Life After Football have returned with their best work to date in ‘Top Order Collapse’.

Bursting onto the Sydney scene in halfway through last year with their debut EP Goanna Eggs, punk/post-punk quartet Life After Football have wasted no time establishing themselves as a must-see act. Lyrically, frontman Dale Halliday encapsulates the tos and fros of young manhood with both force and finesse, whilst gritty guitars and a rhythm section that sways between Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Joy Division round out their sound. It’s no wonder they’ve quickly gone from edgy support act to gripping headliner in a matter of months.

Yesterday saw the group release ‘Top Order Collapse’, the first single from their forthcoming self titled EP, which they say further dips between brighter moments and deeper, darker territory. Premiered on FBi Radio last night, the hook-laden track feels more fierce than anything we heard on Goanna Eggs and seems to mark a turning in terms of maturity for the band – the Life After Football “voice” is glaringly established and it’s coming for you.

You can catch the lads taking the stage this Sunday at Crowbar (Syd) with Repo Man (info here) and hitting Newcastle with Shady Nasty May 3rd at the Hamilton Station (info here). Check out our interview below with Dale:

On ‘Top Order Collapse’ it feels like you guys take it up a few notches in energy compared to Goanna Eggs. Was this a conscious shift?

The only conscious shift was to add more light and shade than on Goanna Eggs, which was courtesy of Fletcher (Matthews, who produced the song). Until this recording, we’ve been limited to one speed, which is fast, and one volume, which is loud. So, we worked on adding exactly one other volume and one other speed. Maybe now that we have two gears like a peewee-50 dirt bike, it makes it seem like we comes up a few energy notches.

Is this an indication of what is coming on the new EP?

Yes – More singing, more melody, more signature D. Halliday barking sounds, same Hatebreed drums, more existential crises. Oh! and we buried a synth in a song which felt quite adult for us. Just like last time, but ‘more’.

What are some of the themes behind ‘TOC’ lyrically?

I wrote the lyrics to the recent recording while I was living on Chris’ couch for six weeks. The songs on the new recording are about that stretch over the summer. I stole ‘Top Order Collapse’ from a Sports pages headline about the Australian cricket team. I guess that kind of sets the scene thematically.

‘TOC’ is about watching yourself respond to repeat situations in the same way and getting the same results. I also get to name check some old hardcore bands, which is a lot of fun for me.

‘TOC’ is a cricket reference right? If each member was an Aussie cricketer (past or present) who would they be and why?

The band members would be:

Nathan (drums) – Steve Waugh. The Iceman who cannot be shaken, and is always switched on. Can be trusted with any task, particularly holding a beat.
Yorey (bass) – Tim Paine. Wholesome, loveable, trustworthy Labrador. He was brought on board to rebrand the group into the good-time you see before you.
Chris (guitar) – Fake tan–era Shane Warne. Mind-bogglingly talented, but many questionable choices otherwise.
Dale (vocals) Allan Border. Fearless leader, but definitely no fun ever. Captain Grumpy.

We still are yet to see a LAF film clip. Is there a reason for this? Got any big plans?

The idea of a film clip has been on the cards for over a year. Many ideas thrown around, and half-commitments made. But, it seems we’re much better at writing catchy choruses than we are at any of that co-curricular band stuff, like film-clips, building a fan base, or general promotion.

Reasonably priced film makers, please get in touch. We’ll respond within 20 business days.

You guys are about to play your first Newy show AKA hometown show, are you looking forward to it? Are you expecting a fierce pushback after your critique of ‘Steel City’ on your ‘Spewcastle’ track?

Spewcastle is actually about the first time that Chris and I really hung out properly. In fact, Nate and I are from Adelaide, and Yorey and Chris are from Newy.

Before the band started, I was living in Myanmar and Chris came and stayed with me, after we had only briefly met once before. He arrived at my place at 5am, and responded to my greeting with a hearty vomit on my front doorstep. This set the scene for us leapfrogging a number of friendship milestones over the following week.

So, I would say that ‘Spewcastle’ is less a critique of Newcastle, and more a celebration of a new friendship, and travel sickness. I think Novocastrians will like it…

What can we expect to see at the single launch this weekend?

I think our set is quite tight now, and we are really comfortable playing the songs together. The new tracks, including Top Order Collapse complement the set really well. Expect 24 minutes of energy, one minute of witty banter, cooked until al-dente.

Also, Nate’s mum is in town, so she will come. She may spend the entirety of our set in the beer garden though.