2020 was going to be a colossal year for CLOWNS. The Melbourne, Australian five-piece was locked into worldwide touring to support their 2019 full-length and FAT debut, Nature/Nurture. The album included 11 blistering songs that veered from frantic punk to slower, more nuanced, and psychedelic-tinged rock. However, before the band could really roll out their epic touring plans, that nettlesome global pandemic hit, and the world was shut down.
Luckily, CLOWNS are not one to rest on their laurels and harnessed their solitude to write music. The pause on being an active band allowed the group to record a batch of new songs, with two
standing out as their favorites. Out November 11th, you'll get a healthy dose of quarantine-blues curing melody in the form of their double A-side single Does It Matter?
"Does It Matter?" was the first single to be released in May of 2020 and is about breaking the law, says CLOWNS vocalist Stevie Williams. "We all do it sometimes-and if you say you don't, then
chances are you are a liar or a coward. Musically, we wrote this song during lockdown as the world was melting around us." The single is a hook-heavy raucous number that demonstrates the prowess
of their current lineup. Now completed by drummer and founding member Jake Laderman, vocalist Stevie Williams, bassist/vocalist Hanny J and guitarists Rod Goon and Cam Rust.
The second A-side single, "Sarah," completes the release with the kind of sound that you've come to expect from Clowns: blazing guitars, huge vocals, and infectious melodies. Vocalist
Stevie Williams expands, "Sarah explores the idea of how love can be like a drug. Dizzying highs and soul-destroying lows. It can elevate your life to heights you never knew were possible, but
can at the same time, be life-crushingly addictive." The song was recorded at Red Door studio with producer Wood Annison (The Living End) and co-wrote the tune with Matt Squire (One Direction,
Panic! At The Disco).
Additionally, in 2019, CLOWNS started a record label/booking agency called Damaged who'll release Does it Matter?, in Australia, with FAT distributing the release everywhere else. What's next for
CLOWNS? Vocalist Stevie Williams shares, "While we feel happy to be living a relatively normal life after our COVID episode, we are still unable to leave Australia and tour. We're using this time
as wisely as possible, writing all kinds of new music and playing shows where we can. Expect lots of new tunes until it's legal for us come to you!"
The Band says:
Sarah -I've never met a Sarah that I haven't liked. It's a great name that seems to breed excellent qualities in people. That being said, the Sarah we are referring to metaphorically in this
song is the hormone serotonin, and oh boy, is our Facebook relationship status "it's complicated."
Our new song “Sarah” explores the idea of how love can be like a drug. Dizzying highs and soul-destroying lows. It can elevate your life to heights you never knew were possible but can at the
same time be life-crushingly addictive. We all love Sarah, don't we? But what happens when she goes away? Why does she go away so often? How come we are so smitten in her presence and yet so
surprised when she leaves, especially after a lifelong history of this ambivalent behaviour? It's love and lackluster for all of us with love and Sarah.
We recorded this song at Red Door studio with producer Woody Annison (The Living End) and co-wrote the tune with Matt Squire (One Direction, Panic! At The Disco).
