Post-punk Aussie quintet dust make their EP debut with the phenomenal record ‘et cetera, etc’.

dust, the rising and defiant five-piece from Newcastle, Australia release their ground-breaking and much-anticipated debut EP ‘et cetera, et.’ giving listeners a journey through the band’s experimental, varied and mesmerising noise. 

The band are soon to embark on tour around the UK and Europe supporting fellow Aussie’s Hockey Dad. 

For fans of black midi and shame, dust are your next favourite band.  

The explanatory opener of the record ‘intro’ is full of phone calls and voice messages with Australian accents and twinkly synth and light bird song in the background. A slightly hazy and blurred sound makes it an intimate 91 seconds before the track blends into a juxtaposing track ‘The Gutter’. A heavy, deep sound opens your ears, and you really get a taste for the collective’s musical passion for this style of music.  

The 3rd track on this monumental debut ‘Alternator’ takes you back in time with a 90’s heavy rock sound surprising you throughout the song. The trumpet notes in this record are a real highlight and adds a completely new and speculative feeling to the song. This carries on through and gently blends through to the 4^th record, ‘interlude’ where you’ll be transported to an underworld sound of soothing jazz mixed with avant-garde tunes. 

As one track slowly blends in to the next with immaculate thought and production, you’ll find yourself back in the heavy heart of dust’s music in their 5^th track ‘Ward 52’. The tension in this song is fuelled by the grungy guitar and bass along with the slightly slurred and gravelly vocals.  

In the next track, we go back to where we started with the intense voicemails reminding of us how the story of this EP begun. ‘False Narrative’ has a traditional indie guitar sound running throughout making it a real head bopper and one you know will sound fantastic live. Once again, dust have masterly blended one track into another and next comes dust’s latest single and the boppiest on the record ‘Joy (Guilt)’. As well as this being a fun and sunny song to listen to, the lyrics also have some importance to them. ‘‘Don’t idolise me, idolise yourself’’ is one of the clearest sounding lines on the whole EP which makes you think that the band have done this on purpose to make the listener really understand and feel these lyrics.  

The track continues its repetition of missed calls and voice messages and delightfully finishes off the EP with a soothing Australian woman’s voice reassuring her receiver she got home safe which completes this outstanding debut EP. 

If this staggering debut record is anything to go by, dust are on their way to very big things.  

Alice Mason

@alicemxson / @alicegoestogigs

Image: ‘et cetera, etc.’  Official EP Cover