Nice Biscuit

Today Brisbane's Nice Biscuit announce their long-awaited second album album SOS, set for release Oct 4th via Bad Vibrations (UK) and Greenway Records/Reverberation Appreciation Society (US). They are also sharing the lead track trom the record, "The Star", which is is a vibrant psych-pop release that speaks to the hope and recovery after pain and chaos. The calmly chanting vocal lines from Billie and Grace entice you to practice self-love and self-care and surrender to guidance and protection from others. Its repetitive, dancey rhythm section and melodic chorus create an infectious groove that reflects the catharsis of healing and finding peace.

On the track, the band said “';The Star' (inspired by the tarot card of the same name) is about the period of well-deserved healing and peace following big hardship. It is the follow-up to our song The Tower – that depicted chaos and challenges.  The Star explores the feeling of surrendering into yourself just as you are and trusting others to guide you through challenges to usher you into a new & brighter chapter of life. The Star was influenced by the joy of being together and peeling away the pressures and anxiety of life. It was created incidentally one morning during a songwriting session, and what felt like an ephemeral jam at the time captured a moment of taking a step back and just appreciating that time together. We felt like we could share that feeling through this song."

The accompanying music video was directed by Levi Strauss Cranston and filmed on Bundjalung Country. With four rolls of 16mm film in hand, Levi captured two mythical entities as they outrun three henchmen in chainmail. A dive into experimenting with physical manipulation and paint on film to saw Levi produce vintage psychedelic visuals to match the hypnotic groove.

"The Star" on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KQiViMuebKU
"The Star" on other streaming services: nicebiscuit.lnk.to/thestar

Following the acclaim of their 2018 debut LP Digital Mountain and 2021 EPs Create Simulate and Passing Over, Nice Biscuit’s eagerly-awaited second album, SOS is set for release on October 4th via Bad Vibrations in the UK/Europe and Greenway Records/Reverberation Appreciation Society (USA). Written and recorded during 2022-23 at Swan Pond Studios (QLD) and mixed by Mildlife’s Jim Rindfleish, the nine track album embodies the fuzzy groove-laden psych that Nice Biscuit is renowned for, while introducing new danceable feels influenced by their love of disco, jazz fusion and world music.

With the beautifully hypnotic and soothing vocals of front women, Billie Star and Grace Cuell, SOS is about finding calm and balance in our chaotic world. While writing the album, the band often discussed the weight and compounding of the various crises of the world, thus each song is a different response to these turbulent times. The band explains: “Sometimes we feel hopeful and grateful, pessimistic and desolate, mournful and angry, sometimes we feel that love can solve it all and sometimes we just become overwhelmed and apathetic about everything.”

The album was written over one year as the band enjoyed multiple long weekends out at Swan Pond Studios with their friend, Alistair Richardson (The Cairos, Clea). After road-testing a few of the new songs on tour in Europe in 2023, Nice Biscuit went back to Swan Pond Studios to record the album over a 6-month period. It is the final album with the band’s original guitarist and producer, Jess Ferronato, who recorded all the instruments on the record, while Richardson tracked all the vocals.

Unlike their debut album and EPs, for SOS the band decided to split up the recording sessions into two groups — bass, guitar, drums (the boys: Nick Cavendish, Jess Ferronato, Kurt Melvin) and vocals and percussion (the girls: Star and Cuell). The band explains of the recording process: “The boys laid down the foundations of the songs on the weekend prior and then Billie and Grace would head out to add vocals and write lyrics. Often we would not have the lyrics or melodies finished before going out there, which allowed more focus and energy to be poured into the instrumentation and vocals. It fostered greater creativity and space by doing it separately and felt like a fun back and forth between the two groups, being excited to share what we have created. Then in the weeks after we got together and added more synth and percussion parts.”

Since their inception. Nice Biscuit have been carving out a vibrant sound of their own influenced by krautrock, garage and modern psych. They layer and transcend the classic psychedelic hallmarks of fuzzy guitars and repetitive rhythms with the mesmerising performance and ethereal vocals of co-front women Star and Cuell, who sing in constant harmony and give Nice Biscuit its distinct voice. Live on stage, they also create and design the band’s outfits which draw you further into a world of their making. With layers of swirling harmonies, precise instrumentation and striking visuals, Nice Biscuit has garnered a reputation for captivating live shows and immersive songwriting.  

Over the years they have won coverted support slots with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Wet Leg, Altın Gün, The Murlocs, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Jen Cloher, Allah Las plus festival slots at VIVID Sydney Festival, The Long Sunset, Jungle Love, A Festival Called Panama, King Gizzard’s Timeland Festival, Splendour in The Grass and more. Nice Biscuit has also toured internationally in the UK and Europe landing festival spots at The Great Escape (where they were listed on NME’s ‘10 new bands to watch’), Wide Awake Festival (UK), Supersonic (FRA), Liverpool City Sounds (UK), Portsmouth Psych Fest (UK) and performed headline shows across the UK and EU.

Following the acclaim of their 2018 debut LP Digital Mountain and 2021 EPs Create Simulate and Passing Over, Nice Biscuit’s eagerly-awaited second album, SOS, is set for release on October 4th 2024 via Bad Vibrations / Fuzz Club in Europe and The Reverberation Appreciation Society / Greenway Records in North America. Written and recorded during 2022-23 at Swan Pond Studios (QLD) and mixed by Mildlife’s Jim Rindfleish, the nine-track album embodies the fuzzy groove-laden psych that Nice Biscuit is renowned for while introducing new danceable feels influenced by their love of disco, jazz fusion and world music.

With the beautifully hypnotic and soothing vocals of front women, Billie Star and Grace Cuell, SOS is about finding calm and balance in our chaotic world. While writing the album, the band often discussed the weight and compounding of the various crises of the world, thus each song is a different response to these turbulent times. The band explains; “Sometimes we feel hopeful and grateful, sometimes pessimistic and desolate, sometimes mournful and angry at the system, sometimes we feel that love can solve it all and sometimes we just become overwhelmed and apathetic about everything.”

SOS was written over one year as the band enjoyed multiple long weekends, out at Swan Pond Studios with their friend, Alistair Richardson (The Cairos, Clea). After road-testing a few of the new songs on tour in Europe in 2023, Nice Biscuit went back to Swan Pond Studios to record the album over a 6 month period. It is the final album with the band’s original guitarist and producer, Jess Ferronato, who recorded all the instruments on the record, while Richardson tracked all the vocals.

Unlike their debut album and EPs, for SOS the band decided to split up the recording sessions into two groups — bass, guitar, drums (the boys: Nick Cavendish, Jess Ferronato, Kurt Melvin) and vocals and percussion (the girls: Star and Cuell). The band explains their recording process; “The boys laid down the foundations of the songs on the weekend prior and then Billie and Grace would head out to add vocals and write lyrics. Often we would not have the lyrics or melodies finished before going out there, which allowed more focus and energy to be poured into the instrumentation and vocals. It fostered greater creativity and space by doing it separately and felt like a fun back and forth between the two groups, being excited to share what we have created. Then in the weeks after we got together and added more synth and percussion parts.”