Genre-melding Australian quartet Hellions have announced their brand-new album Rue will be released on October 19th via UNFD. Rue builds upon the marriage of theatrical dynamics and thoughtful lyricism that defined the band’s critically acclaimed previous offering, 2016’s third collection Opera Oblivia. The resulting record is deeper and darker, with melodies that are more beautiful, and riffs that are more seismic. The album was recorded at Karma Sound Studios in Thailand with producer Shane Edwards – a man Hellions have worked with for a decade and describe as “our fifth member”.
In addition to the album announcement, Hellions have given fans another taste of what’s to come from Rue with the release of “Smile” today. “Smile” was born late in the creation process and is a dynamic, upbeat tune built around the refrain ‘I’m ready to run, are you ready?’ that provides a tongue-in-cheek look at the depth of our interactions in the digital age. The track joins previously released tracks from the album, “X (Mwah)” and “Furrow”.
On the track, Anthony Caruso (drummer/co-writer) and Matt Gravolin (guitar/vocals/cowriter) shared “The world as we know it wants to be entertained interminably, and now our entertainment often comes at the expense of our compassion. We’ve all found ourselves speaking in blue, snide language about trivial matters that aren’t of any real consequence to us, asserting invalid opinions for the sake of having our voices heard.”
It’s safe to say Rue is an album in which message and music are often tonally juxtaposed, requiring the listener to really listen. The tracks are divided into the pessimistic and humanitarian sides of life. Tracks like “(Blueberry)” and “Odyssey” deal with the former, examining how the high consciousness we possess has led to a culture of egocentricity and opportunist while being accompanied by jaunty, bombastic guitars reminiscent of Black Parade-era My Chemical Romance. Similarly, the funky, danceable “X (Mwah)” is actually about abandoning hope in favor of recklessness, while “26” is a rousing anthem about the quest for happiness.
