The Velvet Club are the Melbourne-based indie band we’ve had on repeat. Their latest single, We Don’t Talk, is an infectious, emotionally charged track that dives into the slow collapse of a long-term relationship. The song is the latest offering from their debut album, Are You Falling In Love?, arriving July 10. We caught up with frontman AJ Tilyard to talk about the making of the record, the inspiration behind The Velvet Club, and what listeners can expect from the band’s biggest chapter yet.

You’ve announced your debut album - so exciting! Tell us about making it, tell us about what we can expect?

We have!!! We are so excited to finally announce it! We made this record with our good friend Luke Thomas in his studio in Brunswick. Completely DIY, just a bunch of friends working on the songs after work until late at night. We have put off doing a record for so long because we didn’t have the money or a label to fund it and to be honest we were scared we weren’t ready, but we decided we’d had enough of waiting and it was time to do it, however we could get it done!

We’re so proud of the songs and we feel very lucky to have people like Scott Horscroft mixing & George Georgiadis mastering the album.

Especially loving the new single We Don't Talk. What inspired this track?

Thankyou! That’s one of my favourites from the record! I feel like it really captures the influences of The Smiths & The Strokes on that song but it still feels very much like us. Lyrically the song is about the breakdown of a relationship & the rollercoaster of emotions that come with facing that. It came right at the end of the writing period for the album, but it was one of those songs that seemed to write itself really quickly so it snuck its way into the tracklist at the last minute. I’m glad it did because it’s now one of my favourites!

What have you learnt about yourselves as a band making music and performing since your last EP release in 2024? 

I feel like we’ve learnt a lot as a band since our last EP. We did a lot of touring around that release too and definitely developed our live show along the way. I think I've gained some confidence as a songwriter since our last EP too and to me, these songs we are releasing this year feel a lot more intentional and refined in their structures and individual parts compared to our previous releases.

You’ve been doing a lot of shows. What is your live show like? Do you keep the songs close to the recordings or do you guys improvise a little?

Lots of shows! We have actually been doing little runs of secret/mailing list only/house party style shows over the last 6 months. Which has been so fun. We have been keeping it to a lower capacity and packing out little sweaty rooms. It’s been so great to actually hang out with the biggest supporters of our band and grow our little community of fans. The show itself is pretty true to the recordings but I guess it's overall a little less polished and a little more raw as we don't play to a backing track or anything.

Which bands are part of the blueprint that make up The Velvet Club? Do you have a North Star?

Early 2000’s indie-rock is most definitely our main blueprint and source of inspiration. Bands like The Strokes, The Vaccines, Interpol & The Drums. However, growing up in Australia, bands like INXS, The Go-Betweens & newer indie like DMA’s & Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have all been a major influence to me particularly in a songwriting sense. 

Which other rising Australian artists are you excited about?

There are SO many Australian artists to be excited about right now, particularly from Melbourne. The Belair Lip Bombs, Radio Free Alice, Sleepazoid, The Gnomes, Dogworld & The Halves to name a few!

What’s something important to you, aside from music?

We love fashion and particularly wearing Australian and Melbourne based labels on tour. I think what you’re wearing is a really important part of being in a band and can really compliment and even add an additional layer to the way your music sounds and is being perceived! We love to rep Melbourne and Aus based designers on stage like Jungles Jungles, Mutimer, Sucker & Monphell as much as we can. 

What’s next?

Our debut album is next! Stay tuned.

Pre-save the album HERE.

@thevelvetclubmusic