From Myspace To Covid: Adelaide's Raccoon City Has Seen It All

In the early, earnest days of the internet, back when “the internet seemed good,” a post-hardcore emo five-piece emerged.

Raccoon City entered the picture in 2010, coming of age during the vibrant Myspace emo era of the 2000s, and evolving with dedication over the past fifteen years. They have seen Adelaide music in all its forms, have witnessed and created change through experimentation and exploration.

And now they are back, with a taste of their highly-anticipated third studio album. Their next single, Waiting for an Alternate Ending, an anthemic, sprawling number, will arrive on January 17th, to much predicted fanfare.

“Waiting for an Alternate Ending represents that feeling of helplessness when you want to do so much but there's a limit to what one person can do. You can only make a small change to the bigger picture, but the reality is your small change can have such a profound impact on somebody's life,” states vocalist Levi Cooper. “It is also the song off the album that gets me the most hyped. Every time we play it at practice I get so amped. It's so fun, energetic and catchy so I’m hoping it’s a crowd favourite.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RACCOON CITY (@raccooncityband)

Over the years, the band has seen “huge changes” when it comes to the Adelaide scene. Cooper says, “When we first started there was a lot of buzz around emo and screamo stuff and we had a few other bands we would play with all the time. Over the years those bands have finished up or moved on and we were left on our own for a while there.

“Eventually, new bands started popping up again and now the scene feels more connected than ever. I think the only difference is the actual sounds of the band. The newer ones are a lot less concerned with sounding like other bands or fitting into certain moulds and are just doing their own thing. It's beautiful.”

On what the support is like for local artists today, Cooper states that “it ebbs and flows, but recently it has been great. I think the result of the pandemic is fans are grateful for the opportunity to see bands live and in turn bands are grateful to be playing. Being in Adelaide it is hard to draw an equivalent crowd to one of the bigger cities and we don't get many punters who have just stumbled in to check on music, but the people we do get are passionate and lovely.”

Cooper feels tentatively hopeful that support is “getting better surely” for local artists. “I guess time will tell with the closure of the Crown and Anchor. I don't really know what will fill that void on the east side of the city,” he says, referring to the fact that, while the Crown and Anchor has ultimately been saved from demolition, a two year closure is expected from April 2025 for purposes of construction.

Guitarist Tim Edward jumps in: “I think covid and its lockdowns really acted as an incubator for some of the younger generation and the cool ass bands that have come out since 2020

In general, their take on the Adelaide scene right now is that it is “going great.”

Cooper expands: “There are a lot of really cool bands pushing the boundaries of alternative music. Look at Twine who put out a phenomenal, genuinely groundbreaking album. There are bands like Colourblind who continue to grow with every release and are crushing it interstate. And bands like our beautiful boys in The Munch who subvert genre expectations with every song, melding together the most insane shit that actually works.

“There's too many other amazing bands to list but Adelaide has some incredible young talent coming up and I think the community of it all is really strong right now too, which is really encouraging.”

Over the years, the band has been committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity and acceptance in the Adelaide hardcore scene, to providing safe and inclusive spaces for the next generation to explore and express themselves freely. They are keen to make a real difference in how people experience music and live shows.

By committing to championing inclusivity and diversity they are helping to build a stronger and healthier music community in Adelaide and hopefully beyond. This single showcases their growth, their commitment to change for the better, and further exciting things ahead.

Waiting for an Alternative Ending, will be released on all streaming platforms with an accompanying video on January 17th.