Australia’s gang of stoned surfer dudes, Dune Rats, are more than just beer hounds and besties; they’re comedians, too. There is an air of never taking yourself to seriously in the Dunies (the universe according to Dune Rats) world along with feelings of falling in love, embracing your mates, and staying true to yourself without being a one-trick-pony.
Their new record, Real, Rare Whale encompasses all of the weird and wonderful things which make the skate punk trio of Danny Beus, BC Michaels, and Brett Jansch work so well together. Their creative hive mind on the record produced by Scott Horscroft (Alison Wonderland, Empire Of The Sun, The Temper Trap, etc.) shines with pop-centric bits of polished, belt-worthy chorus earworms while their signature gritty guitar breaks are a-plenty sprinkled throughout the album. From their intro “LTD” (living the dream) to their outro, Real, Rare Whale is a glassy-eyed journey through the lenses of an Aussie chosen family through their shenanigans, tribulations, and find each other at the end of the day for a pint before doing it all over again the next day.
Their fourth record, Real, Rare Whale was released on June 24 via Ratbag Records. Having caught up with them before the release of the album, Beus and Jansch offered a peak behind the curtains of how Real, Rare Whale came to fruition.
Tell me about the record and how it came to be.
Danny: “After the last album, before the “thing” happened, we were the last band in Australia to play shows to a full audience. The week before everything got shut down, we had a 4,000-capacity Melbourne show with fire and inflatables. Then it got locked down and (we thought), we better use this time to start writing another album. We moved into a house on the south coast of Australia and just started smashing out songs. We used the energy of the shows to write. We didn’t want to lose the energy of being psyched, so we started smashing out some records and that is where the vibe of (Real Rare Whale). We knew we wanted to hold this record until we could go out and start playing live again. When everyone was writing introspectively or about the turmoil of isolation, our record is kind of the opposite of that. It’s about enjoying life and smashing it.
Brett: We had plans in 2020 and we thought, “Well, let’s get a leg up and go write some new songs,” that way, we can go out and do all of these things we had booked. It seemed to fit the mold. Without ever knowing shit would last for so long, (it didn’t seem) like an end period that was so far away. We were just pushing and being active while there was a little period we were lucky enough the three of us could get together and hang in the house.
Your sound has changed so much over the years, but you have still stayed true to the Dune Rats ethos… was the natural progression something you planned or hoped for as you made more records?
D: It’s kind of like when you start a band, you don’t really know what you’re doing. You’re just doing what you love, and then you try not to do the same thing again. If a song goes well for you, it’s pretty easy to just sit there and do that song (again). We never thought we were the greatest band on the planet; we’ve loved collaborating with people and learning from producers and songwriters. It has helped us not stay pigeon-holed into pop punk. We used to conceive ourselves as stoner pop, but we’ve grown from the early EPs being quite poppy and whimsical sounding to our recent stuff being harder and faster. It’s always going to be us because we’re always writing about dumb shit. The chemistry of us three singing—We’re always singing together. We all have an opinion on a song, so it will always be Dunies.
B: In the past, the songs don’t happen on instruments; they happen as jokes or phrases. Even with “Scott Green,” that (started) as a joke, and then we found what the music should be for that song, and that’s why we would never leave the older Dunies sound. We construct what the song sounds like with what (the song) is saying, which is why we don’t have heavy, big, chunky punk rock distortion. That’s not the vibe we’re giving out; there is a bit of beachy relaxed (vibes) to it.
D: Even with the song “LTD,” which is living the dream, it was kind of something where we’d have a 30-day hangover, and you’re hungry; you’re in the van; it’s s so early in the morning; we’d always be like, “Living the dream!” With this record, we never really brought it to a point where it wasn’t super Dunies. Out of all of our records, if I could choose an album to play, it would be this one. This is our sound.
How does it feel knowing you have records on the charts; has it changed anything?
D: Over here, the reception of the last couple of albums was (great). Early on, we wanted to tour the states, Europe, and Asia. It means we can spend time here (in Australia) less and get back to the states (and all over). Up until the lockdown, it felt like we were doing all of the right things with like-minded bands, and (we) made some really good mates in California, so that’s why with this album, we’re so excited to get back out there. It’s our fastest, most in-your-face album.
B: We came to America and did a tour at the end of 2019. We had full, psycho moshpits and mad success. We were fucking stoked. Us having the ability to tour diaries and tour docs (now), we want to have Dunies TV be a part of the album. It’s going to be awesome fun.
How did you grow as a band with the recording of Real Rare Whale?
B: We were picking stuff out of the Dunies cloud that we all share in our brain. We didn’t have to dig deep to find stuff that we wanted to talk about and write about. It wasn’t easy, but it was really fun to do. We can make albums the way that we want them and not be pushed around by the powers-to-be. (Since) the situation (with COVID-19) was what it was, we made the best of that and struck gold with the way we could make it fluid and make tunes a part of our life.
