Private Function Announce New Album & Reveal Why It's Banned In SA

Earlier this week, Melbourne band Private Function claimed that their upcoming album is illegal to sell in South Australia. Now, we know why.

Today, the group announced that their third studio album, 370HSSV 0773H, will land on Friday, 31 March, via their own label, Still On Top Records. The first 3000 copies of the vinyl will feature a scratchable album cover, with three Australiana-themed icons sitting underneath the scratchie panels.

Of the 3000 copies, only one will share three identical icons. The one lucky fan whose sleeve reveals all three matching icons will receive a signed test pressing of 370HSSV 0773H, AUD $2999 in cash, directly from the band and a photo of their face printed on all future pressings of the album across all variations, forever.

The scratchie idea was born from Private Function wanting to give back to their fans. The band said, "We were thinking about how we could give back to our fans in a fun way, and we came up with this really simple idea that we couldn’t believe hadn’t been done before. Finding a company that would actually print scratchable panels onto record sleeves wasn’t easy, but you bet we found a way to make it happen."

The scratchie edition of 370HSSV 0773H is available to Australian residents as long as they don't live in South Australia. The state's legislation dictates that any "scratch and win" promotion requires a permit, regardless of the prize pool value. 

Private Function issued a statement to their fans in SA: "To all South Australian residents, this first pressing is unavailable to you because your government sucks. We’re sorry. Hopefully we can come to some kind of deal with your government, otherwise we’ll make sure you receive future pressings."

On Halloween, Private Function returned with Seize And Destroy, a frantic number that might be the toughest number in their expansive discography.

Chris Penney said that Seize And Destroy is the third instalment of a "Destroy" trilogy: "As a teenager, I found it weird that the Stooges had a song called Search and Destroy, and Metallica have a song called Seek and Destroy, so I wrote part three, Seize and Destroy, which marks the finale of those two songs." The track is indeed a love letter to both the Stooges and Metallica, invoking the attitude and fury of '80s thrash metal. Hell yeah.

The track was recorded with Chris Wright (A Swayze and the Ghosts) and mixed by Matt Duffy (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Bench Press) to concoct a vicious atmosphere of blood-curdling vocals, electrifying shreds, and epic bass lines.

The video is not for the faint of heart - the band members jam in bone-shivering woodlands as they slowly realise that Bananas In Pajamas are hunting them. Seize And Destroy features on Private Function's upcoming album, to be released soon, showing how effortlessly the band switches between genres.

Pre-order 370HSSV 0773H here.