Indie-rock quad Eliza & The Delusionals developed their sound on stages around Australia. Since then, their immersive style has captured the imagination of a vastly-growing audience. Their music is melancholy and lo-fi, indie-rock escapism. Their second album, “NOW AND THEN”, is full to the brim with new ideas. In support of the release, Triple J has also announced a nationwide tour running from August to September 2022.
Eliza & The Delusionals have arrived at their most significant career point to date. Their latest album, Now And Then is the band’s 12-track sophomore album. It takes a nostalgic look back at their formative years to the mid-20 somethings they are now. If you’re not familiar with the band, their sound will appeal to fans of Spacey Jane, sjowgren or Ballpark Music. This is indie-rock in its most ambient form.
“Now and Then”
Our favourite track? The LP’s title track, “Now And Then”. The tone of Eliza’s voice will give you goosebumps during this one. The song itself feels modern, although some nostalgic-sounding guitar riffs and clever rhythms result in a wholly encompassing, elevated sound.
You can hear the blend of Australia’s East Coast and Los Angeles, where the band fine-tuned the track during a series of studio sessions. As is standard for Eliza and the Delusionals, the track subtly emits 90s-00s alt-rock.
Some other album standouts are “Save Me,” “Bed Song,” “Halloween,” and “Give You Everything”. It’s such a rarity these days to find an album which organically builds a dynamic over the length of the album’s runtime. But exactly what you get from Now and Then. The pace is nice and consistent, and although their indie-pop sound tapers off at times – it reappears with an invigorated underground / garage-style rock.
Eliza & The Delusionals recorded at Airlock Studios, Konstantin Kersting’s (Tones And I, Mallrat, The Jungle Giants) studio, and Eliza and Kurt’s home studio. Overall, you can hear a natural progression which becomes an album-wide dynamic.
From the Ground Up
Resilience is a running theme throughout Now and Then. By the EP launch date on 20th May, the band already had three successful single releases. “Save Me”, “You” and ‘Nothing Yet” have, to date, garnered over 1 million combined streams worldwide, 30+ editorial playlist spots, and the cover of Spotify’s Front Left playlist.
Like a sea of other musicians, the band suffered enormous losses in 2020. “A STATE OF LIVING IN AN OBJECTIVE REALITY” is Eliza and the Delusionals’ debut of 2021. This album put the band onto the map of Australian and American music industry tastemakers.
Since then, the band have been busy moving between LA and Australia; building upon their foundation of natural talent and confidence into something much bigger and harder to define. More than 2 million people streamed Eliza & The Delusionals’ six most recent tracks in 2022 – a massive surge in their popularity and demand. Eliza Klatt says,
“I think this album was the best thing to come out of the pandemic for us. We had just dealt with a huge loss of all of our touring in America, and when we got back to Australia we both were feeling quite lost and sad. We took the opportunity to build a studio at home and bunker down and turn all of the feelings that we had been experiencing for the past two years into songs. It was a really nice way to cope with what we were going through, and also to deal with emotions and experiences that had happened in the past few years of our lives. I always feel lucky that I’m able to be in a band, and to be able to write music with my partner as well.”
They are definitely making up for lost time with passion – and a live production that is regenerating fans across the country. This culminates in a triumphant return to live touring in 2022. First with The VANNS before they go on to headline their own East Coast tour. The tour comes to fans in collaboration with Triple J – including gigs in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney later this year. Visit their website here for ticketing information.
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