DR SURE’S UNUSUAL PRACTICE
‘KEEPS YA HEAD UP’
Fresh from a 10-date tour of NZ and Australia, Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice (DSUP) release the second single from forthcoming LP Total Reality.
Your bed’s underwater but you’re still singing, still laughing, enjoying the neon green sunset with the people you love. Dr Sure’s modern love song sings of the pursuit of love, the pursuit of your dreams, in a post-apocalyptic setting. On Keeps Ya Head Up DSUP explore new sonic territory, dipping into dubby krautrock and no-wave, with an Australiana tinge to the delivery and story-telling. It’s a marker for the album to come, the bands most ambitious to date.
Photo by Kieran Sullivan
Known for expansive synth-punk and tongue-in-cheek political commentary, on Total Reality (a title ripped from 1968 sci-fi novel ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’) DSUP look inward, interrogating the impact of impending collapse on the individual. Though tackling lofty issues - from mental health to obscene wealth - DSUP gaze through a hopeful and optimistic lense, avoiding the often cynical pastiche of modern punk music. And while there are moments of DSUP’s signature weirdo-punk, Total Reality showcases the band’s bourgeoning approach to their craft.
Beginning in 2018 as a solo project, on Total Reality Dougal Shaw is joined by a growing collective. In addition to the core band having more involvement in writing and arrangement (Jake Suriano, Miranda Holt, Tali Harding-Hone, Mathias Dowle), the new record also features collaborations with Stu Patterson (The Empty Threats/Placement), Alannah Sawyer (Babyccino/Mouseatouille) and Jack McCullagh (Jack Dylan & The Villians), as well as contributions from Shaw’s partner Alivia Lester and their baby, Blue - who adorns the album cover.
‘Total Reality’ Album Cover by Oliver Shaw
Shaw refers to Total Reality as a ‘collage album’. There are pieces of pandemic-era demo’s; drum machine’s coexisting with live-tracked rhythm section parts; fresh collaborations; layers of guitars, synths, horns and percussion; collected field recordings and samples. All cut and glued in Shaw’s Merri-Bek studio, before being mastered by Nao Anzai (Floodlights, Cash Savage, Clamm).
Total Reality is available for pre-order now on limited 12” Vinyl - via underground advocates Marthouse Records (Gut Health, It Thing) in Aus and Erste Theke Tontraeger (RMFC, COFFIN) in Europe - with a release date set for April 19, 2024. DSUP follow the release with a European headline tour through May/June.
NZ/AU TOUR
Feb 18 - NZ, Wainuiomata, Camp A Low Hum
Feb 21 - NZ, Te Whanganui-a-tara/Wellington, Valhalla w/ The Pink Frosts, Relay Tapes (Bris)
Feb 22 - NZ, Papa-i-Oea/Palmerston Nth, The Stomach w/ Persimmon
Feb 23 - NZ, Wainuiomata, Camp A Low Hum
Feb 24 - NZ, Wainuiomata, Camp A Low Hum
Mar 7 - OZ, Meanjin/Brisbane, Black Bear Lodge w/ Radium Dolls, Guppy
Mar 9 - OZ, Gubbi Gubbi/Sunshine Coast, TBA
Mar 16 - OZ, Naarm/Melbourne, The Tote w/ Screensaver, It Thing, O.M.R., Silicone Prairie DJ (USA)
Mar 22 - OZ, Eora/Sydney, Bootleggers w/ Fungas, O.M.R.
Mar 23 - OZ, Dharawal/Gong, Diceys w/ Our Carlson, Twine, Saunter
TOTAL REALITY TOUR (EU)
May 24 - NL, The Hague, Sneister Festival
May 25 - FR, Strasbourg, Pelpass Festival
May 26 - FR, Tours, Say Cheese Festival
May 27 - FR, Rennes, Melody Maker
May 28 - FR, Paris, L’International
May 29 - FR, Lyon, Trokson
May 30 - FR, Marseille, L’Intermediare
May 31 - ES, Barcelona, VOL
June 1 - FR, Arthez-de-Béarn, Le Pingouin Alternatif
June 2 - FR, Nantes, United Freaks
June 4 - DE, Cologne, Sonic Ballroom
June 5 - DE, Hamburg, MS Hedi
June 6 - DK, Copenhagen, Loppen
June 7 - DE, Husum, Speicher
June 8 - DE, Berlin, Kastanienkeller
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