Start Listening To: Delivery
Delivery discuss their bold second album, DIY roots, and what's next.
Hailing from Melbourne/Naarm, Delivery has quickly carved out a space in the rock scene with their dynamic energy and DIY ethos. Their sophomore album, Force Majeure, captures the band's evolution, embracing bold experimentation while staying true to their raw and eclectic sound. In this Q&A, the band reflects on the making of the record, their approach to collaboration, and the joy of playing live as they gear up for an exciting year ahead.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
We’re Delivery, a band from Melbourne/Naarm in Australia. If an Uber driver asks us what kind of music we play, I’d typically say rock ’n’ roll.
Force Majeure feels like a real statement of intent. What did you want this album to say about Delivery as a band?
‘Force Majeure’ is our second record, so I think we had a strong sense of confidence and excitement this time around. We were fortunate that our first album was fairly well received, so when it came to making this one, I think we felt pretty good about backing ourselves in and taking ideas as far as we could. I guess there was a bit of an anything-goes type vibe, not concerning ourselves whether choices were cool or typically “Delivery” enough. The result is bold moves across the board in every direction; at different times it’s heavier than we’ve ever gone, prettier than we’ve ever gone, more noisy and freaky than we’ve ever gone. Hopefully that means this album sounds more like Delivery than ever.
How was the album produced?
We recorded this one ourselves which made the process fairly all-consuming but equally leisurely. We did some initial drum and bass sessions at Bakehouse Studios in Melbourne, and then went fully wild overdubbing everything else across a range of spaces; our homes, friend’s places, rehearsal studios etc. Meant that we had plenty of space to try things out and tackle arranging the album in the best way possible.
Do you have any specific memories that stand out from the recording process?
Plenty of fun and wacky highlights across the full process. Here’s a few:
Digging into a borrowed ‘percussion box’ and proceeding to cover a bunch of the tracks with as much random percussion as possible. At one point ‘Digging The Hole’ had about 5 or 6 cowbell tracks for some reason.
Recording embarrassingly turbo vocals at our friend’s Mikey and Veeka’s apartment and realising midway through that their neighbours could hear every take as they packed for a fishing trip out the front.
Spending way too much time in James’ parents’ basement recording guitar takes with no internet reception, which might explain a few of the bizarre guitar sounds on the record.
Bec and Sam finishing a session late one night after everyone else had ditched, and heading to a bar for a lager and a shot to celebrate the day’s work.
What was it like working with Heavenly Recordings, a label with such a strong legacy of supporting Australian bands?
Signing with Heavenly was a real pinch ourselves moment, especially since some of our favourite Australian acts have worked with them. They’re all the nicest and funniest people, with great taste in music (obviously).
Bec, you mentioned opening the floor for everyone in the band to contribute songs. How has this collaborative approach shaped the album’s final sound?
Totally! Even though me and James started the band we always wanted it to be fully collaborative which is way funner for everyone I reckon. In relation to the album, I think it makes it feel more well-rounded and gives an important ebb and flow throughout. I also like how it means that the whole band has a sense of personality rather than just individual members.
James, can you elaborate on those "James Lynch-isms" you bring to the songs? How do you approach adding that unique spice to more straightforward ideas?
Just for the record, I don’t call them James Lynch-isms myself haha. I think I’ve just got a bit of a habit of throwing a spanner in the works when things are feeling too straightforward, for better or for worse! There’s something fun about subverting expectations of where a song might be going, but I would equally say that you might be headed for trouble if you approach songwriting with that as a main intention. I guess it’s just about following your nose, and when something haphazard or unexpected happens, not being afraid to see where it takes you.
Your music has resonated with influential figures like Henry Rollins. How does it feel knowing your work is reaching and inspiring such a diverse audience?
Very exciting and equally surreal. We’re very fortunate to have had lots of experiences in the last few years that would’ve blown our younger selves’ puny minds. That said, it’s hard to really know if anyone out there is actually being inspired by us, but if anyone was to feel the same way about our music as we did listening to our favourite artists (like Henry Rollins) that’d be a dream come true.
The band’s dynamic is so integral to your music. How do the four voices and diverse contributions work together in practice?
Luckily we’re all quite good friends so we’re all comfortable with each other and it comes quite naturally. Bit of a cop-out but I guess we don’t really think about it… so don’t make us lol.
What’s the story behind ‘Digging The Hole’? It’s such an explosive opener - how did that track come together?
We have this Delivery tradition called a “demo listening party” where each member can submit any songs to be considered on an upcoming album, but they must be submitted before a strict deadline (ahead of that evening’s listening party). We were catching up to listen to the potential tracks that would make up our debut album ‘Forever Giving Handshakes’ and I decided I wanted to make one more track for consideration, so I recorded a demo of ‘Digging The Hole’ in about an hour, combining a bunch of unused ideas I had, and ad-libbing everything else. Understandably, it was fairly all over the place and didn’t actually make the cut for our first record, but there was something in the controlled (or uncontrolled) chaos of the initial demo that kept everyone intrigued. By the time it came to making album 2, ‘Digging The Hole’ had had a bit more time to percolate and was an easy option to kick ‘Force Majeure’ off.
DIY culture seems to have played a big role in your journey so far. How has that ethos shaped the way you approach being a band in 2024?
Being DIY is a big part of this band’s identity and working with people that share that DIY mindset is super important to us. We’re really lucky to be part of an amazing music community in Melbourne and beyond, where so many people contribute so much time and energy just for the love of music and to support the scene. That’s hugely grounding, and it also makes it really easy to find likeminded people, and perhaps also sniff out not-so likeminded people - which makes sticking to our guns and putting in the real work all the more important.
What do you love right now?
Playing rock songs and drinking riders.
What do you hate right now?
Too many things to list. Listen to the album and you’ll probably figure out a few.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Little bit of a Heavenly shoutout: ‘Highly Evolved’ by The Vines. Hugely influential band for a young James which taught me the importance of rocking hard, how to pull back where needed, the power of simplicity and the magnetism of a good melody.
What’s next for Delivery? Are there plans for touring, or new directions you’re excited to explore?
‘Force Majeure’ is out on January 17th, and we’ll be back in the UK/EU over Feb + March to celebrate! Also got plans to head to the States as well as play plenty of Aus shows. So essentially, lots more touring, and we’re excited to be writing more music to see where album three takes us.
