old until I talk to them and they make fun of me and call me old.”
“You think about it, you're like… 18, I am twice your age,” Reeves states.
“Yeah, fucking old,” Finch laughs.
Ratking’s self-titled EP will be released on Friday, July 10th. New single Bitter Irony 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
