Australia’s viral five-piece band Rancid Eddie have released a backyard acoustic version of their single “Dry.”
The original acoustic version of which was released on their YouTube channel has garnered over one million views, while one of their TikToks of it has garnered 2.6 million. The band posted a TikTok Teaser of the new single which hit 4M+ views, which premiered on Triple J.
The story of Rancid Eddie’s formation is as gritty as it is pure - amidst a pile of crushed up beer cans and cigarette ashes, a band of five friends from Melbourne, Australia was born. Composed of Jessy Kelly and Matt Sturrock on lead vocals/guitar, Ash Ravlic on bass, Andy Sturrock on drums, and namesake Eddie O’Brien on keys, the group started as their high school lives ended, feeling that music was “the only thing” that’d keep them together.
Once Covid hit and playing live shows was no longer a possibility, like countless others, the band decided to get on TikTok. There’s something inherently incongruent about supposedly contrarian rock ‘n’ roll bands playing in the influencer’s sandbox, but somehow Rancid Eddie figured it out and developed a rabid following. They showed themselves in their natural habitat - on a couch on the lawn of their shared home, drinking beers at 10am and doing singalongs. Their videos started to amass millions of views - with people taking the live audio and creating tens of thousands of user generated content.
TAG Music label founder Gabe Saporta discovered the band halfway across the world, while asking Siri to find a different song by a different artist. Much to Saporta’s surprise, Siri blessed him with Rancid Eddie’s one-and-only released track at the time - “Here We Go Again” instantly recognizing his need to reach out and connect with the band.
Their latest single “Dry” is a sing-a-long-in-the-pub type of tune with cheekily blunt lyrics about a relationship losing its spark. With a rock sound that’s reminiscent of both Aussie rock acts like Sticky Fingers and American bands such as the Strokes, their psychedelic sound radiates a youthful dew of hope and angst. A paradise of hazy guitar chords pop under a gritty beat and woozy restrained vocals that drip in a relaxed aura mixed with a contrasted rowdy feel. “Dry” is the ultimate explosion of piano stabs, huge, tight drums and loops of cheerful guitar vibrations with contours of boozy carefree vibes. Inspired by their "abysmal love lives", the boys kicked back and grabbed their beers after a two-day bender, and “Dry” was created. The track nods to the world of relationships particularly the occurrence of one ending internally as you lose feelings. They share the track arose with, “A couple guitars and 5 blokes kickin’ back around a table of empty stubbies, and the good old no sleep demons. The song is about realising a relationship is over before it is, and the pains of falling out of love with someone.” The band share, "We love Dry cause we’ve all been there before, and it feels so good to belt out at the top your lungs with the thought of you giving your ex the finger."
An acoustic version of “Dry” on their YouTube has over one million views, while one of their TikToks of it has garnered 2.6 million. "The response from so many people across the world and all sorts of walks of life has been bloody phenomenal! It’s absolutely mind-blowing and heartwarming to think that us blokes can pull a tune out of a backyard, after a couple of beers, to then resonate with the rest of the world.” The band posted a TikTok Teaser of the new single which hit 4M+ views.
Earlier this year the band officially signed to Gabe and his label TAG, who have been helping Rancid Eddie get ready to release their most viral live track, “Dry.” “Dry” is the follow-up to their previous single “Champagne”, which premiered on Triple J.
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