Australian rockers Delivery have officially announced their second studio album, ‘Force Majeure’, today (September 24) – hear new single ‘Operating At A Loss’ and read the band’s interview with NME below.
The new LP, which follows on from their 2022 debut ‘Forever Giving Handshakes’, is set for release on January 17 via the UK-based Heavenly Recordings, the label home of Kneecap, Saint Etienne, Lynks and more. It’ll be the Melbourne band’s first release for the label.
To coincide with the album’s announcement, the band have shared a new single titled ‘Operating At A Loss’. “I’ve never really worked in a proper office, but ‘Operating At A Loss’ is what I imagine goes on around the professional workplace,” said vocalist/guitarist James Lynch in a press statement. “Lots of business jargon [and] dudes in suits climbing the corporate ladder.”
The new single follows the July track ‘Digging The Hole’. Hear ‘Operating At A Loss’ below:
The latest developments for the Melbourne garage-punk outfit come at a curious intersection in the band’s history. Although ‘Force Majeure’ was recorded with the same line-up as ‘Forever Giving Handshakes’, three of the band’s five members have since exited the fold. Drummer Daniel Devin moved on to recent Third Man signees The Belair Lip Bombs, while guitarists Sam Harding and Lisa Rashleigh left to focus on their careers.
This left the band’s founding members – Lynch and bassist/vocalist Bec Allen – to essentially rebuild from the ground up. They are now joined by drummer Liam Kenny and guitarist/vocalists Scarlett Maloney and Jordan Oakley.
“There was sort of a moment where everyone had to kind of take stock,” Lynch explains to NME. “Suddenly, we’re in this band where things are moving really quickly. Fortunately, it was a pretty amicable process, and we’re very stoked on what that band was able to do together.” Allen agrees: “It all went the best it could go,” she says. “Not only do we get to celebrate this new album with the original members, but we have our friends Jordy, Scarlett and Liam ready to tour it and work on new music as well.”
The tracklist of Delivery’s ‘Force Majeure’ is:
1. ‘Digging The Hole’
2. ‘Like A Million Bucks’
3. ‘Operating At A Loss’
4. ‘What For?’
5. ‘Stuck In The Game’
6. ‘The New Alphabet’
7. ‘Deadlines’
8. ‘Focus, Right’
9. ‘What Else?’
10. ‘Only A Fool’
11. ‘Put Your Back Into It’
12. ‘Exacto’
While ‘Forever Giving Handshakes’ was written through Melbourne’s extensive COVID lockdowns, ‘Force Majeure’ arrives with significant mileage under the Delivery moniker. The positive reception to their debut – which included a four-star review from NME – encouraged Allen and co. to further expand their creative horizons on ‘Force Majeure’.
“It gave us a lot more confidence to just say ‘fuck it’ a lot more,” she says. “We wanted to push the boundaries, and not be afraid to experiment with a few different things. We trusted our instincts a lot more, I think. The guitar solos are even more turbo, the slower songs are even more emotional, the harmonies are bigger… even just the idea of adding heaps of percussion. We weren’t so concerned with just being a three-guitar rock band – even though we still are.”
Ahead of ‘Force Majeure”s release, Delivery will return to the UK next month for a run of shows supporting The Vaccines – following in the footsteps of other Australian bands on the international scene, such as The Chats and Amyl & The Sniffers.
“It feels like guitar music’s making a comeback,” says Lynch. “Amyl, in particular, have played a big part in making rock popular again around the world. It’s interesting… for whatever reason, in Europe they just love bands from Australia. We’ve had people come see us play just because they heard we were from Melbourne. People are really watching what happens over here, which is kind of insane to us because it’s often bands we see every week that go over and crush it.”
‘Force Majeure’ is set for release on January 17, 2025 via Heavenly Recordings and can be pre-ordered here. Check out Delivery’s UK and Australia tour dates below and find ticket info here.
OCTOBER
5 – Carisbrook, Victoria, Chopped Festival
12 – Adelaide, South Australia, Hotel Metro
18 – Sydney, New South Wales, SXSW Sydney
22 – Bexhill, UK, De La Warr Pavillion*
23 – London, UK, Roundhouse3*
25 – Norwich, UK, UEA*
26 – Lincoln, UK, Engine Shed*
27 – Coventry, UK, HMV Empire*
29 – Middlesbrough, UK, Middlesbrough Town Hall*
30 – Scarborough, UK, The Spa*
31 – Wolverhampton, UK, University of Wolverhampton at The Wulfrun Hall
November*
02 – Bournemouth, UK, O2 Academy*
03 – Cardiff, UK, Great Hall*
04 – Bath, UK, The Forum*
NOVEMBER
23 – Marrickville Bowlo, Sydney, NSW (with Fruit Tones & Gee Tee)
DECEMBER
14 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne, VIC (with Superchunk)
*with The Vaccines