new ep

BANKS ARCADE
ANNOUNCE BRAND NEW EP
A MUSE DUE OUT JUNE 28

BAND SHARES NEW SINGLE
HEARTSTOP

TOURING NATIONALLY THIS MAY

An enticing continuation of their earlier works, today Banks Arcade return with the announcement of a brand new EP, A Muse, due out on June 28 via UNFD.

Evolving from the darker sides explored on their recent DEATH 2 EP, released in February, A Muse finds the New Zealand-hailing, Melbourne-based quartet shedding the expected and instead flourishing between moments of searing rock, towering hooks, dance beats and fresh explorations into heavy surrounds.

A deeply personal extension of DEATH 2‘s chaos and sonic metamorphosis, today’s announcement of A Muse is also accompanied by the brand new single Heartstop; a swaggering, guitar-driven breakup anthem balanced with audacious grit and potent gloss, with the track premiering on New Zealand’s #1 rock station The Rock.

Heartstop is a sassy breakup rock anthem, the band shares of their latest single. It’s got a bit of ‘f*** you’ to it, but really it’s just a fun song that was made to make people dance and forget about that asshole that broke their heart.

Offering a memorable companion to their recent new single Self Help, also taken from the forthcoming A Muse EP, Heartstop readily wears its heart on its sleeve with infectious abandon, with vocalist Joshua O’Donnell powerfully declaring, “I like the way that I move / When I’m not hung up on you” alongside a sauntering chorus backdrop. And it’s this very notion of strength in vulnerability that carries throughout A Muse, from the vehement urgency of opening track Alive through to the moody ferocity of No Future and beyond.

Ruminating on their upcoming new EP, the band share: “A Muse follows on from DEATH 2 in a much more vulnerable way. It covers a lot of personal issues from relationships to internal struggles and in each song I tried to speak with my own voice as much as possible as opposed to the more abstract stuff on DEATH 2.”

Via DEATH 2, Banks Arcade didn’t merely build on their previously-established trademark sound; rather, it catapulted their heady blend of hard rock, electronic and metal into an entirely new sonic stratosphere, while also expressing the darkest and heaviest side of the quartet to date.

A band who always wanted to make history, Banks Arcade bring passion and potent execution to their myriad of influences and creative ideas. Formed over a shared love of music with a razor-sharp avant-garde aesthetic, Banks Arcade have always teetered on modernity; a fact displayed firmly on their 2018 debut EP Endnote, its 2020 follow up Fever Dreams, and the group’s head-turning singles Roses and Drown, both of which have gone on to amass well over 2 million individual streams.

Releasing their full-length Future Lovers in 2022, Banks Arcade cemented their future-facing trademark style while also turning heads courtesy of their emphatic soundscapes, searing metal and hip hop additions.

Fresh off the back of releasing DEATH 2in February, Banks Arcade also supported metalcore titans Northlane nationally alongside ERRA and Landmvrks that same month. And after two years of non-stop touring, Banks Arcade will also hit the road in New Zealand and Australia with a brand new live show this May, with the Death 2 A Muse Tour set to compile the band’s best work to date.

For Banks Arcade in 2024, DEATH 2 was only the beginning. Don’t miss a moment of what happens next.

HEARTSTOP – OUT NOW
https://banksarcade.lnk.to/AMuse

A MUSE – OUT JUNE 28
https://banksarcade.lnk.to/AMuse

A MUSE TRACK LISTING:
01. Alive
02. Heartstop
03. Faded AF
04. Lost Cause
05. No Future
06. Self Help

New World Artists Presents

BANKS ARCADE
DEATH 2 A MUSE TOUR 2024

FRIDAY 17 MAY 2024 – TUNING FORK, AUCKLAND
SATURDAY 18 MAY 2024 – SAN FRAN, WELLINGTON
SUNDAY 19 MAY 2024 – DARKROOM, CHRISTCHURCH
THURSDAY 23 MAY 2024 – LION ARTS FACTORY, ADELAIDE
FRIDAY 24 MAY 2024 – MAX WATTS, MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 25 MAY 2024 – CROW BAR, SYDNEY
SUNDAY 26 MAY 2024 – THE ZOO, BRISBANE

Tickets from banksarcade.com