Bangers and mosh _{by Madelaine Empson}

A matter of days ago, Dead Favours released the long-awaited Riffing & Yelling Part 2. Part one scored the Kiwi band the Best Rock Artist nod at the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards and even inspired a Hazy IPA by Behemoth Brewing Company, which sold out. Part two was a little longer in the making… three years, to be exact!

“The idea was to release the two halves in succession to have some momentum, but shortly after the first half we had a major lockdown”, drummer Charlie Smith says. “Coming out of that we decided that seeing as we were already behind schedule, let’s take our time to really make these songs something special… 18 months later, here we are!”

Smith says part two is thematically lighter than Riffing & Yelling (2021), which has a darker spin and touches on tough life circumstances, including broken relationships.

“The second half speaks more positively about living a life you want to live and chasing after things that make you happy.”

You can still headbang to that classic Dead Favours sound, but Smith says this is the first set of songs they didn’t write out of hurt.

“I believe [that] reflects in our writing approach and progression as a band. We’ve found new boundaries that we’ve never really explored before in songwriting.”  

With the capital always a highlight on their gig circuit, Smith says Wellingtonians should “expect loud guitars, a lot of sweat, and probably a bunch of tequila” when Dead Favours play Meow on the 27^th of April.

And let’s not forget the beer coming back for round two. “Be on the lookout for the Chase The Sun Hazy IPA, available from Behemoth from mid-April!”