Australia's Radio Free Alice have a hard time swallowing "Empty Words"

Today, Australia’s Radio Free Alice releases their first single of the year “Empty Words.” A dissonant and paranoid track, frontman Noah Learmonth’s throaty, yet operatic, vocals sail in alongside a jagged guitar tone to take a shot at hollow activism. He reels both internally and towards society about talking a big game with no follow through — Stream / Watch the official video directed by Finn Robilliard.

“‘Empty Words’ came out of a jam like most of our songs do,” shares Learmonth. “It was in some downtime between shows while we were in the UK last year. Lyrically it’s about the feeling of social stagnation that I think a lot of young people in our generation feel.”

Connecting a pool of influences that span both continents and generations, Radio Free Alice combines angular post-punk guitar riffs with earworm choruses to evoke a time when guitar bands dominated the airwaves. Immediate and arresting rock arrangements from the quartet meld with Learmonth’s distinctive voice, calling in comparisons to Ian Curtis and Robert Smith. With a rhapsodic swagger and an angular, guitar-driven sound, the Melbourne group emerged with an art school musical palette, painted from a suburban Australian canvas. This allure quickly took hold across European clubs and venues, and now sees Radio Free Alice on the cusp of breaking into America.

Radio Free Alice will be making their way to Austin, TX, for SXSW. From March 12-15, they’re set to electrify every showcase they play, official details to be announced. View the band’s SXSW profile here. And in September, the band will return to the states again for Shaky Knees in Atlanta, GA.