A big year ahead for Old Mervs with a new album and huge national and NZ tour

Byron Bay is a world away from the farming town of Kojonup that Old Mervs call home, but the indie duo needed to write and record new music there to ensure they kept their sound fresh for a debut album fans couldn’t wait to hear.

After releasing several singles and EPs, David House and Henry Carrington-Jones decided to focus on a self-titled debut album that explored a free-wheeling sound while still staying true to the Old Mervs surf rock roots fans love them for.

Having always written and recorded in Perth, they decamped to renowned producer Chris Collins’ studio in the lush Byron Bay hinterland.

They wanted to challenge themselves to find something new.

“It was a natural progression; we were looking for a new dynamic,” lead singer House reflected.

“It was nice to change it up, do something different, go to a new place it kind of feels like you’re on holiday so you can’t really be in a bad mood when you’re somewhere nice that isn’t home. It gives more of a positive kind of feel to what you’re doing.

“The album is every ounce of music taste we’ve ever had kind of powered into one.”

The 11-track album was released on Friday and flows from cascading guitars to Brit-pop influences to summery 90s west coast alternative rock.

Many of the songs were written with Collins and Carrington-Jones said the collaboration was another huge factor in travelling to the east coast.

“It keeps things fresh, it was a cool process,” he said.

“Collins had fresh ideas, which is something very different for us, we’ve never done any co-writing so that was a new element that we really enjoyed.”

Old Mervs are set to jet off on their massive Australian and New Zealand album tour, kicking off in Auckland on May 1.

The pair will then head to Wellington and Christchurch, then back to Australia to perform in Adelaide, Canberra, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria before wrapping up the tour in Perth at HPC on July 5.

When comparing hometown shows to international or interstate gigs, Old Mervs said Perth will always hold a special place in their hearts.

“It’s always nice at a hometown show to have a bottle of champagne with everyone, have a beer with mum and dad,” Carrington-Jones said.

“The best part is playing to the fans and people at home and getting to play bigger shows and everywhere else is just really fun, it’s cool and just a good vibe.”

Carrington-Jones said it was “a weird but exciting feeling” to finally have their definitive record out.

“We’re keen to play new songs and have a whole new set, that’ll be interesting. We’re keen to see how many people know the new album and if they’re singing to the new ones,” he said.

And considering they’ve earned themselves a hardcore fan base since breaking out with punchy tunes like Cellphone and Waiting Around, that doesn’t seem doubtful.

One of the new songs called Waiting captures House’s husky vocals exceptionally. The raw, acoustic track was recorded in one take on the studio veranda, bird song included.

Other songs didn’t come as easily.

The album’s opener, Parched, was almost left off the list after House couldn’t sing anything to the chord progression at first.

“I thought it kinda sucked, I was really off it,” he said. “It was just driving me up the wall.”

Collins managed to rework the song with a few guitar effects and a drum loop, among other things, and soon enough House went from “hating the song to being in love with it”.

Following the tour, Old Mervs hope to sink their teeth into another album.

The duo is also keen to explore more collaborations.

“I’ve sort of started to quite enjoy co-writing and just getting a breath of fresh air, which is what we’ve sort of done with Chris. We’re open to anything,” House said.

Carrington-Jones added: “It could be cool to get a girl on for vocals and to write a song with another band, or another artist, for sure.”

Last year saw the boys go regional with their Comin’ To A Town Near You tour as well as their How The Fark Are Ya? tour of Australia and New Zealand.

In November, the band embarked on their first UK headline tour, selling out venues in London, Manchester and Birmingham.

It came after their sophomore EP Give It Up, released in August 2023, debuted at No.2 on the ARIA charts and earned them a nomination for best new artist at the 2024 Rolling Stone Australia awards.

Songs to stream: What You’ve Lost, Out Of Luck, Wait Around