D: It’s been a massive process. We three dudes love surfing, smoking pot, fishing, etc. We’ve never had this grandiose (image) like, “Oh, we’re these sick musicians.” It’s always been a process we wanted to learn and to be taught new shit. The last record was sick (to make), coming out of the United States working with John Feldman in Calabasas. We left Los Angeles and saw what made us unique. There was stuff that they weren’t getting that we get. There were processes that we learned about, which were epic. We got to the point where we thought, “Fuck it, we’re going to write all of these songs, work on them, and get Scott Horscroft to come into polish it up and give it that pop sound.” We’ve known Scott Horscroft for 15 years. Even when we were groms and in shitty bands, he turned it into an accessible record and palatable for other people. He introduced us to tracking a song a day. We were all focused on that song. We’ve always wanted the Dunies world to bleed into the songs. We don’t want to just be that band; we want (everything) to be visually pleasing and take people into the Dunies world, like with the character Rubber Arm.
You said that Real Rare Whale is the “fastest, funniest, and most insane record” you’ve ever made. How have you kept things fresh as a band who have been together now for almost a decade?
D: We’re generally best mates. We’ve spent so much time together that it feels weird if we don’t see each other for a month. Early on, having humility (was important). We’ve never had the trap of someone being the frontman. We still paper, rock, scissors on who gets the double bed. We have a democratic process.
“Melted Into Two” is a love story between Brett’s sister, Kell, and her partner, Ellie. What made you want to portray their relationship in the video?
B: Seeing it unfold in front of our eyes. As a brother, and that includes Danny and BC as well, we wanted to incubate how good it was to see Kell so happy with this new thing in her life. It just felt like a great thing for her, and it buddied up with the song. The love aspect of the song fit really nice; it was a wholesome video. The song is wholesome in that (regard) too. Ellie is a great skateboarder and Kell is a great musician; they both have their strengths. To see them get stoked over each others’ talents is really cool to see unfold and become totally real.
The song connects love, skateboarding, and music, which is so cool. What role does skate culture play in music with Dune Rats?
B: In Australia, it’s more of the surf culture. Especially on the east coast, it’s ingrained in you that (skating) and music are the perfect pair.
D: When you’re growing up, the skate park is where you hang (out). Us, we grew up surfing, and then we would skate. I don’t skate much anymore; I like my wrists, but it’s so intertwined with shows and taking skateboards on tour. It’s how our sound is. Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of bands that sounded like or lived how we lived our lives, like surfing and smoking bongs at the beach.
B: The skatepark is better than surfing for hanging with people. You don’t even have to skate; you can congregate, and it turns into new friends.
D: It’s kind of why the song “Skate or Don’t” made it onto the album. I fucking love that song. It’s like, sometimes you skate, and sometimes you don’t; you just drink beer. That old saying, “skate or die” is not really the Dunies ethos. You can skate or don’t; you can drink some beers with your mates. It’s the kind of inclusiveness that Dunies have always had.
What is something you want to convey to people with Real Rare Whale that you weren’t able to do before?
D: That we can do songs without relying heavily on drugs, swearing, and drinking, even though there is a song about drinking all day (on the record).
B: We try to not be a one-trick pony. If you’ve seen the video we did for “Bullshit,” it just makes me so happy because it’s so real; it’s a party we managed to have cameras (at). I don’t know if we’re the spokespeople for that group, but you can’t just keep writing about swearing and (partying). It’s not the motto of the album, but towards the end of the record, we didn’t breeze over the swearing; we did it better. It (comes down) to us just making better songs.
The song “UP” is about getting your tax return back; tell me about that.
D: It’s mainly about whether or not to get up in the morning, as cliche as it is. When you’re working a job you don’t like and you’re like, “Fuck, I just want to roll around in bed for ages.” If it’s the day you get your tax return back, it makes it a whole lot easier to get up because you get to enjoy your day. We’re stoked we get to do this as a job, and it was never the plan. The song was that feeling of when we dreaded getting up, and now we get to say, “Fuck yeah.”
B: It’s like our own little version of winning the lottery.
It was a huge production with dancers, outfits, and a fight scene, and you even choreographed some sick moves; what was that like?
D: We had an amazing choreographer. It was a big concept we came out of the gates with and our choreographer wanted us to get the moves right. We’re not TikTok dance people; we thought it would be funny to be three stoner dudes trying to nail it. It turned out that it was a lot harder than we thought. We were playing shows, and in between sound check and the show, we were doing dance rehearsal. It kind of felt like Britney Spears for a moment.
B: That whole crew knows how to cut a rug, and it was fun to get away from the music for a bit. We were able to have a full sword fight and inject some comedy into the video. We were fully having a laugh.
What were some of the inspirations behind this record?
D: Tequila and beer.
B: We would go out for a walk in the afternoon (during lockdown), kick a (soccer ball) down by the beach. A lot of nights were spent playing cards. We were chugging down a whole bunch of beers, playing cards at the expense of our livers. It was wacky and fun; like the album, it was full of laughter and stupid stuff as well, which is always a good part to have in your head when you’re trying to do work.
D: It was go out, surf, come back in, kick a (soccer ball), write some songs, get a pub lunch, drink tequila, play cards, and do that for three months. Bam, album.
—
Watch the video for “What a Memorable Night” here:
For more from Dune Rats, find them on Facebook, Instagram, and their official website.
Photo courtesy of Tom Healy
