After a debut album last September (Dumb Days) and a founding member’s departure earlier in the year, everyone’s favourite band Tired Lion are back with a new single “With or Without”. Hailing from Perth, the indie-rock quartet are teasing what lies ahead with this three-and-a-half-minute gem. The song feels a little more playful than some other Tired Lion songs without losing the authentic sound they’ve created.
The track draws inspiration from former guitarist and band co-founder, Matt Tanner leaving the band for “personal reasons”. While there appears to be no bad blood between the friends, the event did make a huge impact on the band and almost resulted in Tired Lion’s end. Luckily, band frontwoman, Sophie Hope decided to continue pursuing a musical future alongside her bandmates Ethan Darnell and Nick Vasey, and the temporary (?) addition of Joel Martin of FOAM.
The track is produced by Violent Soho’s frontman, Luke Boerdam who clearly has an ear for good sound. Boerdam was also the producer behind the band’s debut album. While this track is noted as a ‘non-album single’, it’s definitely a good sign for Tired Lion’s future.
The song itself transported me back to the late 90s and early 2000s when girl bands were well and truly kicking ass. “With or Without” feels like a bratty, rebellious throwback to those pop-rock anthems. I can almost imagine the music video to go along with it; a school girl with dyed hair singing into her hairbrush in the bedroom mirror. I personally can’t identify with that school girl, but I do feel like letting my metaphorical hair down and driving with the windows down.
Tired Lion have an upcoming performance at Falls Festival, hopefully we may learn a little bit more about the band’s future during the festival. I look forward to hearing more from the Perth four piece and seeing what nostalgic stereotype I identify with next.
