Kitschen Boy Blur the line between reality and doubt with new single ‘Mind Melt’
Photo Credit: Matthew McQuiggan
Naarm/Melbourne four-piece Kitschen Boy return with ‘Mind Melt’ - out Friday 1 May, the first taste of their highly anticipated debut album that marks a bold step forward for a band that have steadily built one of Australia’s most compelling indie followings.
Comprised of Dylan Baddeley (songwriter, vocals, guitar), Carlos Tinsey (bass, vocals), Lewis Hentschke (drums), and Ted Mitchell (guitar), the band’s jangling, dark-leaning pop draws from the Captured Tracks lineage, think Beach Fossils, DIIV and Mac DeMarco, while sitting comfortably alongside contemporaries like Vacations, Porches and Ducks Ltd.
It’s a sound sharpened on the road. With multiple national tours, New Zealand runs, and festival slots at Falls Festival, BIGSOUND and NYE On The Hill, Kitschen Boy have earned a reputation for emotionally charged live shows momentum that’s translated into over 6 million streams and multiple tracks surpassing the million mark. A standout moment saw the band play Melbourne’s Forum, a full-circle milestone for the project.
At its core, ‘Mind Melt’ is rooted in lived experience. Drawing from Baddeley’s personal relationships, the songwriting remains intentionally open-ended: “he writes it in a way that can allow for people to draw their own meaning from - steering clear of too many literal phrases.”
On ‘Mind Melt’, Kitschen Boy lean further into the tension that’s always sat beneath their music. As the band describe it, “Mind melt paints the picture of someone pushed to the point of questioning their own sanity; begging for celestial intervention in search of reassurance that they have not lost their mind.” It’s a track that captures the disorienting push-and-pull of miscommunication and emotional unraveling, with the band noting it explores “the torment of misunderstanding between partners… asking oneself how two people can possibly see things so differently; it’s the fear of teetering on the edge of psychotic break and being gently nudged towards the event horizon.”
That sense of immediacy carries through into the recording process. Written during a short, instinct-driven session in Sydney between Baddeley and producer Fletcher Matthews, known for his work with Dear Seattle, Trophy Eyes and STUMPS, the track came together with minimal revision. “It was cool to see that not many changes were made from their first instincts,” the band explain, highlighting a creative partnership grounded in long-standing friendship. “We hope the friendship shines through.” The track was later mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering.
To celebrate the release, Kitschen Boy will launch ‘Mind Melt’ with a headline show at The Tote (Collingwood, VIC), joined by Sunbeam Sound Machine, alongside local act Gloomie. Tickets are available now via Oztix.
Kitschen Boy’s new single ‘Mind Melt’ is out now.