EXCLUSIVE: BIGSOUND Buzz Act DIET Take Us Track-by-track For The Premiere Of Their New EP

They're just two weeks off making their BIGSOUND debut and today DIET have shared their brand new EP, Sundown, in this exclusive premiere ahead of its release tomorrow.

"It’s now been two years since our debut EP, and we’re super excited to show people how our sound has changed and matured. In saying this, you can still hear the jangly indie pop guitars shine through in these tracks that you’d recognise from our earlier stuff," said bass player Carlos Tinsey of Sundown.

"On the whole, the songs were written from a really optimistic and happy place, so we hope that people can enjoy the songs without feeling too bummed out. We always wanted to put more unreleased rather than released songs so that people who have been hanging out for a new DIET release would be satisfied enough. We can’t wait to show this EP to people, and to play it around the country too!"

As a special treat, Tinsey has taken us track-by-track on the EP so have a listen below and check out what's behind each song.

Track 1 — Don’t Need It

This song is mine and Ben’s [O'Loughlin - vocals/synth/guitar] first collaborative effort, in terms of lyrics and arrangement. We sat up on the balcony of my parents’ house with some guitars and we figured it all out. Don’t Need It touches on the realisation you might come to after trying way too hard to please someone. Was it worth the hassle? Do you look pathetic now? The song basically serves as a wake up call to anyone too worried about pleasing others that they forget to think about themselves. It also kind of goes against most of the other messages in the EP actually – rather than feeling happy and optimistic, it’s a little bit sarcastic and pissed off. 

Track 2 – Game Plan

We’ve had this song in the holster for quite a while now, and are so pleased to finally have it recorded and ready to show everyone. Those who have been to our shows might recognise this song, particularly in the bridge where I’ve been known to break out into any of my favourite rap verses from my childhood. Anyways, the song is about feeling hopeful about restoring a friendship or a relationship when it seems as though you’ve screwed up too much. The chorus is a call and response between two people, who feel differently about the future of their relationship:

Call: It’s no good
Response: We’ll get there soon
Call: Still no good
Response: We’ll get there soon etc etc etc

For out music videos, we’d rather make them lighthearted and not too heavy on the viewers. For Game Plan, we’ve got our mate and premiership winning footy player Tom Liberatore to star in a bizarre late night karaoke fiasco.

Track 3 – Take Me

We released Take Me in late-2017, but really wanted it to be on the EP because it’s a song that we’re happy with and quite proud of. It’s a lovey-dovey kinda track about wanting someone, and then feeling fulfilled once you have him or her.  Prior to this I’d never been in a position to write a legitimate and genuine ‘love’ song, so I was keen to give it a crack. Ben and Andy love fooling around with ditsy synths and guitars, and they’re in full flight with this song. During the lyric writing process, I was quite wary of sounding too corny or cheesy, but then I realised it was what I wanted to say haha.

Track 4 – Danny Boy

Danny Boy is named after my brother Danny, who I’m quite close with and is great mates with the band. He had to move to Fremantle for a year in 2017 to finish his studies. A couple of months had passed and I hadn’t spoke to Danny too much, but one night he gave me a buzz out of the blue to see how things were going. It ended up being quite a meaningful chat. After that call I sat down and started writing Danny Boy. He’s now back in Melbourne. When he comes to live shows we point him out and try embarrass him by having the soundy shine the house lights over him so everyone knows he’s the real Danny Boy.

Track 5 – Sundown

This is the title track for the EP mainly because we’re quite proud of it sonically, rather than the word Sundown trying to evoke a certain meaning. We also thought it would provide some good inspiration for the very talented mate who does our artwork, Jackson Fitzsimmons. Sundown is about feeling out of control, and trying to get your friend to help you out and bring you back to normality. I’ve had some people give their thoughts on the song meaning and they were all quite dark. It’s cool that people were able to interpret it in that way, but by ‘out of control’ I mean super drunk, amongst other things.

Track 6 – In Focus

This is the newest DIET song, and it snuck its way into the EP in the last minute. It’s one of our more down tempo songs, but still manages to hit quite a loud peak once the horn section comes in. In Focus is about feeling determined to make things right with someone – it has pretty similar intentions to Game Plan’, but it focuses more on idea that restoring things to normal can be really tough, but with effort it can all work out. Our producer Daniel Caswell toyed around with some crazy effects at the end of the track, which totally informed our decision to put this song last on the EP. It strikes us as a lovely way to finish the Side B listen to our record.

DIET are showcasing at this year's BIGSOUND as well as playing their own headline shows and festival sets around the country throughout the country. Head to theGuide for more info on where to catch them.