Brissy Punk Upstarts Columbus Sign With UNFD

Brisbane-bred punk three-piece Columbus are in for a sizeable broadening of their horizons this year, with the band today being announced as the newest signing to esteemed local label UNFD.

The news comes hot on the heels of Replace Me, the group's brand new single and first taste of their forthcoming debut full-length, which will hit shelves and digital stores later this year on their new label home.

Their ascent since coming together in 2012 has been a swift one, hitting a new high in January last year with the release of their lauded EP Home Remedy. The extended player did the business for the group on their Bandcamp page, turning in more than 3500 downloads in a relatively short space of time after its release, and catapulted Columbus to wider notoriety through community radio support Down Under as well as picking up airtime abroad on college radio stations.

From there, they knocked over a main-stage spot at Soundwave and toured around the country with the likes of Neck Deep, Basement, Real Friends and local contemporaries Hands Like Houses, rocketing into 2016 with a slot at cult-fave festival Unify, all of which helped to turn the heads of the good folks at UNFD, including label head Luke Logemann, who effused of the signing, "Columbus are a band everyone at UNFD is falling in love with right now."

"They write amazing songs and make them sound even better live," Logemann said in a statement. "Replace Me is already one of the best Australian summer jams of '15/'16!"

The group's vocalist/guitarist, Alex Moses, reiterated Logemann's enthusiasm over the new relationship, saying in a statement: "We're so excited to announce that we'll be signing to UNFD and working with them on our debut album."

"It's so great to be able to work with an Australian label so close to home with a team that so enthusiastically wants to support us and our music," he said. "We can't wait to see what the future holds for us and our friends at UNFD."

Columbus have a short run of shows in Sydney and at home in Brisbane in the near future to launch Replace Me — which is set for release stateside with esteemed US label Rise Records — before they lock things down to craft their debut LP; you can catch them on Sunday 20 March at Frankies Pizza, Sydney, or at one of two shows in Brissy — they hit Crowbar on Thursday 24 March for an 18+ gig before making things all-ages for a spot at Foundry Records on Saturday 26 March.

Give Replace Me a spin below, and sort your tickets over at Oztix.