Catching a Case of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever makes music that’s easy to relate to.

Maybe it’s because they’re actually related. Fran Keaney and Joe White are cousins, and Tom Russo and Joe Russo are brothers. Then there’s Marcel Tussie, the band’s drummer, who’s just out there all alone. Poor Marcy. And it gets worse—turns out that he’s never even been invited to one of his bandmate’s family dinners. Outrageous. Anyway, we spoke to the band about everything from family traits, to touring the world, to Pitchfork reviews, and you can read it all below. By the way, have you ever caught a Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever? Once it gets its claws into you, it’s hard to shake. It starts with the chills, and then they start multiplying. Then the blues take control. And the power… have I taken this far enough yet? I’ll let myself out.

When the band first started (back in 2013, when they were simply known as Rolling Blackouts), none of the band members shared DNA. Then, Fran brought his cousin into the mix, and Tom his brother. Marcel rounded out the new line up, and after some online threats from a small American band with the same name, the guys added another four syllables to their name. Two EPs and one LP later, and they still haven’t managed to set a place for Marcel at the family table. “Fran and Joe’s family is enormous,” Marcel says. “I’ve heard about the spreads, about the lamb and the pavlova. I would like an invite.” Maybe Fran and Joe have just been too busy hitting the wicket—not a euphemism—to extend the invitation. When asked about their similarities, they say their family bond is most obvious when they’re competing. “When we play cricket it gets competitive pretty quickly.”

The band has been touring like crazy this past year, traversing all around the world with their ‘Scandinavian post office pop’ inspired sound. Sorry, what was that? I just found that reference on a Triple J write up and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Is that really what we’ve come to? Scandinavian post office pop? Anyway, they’re making a brief but triumphant return to our shores for their Splendour performance, before they jet off again to play Europe, America, and a bunch of other exotic locations. “It’s been pretty flat out so we haven’t really had a chance to properly take it in. But it’s been great fun. We’ve seen heaps of new towns and cities, and played on bills with some of our all-time favourites,” says Fran.

Last month, Rolling Blackouts CF released their highly anticipated debut album, Hope Downs, to rave reviews. Among their biggest fans are the folks at Pitchfork, whose word many music fanatics consider as gospel. But Fran says the band is careful not to let it get to their head. “It is nice when you read a review where someone has really listened and thought about your music. But you try not to take anyone’s word for it, whether it’s a good review or bad review. You don’t really want to hang your hat on what someone else has said.”

The full-length comes after two highly acclaimed EPs, 2016’s Talk Tight, and The French Press, released the following year. “The first one was just a collection of songs that we initially just put out ourselves for the hell of it. For the second EP, we had a few songs kicking around, but not an album, so it felt right to do another EP at that stage. For the album, we went in with the mindset that it was going to be an album and we wanted the whole thing to hang together like a proper album,” he says.

By now, you’ve had close to six weeks to get to know and love the tracks on Hope Downs. By the time the band takes to the stage this weekend, you better be singing along ‘cause they’ll be playing a bunch of new stuff, as well as a sprinkling of the classics. “We’ve already been playing a fair chunk from the new album. We’ve played seven out of the ten. It’s been fun to have them in there and to see the crowd getting into them. So yeah, we’ll play a fair few of them, and a few of the old ones too.”

As for festivals, the band has played more than their fair share. There have been highs, lows, and discarded ponchos. Like at Meredith, a few years ago, when the weather had been pretty solidly shit for days on end. “There was one point on the Saturday afternoon where it stopped, the clouds parted and the sun came out, and Joe [White] chucked away his poncho in a fit of passion. Then the clouds opened up again,” reminisces Fran. What crazy crime of passion will Joe commit this year at Splendour? Only time will tell.