Sunbleached muse on the duality of man on crushing new single ‘Flowers Grow From Ugly Places’

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Published October 21, 2021 by Matt Doria

The future of post-hardcore is in good hands, so long as Brisbane trailblazers Sunbleached are the ones holding it.

The up-and-coming quartet cite legendaries like Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and Silverchair as their key influences, but so too do they owe a debt to present-day rulers like Citizen, Basement, and Nothing – and as far as their local counterparts go, Violent Soho, Trophy Eyes, Introvert…

Moreso than any band we could ever compare them to, however, Sunbleached sound like… Well, Sunbleached. With their one-of-a-kind blend of cruisy, hazed-out melodies, thrashing riffs and just the right twinge of sonic chaos, they’ve carved out an identity that is at once gloomy and luminous – gloominous, if you will.

Their latest example is a double A-side earworm titled Rose Tinted, the first half of which – the touching and turbulent ‘Flowers Grow From Ugly Places’ – lands today. According to guitarist Bradley Maddaford, the new track comes from a place of stark emotional dissonance; it’s “about the best and worst times of my life,” he says, because “they coexisted”.

“Through the worst parts a lot of beautiful things bloomed, and this song expresses the frustration and the letting go in that time period.”

It’s the band’s second track to hit the airwaves in 2021, following the slow-burning ‘Rain On Hot Cement’ that landed back in March. Most impressive is that when the other side of Rose Tinted comes out on Friday, December 3rd (via Collision Course and MGM Distribution), it’ll be Sunbleached’s fifth track… Ever. That’s pretty wild when you consider how goddamn fantastic the band sound, such a short amount of time into their tenure.

They also have Waxflower frontman Tristan Higginson to thank for that – a childhood friend of guitarist Joey Keating, the local pop-punk luminary produced both tracks on the micro-EP. It was also mastered by alt legend Grant Berry, who’s sprawling portfolio also boasts the likes of All Time Low, Being As An Ocean, While She Sleeps and Yours Truly.

Wrap your ears around ‘Flowers Grow From Ugly Places’ below, then click here to pre-save Rose Tinted.