Our favourite Australian breakout band of the year's debut album has been soundtracking our lives over the last month. Newcastle-based post-punk dust was formed in 2020 by dual guitarist-vocalists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale, bassist Liam Smith, guitarist and saxophonist Adam Ridgway, and drummer Kye Cherry. The album, Sky Is Falling, is a post-apocalyptic punk meets experimental electronic blend of brilliance that lyrically explores the band's everyday lives, uncertainty, anarchy and finding peace. Over the last couple of years the band has toured around the world, supporting Slowdive, Interpol, Bloc Party and is currently on tour around Australia supporting sombr. With  headline shows taking place this week in Sydney and Melbourne, and ahead of a tour across the UK early next year, we spoke to Gabe from dust about making one of the year's defining records:

Do you remember the catalyst for making the album? When did you realise you were actually making a debut album?

It’s hard to pinpoint a specific moment. We’d done really heavy touring in 2023, and once that wrapped, we finally had some time off. Throughout 2024 we honed in on writing. Some songs had already started forming around the EP, and then the two singles between the EP and the album also came from that period.
We did a few writing trips, one on the Central Coast, one in Melbourne, and that’s when it really began to take shape. Even in the recording process, we were maybe 80% done when we arrived, so we still had time to experiment with other sounds without being too attached to any structure.

Who did you work with on production? Is it mostly you, or external collaborators?

It’s Wade [Keighran]. He produced the EP as well and has always been super supportive in helping us shape our sound. Justin is really involved in the soundscapes and electronic elements - he spends a lot of time crafting interludes and textures, sometimes on his own, sometimes collaboratively. In the studio, we were able to build those layers together in a really relaxed, open environment without strict time pressure.

How did the lyrics come together? What themes were inspiring you?

I only wrote a couple of the tracks. Restless came from imagining a post-apocalyptic world — thinking about climate change, the aftermath of disaster, someone wandering around the remains of things and looking for someone to blame, even though no one’s there. That was one of the first times I wrote from outside myself. Usually songs like Joy or Being are super introspective and stream-of-consciousness. It was refreshing to try something different, because introspection can get a bit much after a while.

I love the visuals - the album cover, the Drawbacks video, even the press photos. What inspires you visually?

When we work with Charlie, we like to find iconic Newcastle spots. If you’re from there, you recognise them instantly. We try to document parts of Newcastle and have that connection to place come through in the artwork. We haven’t done much in Maitland yet, but we should. Newcastle changes constantly - the social circles, the fashion, the vibe.. and in a smaller city, you can actually see those shifts. It definitely influences the record. If we were from Sydney, it’d probably be a totally different vibe.

Which bands or artists are you excited about right now?

I’ve been listening to a lot of international stuff — James K, Mica Moine — just following algorithms and finding cool, ethereal, Y2K-inspired vocals.
Locally, Horse Bites are good mates and a great band. The Limo from Newcastle played the Newy Bar show recently and were awesome. There’s a band called Brief Peace who are leaning into that post-pub sound. Lots of cool stuff happening locally.

What’s your live show like? Is it intense or more chilled out?

We’re still figuring that out. Historically it’s been pretty hectic — lots of half-hour sets through 2023–24. Now, with the album, we’re moving into 45-minute or hour-long sets.
We’re trying to balance the big, exciting tracks with the slower songs. Playing the slower ones has been really enjoyable, because we can actually perform them rather than just sprint through a chaotic half hour. We’re still working out the set flow for the album shows.

Is there anything outside of music that’s inspiring you at the moment?

I went back to uni this year. I enrolled in a Victorian literature course — probably stupidly — and had to read seven books, most of them around 600 pages, while also doing band stuff.
But it’s been inspiring. A lot of human behaviour from that era feels weirdly relatable now. It’s been a cool way to think about collective anxiety and how people respond to big events. It’ll definitely influence writing… maybe too much!

What’s next? Any shows you want to shout out?

We’re playing the Lord Gladstone tonight — album release day, the 10th of the 10th. Then Wollongong tomorrow (the 11th), Melbourne on Sunday at Soundmerch for an in-store, and back in Newcastle on Monday.
In December we’ll do the full album shows.

Listen to dust HERE.

@dustband_