On Stage
Naarm/Melbourne’s Radio Free Alice kickstart their 2025 with ‘Empty Words’ ahead of performances at SXSW Austin and a long stint based in the UK over summer 2025.
‘Empty Words’ was written and recorded during some downtime between shows while Radio Free Alice were in London last year, and the first cut taken from a to-be-announced body of work due out in 2025.
A cut which brims with energy and an angular sound which hits which an ignorable immediacy, ‘Empty Words’ folds synths and the occasional saxophone into RFA’s New Wave swagger which continues to reach new fans the world over.
“Empty Words came out of a jam like most of our songs do,” the band explain. “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.”
The new track coincides with Radio Free Alice’s debut US shows this month at SXSW Austin, a performance accompanying a runway show at Melbourne Fashion Festival tomorrow night and a stop at this year’s Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, GA this September alongside Lucy Dacus, IDLES, Pixies and more – with plenty of European dates yet to be announced.
The release of RFA’s 2nd EP Polyester (2024) saw support and acclaim from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music (New Music Fix), triple j, FBi Radio, Triple R, Clash, Dork, Complex, Pigeons &
Planes, NME, Rolling Stone, The Line Of Best Fit and many, many others, as Radio Free Alice toured extensively throughout the UK and Europe. The band joined the The Killers on tour across Australia, co-headlined a national run with Big Special, and embarked on their Polyester EP tour which sold out heaving across the country.
Formed in Gadigal Land/Sydney in 2020 before making the move to Naarm/Melbourne, Radio Free Alice – Noah Learmonth (he/him; vocals, guitar), Jules Paradiso (he/him; guitar), Michael Phillips (he/him; bass, saxophone), and Lochie Dowd (he/him; drums) – are making their mark with their wildly consistent output and vital live performances.
Their debut self-titled EP (2023) was nominated for Best Independent Punk Album or EP at the AIR Awards and alongside stops at Lost Paradise, Splendour In The Grass, Dot To Dot, Live At Leeds, London Calling Amsterdam, The Great Escape, Rock For People Budapest, Wide Awake, Mood Swings, Party In The Paddock, Loch Hart, SXSW Sydney and Bigsound alongside tours with Royel Otis and Sorry, are making their debut in the US this month at SXSW Austin with more dates on both sides of the Atlantic to be announced this year.