WEST AUCKLAND’S DOUBLE PARKED ANNOUNCE RAW SOPHOMORE EP, ROSARY, WITH LATEST SINGLE ‘PLACE I HIDE’
West Auckland post-surf rockers Double Parked have announced their sophomore EP Rosary, with latest focus single, ‘Place I Hide’, following the bands cult favourite 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove.
Rooted in raw shared experiences between five best friends and band mates, Tom Purdie (vocals), Travis Hassell (bass), Chad Mascelle (drums), Carlin Diprose (guitar/vocals) and Ben Woolford (guitar/production), Double Parked deliver some of their most confronting and confessional storytelling to date on Rosary. Reflected over the EP’s palette of both soft, stripped-back acoustic introspection and urgent, raucous guitar anthems, the project's seven tracks are deeply cathartic, crafting a record that radically breaks the stigma of sharing men's experiences with the complexities of mental health.
From lead single ‘Necklace’ and it’s introspective lyrical purge, to second single ‘Buttercup’s high-charged anxious energy, to the hopeful glow of ‘Lighthouse’, the lofi, stripped-back fragility of ‘Reaching Out’, resilient songwriting of ‘Survive’, and poetic spoken word meditation of closing track ‘Rhythm of Silence’, each of the projects 7 tracks unpack the non-linear process of navigating mental health and healing - somewhere between breakdown and breakthrough. While sonically still steeped in their signature guitar driven post-surf sound, Rosary EP pushes the bands pens to reveal intimate new layers of their artistry, documenting their growth not only as a band, but as friends and confidantes figuring out the pits and peaks of life in their twenties together.
The EP’s latest focus single, ‘Place I Hide’, marks the project's climax. Driving with jangling guitars and moody reverb, lyrically the track purges a pensive account of coping mechanisms and survival strategies. “Selfish and bleeding, as the sun is receding, holding onto my friendship hard, pull it out, simmer down, watch me drown,” Tom's gritty vocals sing. “When I'm in this frame of mind, waiting on the borderline, take it all in all your stride, darkness creeping into this place I hide”.
“Place I Hide might be my favourite track,” Carlin reveals. “It was the first one we wrote, and we started recording it nearly a year before the rest. Originally it was the planned third single that we didn’t have time to record last year, during the ‘Dopamine’ and ‘Scars’ sessions. We all frothed it so hard, we knew we had to record it ASAP, and we kinda ended up writing this project around it. For me, and I’m sure the other boys feel similar, it really is the centrepiece of the album. The climax of the journey.”
Of the band's growth on the upcoming EP, Travvy details: “I believe that as people and musicians we’ve all grown in different ways since our first EP, but the essence of our creative process hasn’t changed too much. We write exactly what we are feeling at the time and make decisions on the music democratically as a band.”
He adds, “This project came to life at a time when we were all battling demons. This feeling of despair and defiance can be felt in the deep and reflective lyricism, but this energy also molded and sculpted how the guitars, bass, and drums were written and recorded. We didn’t intend for this EP to sound as it does, but it was the only music that could have come of us at the time.”
In the past two years since the success of their 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove, Double Parked have cemented themselves as one of New Zealand’s most exciting acts on the rise. The group have quickly developed a cult following with their rowdy live shows, festival sets, and tours with celebrated local and international acts including The Butlers, Lazy Ghost, and most recently supporting Australian indie-rock band The Terrys across their New Zealand tour this past September. This Summer, the band are set to perform at the country's biggest new years festival Rhythm & Vines, and perform a headline show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork on (insert date).
Pushing forward the traditional surf-rock sound with their own genre-defying fusion labelled “post-surf”, Double Parked are redefining the subgenre for a new generation. While making music that’s quintessentially rooted in New Zealand, the group pull from a melting pot of global influences including Indie, Alternative, Post-Punk, Psych and Surf, laced together from their distinctly West Coast lens.