Waxflower announce sophomore EP "The Sound Of What Went Wrong"

With Waxflower’s recent singles ‘Soak’ and ‘Ring’ having signaled a bright new era for the Brisbane pop-punk quartet, the band is today proud to announce the arrival of their sophomore EP ‘The Sound Of What Went Wrong’, out Friday 29th April via Rude Records.

Alongside the EP announcement comes Waxflower’s brand new single ‘The Drama Scene’ – a nostalgic sum of the electronic elements delved into on ‘Soak’, met with the 00s pop-rock elements of ‘Ring’.

Speaking to the track’s theme, frontman Tristan Higginson reveals:

“‘The Drama Scene’ is a reflection of my social life at the time. There was just so much negativity swirling around, and I was contributing to that. I was generally unhappy, the song is me airing out some of the agitation I had with where my own actions were placing me. The song is mostly the same as the demo, with exception of the second verse which ended up a more DnB style effort. Stevie [Knight] helped us add more programming to make that section of the song stand out from the rest”.

In addition to the aforementioned trio of singles, Waxflower’s forthcoming EP ‘The Sound Of What Went Wrong’ will feature two all-new tracks, the riff-driven ‘Two Thumbs’, and the emotive ‘Misaligned Love’, which features rising American star and Rude Records stablemate Sydney Sprague.

Never ones to shy away from candid, heart-on-sleeve lyricism, Waxflower’s second EP is what Higginson describes as

“five anthems for the over-thinker” and “the EP a brain writes at 2 AM when it can’t sleep – picking apart every awkward moment and wrong turn, all while wondering what could have been”.

“The last few years have given us more time in our heads than we may have liked. Self-doubt, self-hatred, missed connections, crutches, medication. All the fun stuff is here, wrapped up in songs that capture both the poppiest and heaviest sides of Waxflower to date. I hope people can find something to relate to throughout its runtime”.

Drummer Daniel Seymour explains the EP was recorded over two weeks in Sydney with producer and frequent collaborator Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic / Yours Truly / Between You & Me).

“Those two weeks were spent crafting and perfecting these songs – to become the most accurate representation of who we are as people, musicians, and what we hope Waxflower reflects. I feel this release is just the next step in our progression, a movement forward in the constant search to find “our sound”.

Previous single ‘Ring’ was supported domestically by the likes of Wall of Sound, The Music, The AU Review, LiveWire AU, Good Call Live, Ticketmaster, Sounds of Oz and more, amongst international coverage from Upset, Bring The Noise, and Punktastic to name a few. The single has seen Waxflower move from strength to strength on streaming platforms, with additions to Apple Music’s The New Rock and New In Rock playlists, and Amazon Music’s Punk Scene and Fresh Rock.

‘Soak’, which recently clocked over 100k streams, followed on from the band’s heart-on-sleeve debut EP ‘We Might Be Alright’ (2021). The track caught the attention of both domestic and international media, receiving support from the likes of Wall of Sound, Hysteria, Rock Sound, CLASH, Punktastic, DSCVRD, and more, alongside an addition to triple j Unearthed rotation. ‘Soak’ was also hailed as triple j Unearthed’s ‘Track of the Day’ on release, and landed Waxflower’s first ever BBC Radio 1 spin on Daniel P Carter’s Rock Show alongside airplay on triple j’s Short.Fast.Loud program.

Plenty of playlist support followed suit, with Spotify adding the track to Rock Out, The Punk List, and major playlist Pop Punk’s Not Dead, alongside the platform’s viral alternative playlist the locker_. ‘Soak’ has also dominated Amazon Music’s alternative playlists, with additions to Punk Scene, Fresh Rock, and Breakthrough Alternative.