Newcastle punks Dead Mall have today released their debut full length album, titled ‘SUPERLIMINAL’. 

Including singles ‘GASOLINE’, ‘PROPERTY DAMAGE’, ‘SUPERLIMINAL’, ‘100% PURE POISON’ and ‘EVICTION NIGHT’, the highly anticipated full length is a smorgasbord of styles and influences. A collection of up-tempo power jams that demonstrate their hardcore roots, as well as incorporating  elements of alt-rock, nu-metal, power-pop and electronica. 

Lyrically, the album often takes form as a character – a down-trodden figure, angry with the world and acting out because of it. Although all members of the band took on lyric-writing duty both individually and as a group, they all seemed to land on this theme throughout the song writing process. 

“If you wanted to summarise every theme of ‘SUPERLIMINAL’, you could do it in four words, “work sucks, I know”. And while nobody knows who said it, or where it came from,  it is accurate. Although our interpretation is… maybe a little more violent. We all write lyrics in the band, sometimes together, sometimes separately. But it always felt like we were writing from the perspective of one person, even though we might not have ever said it out loud. At least, I thought we were anyway. I also just realised we didn’t write any love songs. 

Anyway, the way I see it, he’s a Ferrari driving desk clerk, who after years of climbing the corporate ladder, being stepped on every step of the way, becomes inhabited by a foreign (possibly alien) entity and goes on a city-wide rampage. Not for the money but for the thrill! It’s a cautionary tale of Corporate suburbia, greed, labour, and a person pushed too far! Oh, and it’s all set in the early 90’s.” RUAIRI BURNS, DEAD MALL

Engineered and mixed by the band’s guitarist Darcy Long. ‘SUPERLIMINAL‘ has the kind of attention to detail and personal touches that are only ever achieved by working ‘in house’.

Music wise, most of the instrumentation was written by guitarist Joe Willis before they hit the studio, who sent over intricate demos that, to this day, sound pretty close to the finished product. They then fleshed things out – moving between Durham Studios, Sawtooth Studios and Darcy’s house – collaborating at any chance they could to bring the album to life. 

“Writing the music for the album wasn’t something that was really planned, but kinda just happened. I got carried away with writing initially, just spewing out demos – riffing on any idea I thought was remotely cool and ended up with a pile of them. A sort of random codswallop that was arguably incohesive as a group of tracks, but I kinda liked that. I’ve always enjoyed albums that have a bit of everything. 

(‘SUPERLIMINAL’) seems to jump around – from some classic four-to-the-floor riff-salad, to a pop-rock song with three-part harmonies and questionable percussion choices. Since we had Darcy in the directors chair during the recording and mixing sessions, It was exciting to have the liberty as a band to take our sweet time, and turn the aforementioned ‘codswallop’ into something we were all super proud of. 

We spent the first half of the recording up in Durham Recording studios in the Hunter Valley, where we were able to stay and make as much sound as we wanted for a week. The rest of the album, which was all the vocals, lead guitars and layering (the secret sauce, if you will) was all recorded at Darcy’s room at Sawtooth Studios, or at his house. We all live around the same area, so we would meet up on the weekends just to hang out, and usually just end up at his place or the studio until the early hours. It definitely helped us grow as a band, and I think those memories will be our fondest from the album experience in years to come”
JOE WILLIS, DEAD MALL 

Dead Mall have seen plenty of support since their return earlier this year – with significant support from media, radio and DSPs alike.

They’ve seen radio support for previous album singles from triple J, triple J Unearthed, 4ZZZ, FBi, 2SER, RRR, PBS and more; as well as DSP support from Spotify (with adds to New Music Friday, Local Noise, Fresh Finds AU & NZ, All New Metal and Hardcore Rising), Apple Music (The Riff, All New Rock, Rise Above).

On the live circuit, the band have previously played with the likes of Trophy Eyes, Whatever, Forever, Honest Crooks, Peace Ritual and many others. 

To celebrate the release of the album, the band are set to hit the road – with album launch shows set for Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle starting this weekend. 

ALBUM LAUNCH SHOWS 

Saturday August 23 Monster Mouse Sydney NSW TICKETS
Supported by Reddshift, Non Komplient & Spin Clique 

Sunday August 24 La La La’s Wollongong NSW TICKETS
Supported by Major Arcana & Smile Lines 

Friday August 29th Hamilton Station Hotel Newcastle NSW TICKETS
Supported by Resident, Major Arcana, Jaques Levy’s Desire