Following on from 2017’s incredibly well received Dead Beats and a handful of striking singles in between, Hearts and Rockets’ first full length release in over two years is a frantic dose of adrenaline, which kicks their already explosive brand of bratty synth-punk up another gear.

Following the eruption of volatile guitars and rousing vocals on opening track ‘Candy’ that immediately set the tone, the album refuses to let up for the following 30 odd minutes. Even at the occasional slower moment, such as ‘Bad News, Bad Habits’ or ‘Feelings’, Hearts and Rockets maintain a captivating level of intensity, making it impossible to pull yourself away. Whether it’s Kalindy Williams’ gripping vocal delivery, the unrelenting grind of Kurt Eckardt’s bass or the uncompromising lyricism that spans the whole record, the urgency and, dare I say, power of the performances make it an all-round invigorating listen that you’ll keep coming back when you’re looking for an energy boost.

Now that Power is out in the world and available to be purchased on “the bluest vinyl you've ever seen”, we had one half of the band, vocalist and guitarist Kalindy Williams, talk us through how Hearts and Rockets’ most explosive product to date came about.

Candy

I was in the bathroom at The Tote, thinking about how much time you can waste on rotten friends and how they are never going to be there for you when you really need them. Like rotten teeth - if they fall out, you forget them and your life isn’t any worse for it. But sometimes you lose teeth you really need, and sometimes you lose people you really need. At least the people you loved and lost will live on in your head forever, not like your teeth.

You Were Right

We’ve both been really lucky to have great mum’s at the other end of a phone line to give us advice when we need it, we can’t imagine our lives without them. While our mums are always there with some life advice, they’re only right about half the time… I guess 'You Were Right' is a tribute to our mums and their help and guidance along the way, but also an acknowledgement that sometimes life just sucks and you can’t do anything about it.

Drama Club

OK, so people spend so much time on other people’s drama or making up their own drama, it’s a pointless exercise in self destruction and getting caught up in drama only leads to unhappiness. So much of this plays out online and it feels like people think it makes them more interesting if dramatic things are happening to them or around them, even if it’s actually only in their head. It doesn’t! It’s boring! 

I wrote this when I went back to the bush to hang with my mum and brother, and just sitting among the gum trees with the black cockatoos and out of the city you can just take stock of what’s important.

New Nightmare

Like the worst nightmares you can have that you can’t escape! But you have to remember it will all be over soon. These are nightmares everyone has had; spiders crawling all over you, stairs to climb that are never ending, waves crashing over you like you’re drowning, flying and falling. 'New Nightmare' is sort of a sequel to 'Nightmare', a song off our first album Dead Beats which was about Freddy Krueger.

Lies Lies Lies

This song originally started as a joke song that I would sing around the house called "my chubby girlfriend / my grubby girlfriend". It was an affectionate song about how grubby and chubby I was and how great it is! The melody was so catchy we decided to turn it in to a song about not having time for jerks. This was also meant to be a yelly song, but didn’t work that way when we went to record it so, we turned it into a singy song. We actually changed everything about it at the last minute, and it’s super different to the rest of our songs, but geez it’s fun.

Beat it Creep!

Whether you are wearing a super cute mini skirt in the middle of the city at midnight or walking down a street in the suburbs in the middle of the day wearing an ankle-length dress, you cannot escape the rubbish humans of the world thinking they have the right to yell shit at you out the window. Just stop.

Panic Dream

Just another song about anxiety.

Bad News, Bad Habits

Remember those old movies and cartoons where the main character had an angel and a devil on their shoulders telling them what to do? Well this is about when the angel has had enough of being good. 

Dance Off

Another song about dudes being jerks - like I just wanna dance but not with you, get off me you creep! It’s a call to arms for non-men to start taking up space at the front of gigs. If you come to our shows be respectful and let everyone dance and have a good time. Creeps get in the bin!

Haunting

No matter where you go, your ghosts are going to follow. You thought you could lose them? They’re yours forever.

Drown the Witches

So witches used to be burnt, sure, but they also used to be drowned. Why don’t we see much about drowning witches? I wrote this song in the car with my mum and Kurt when we were driving through the bush. We drove past a house that brought back a memory: when I was a kid I thought a witch lived there, and I was always scared to walk past. I still am. But witches are cool.

Hot Tea

This is about how boring gossip is! If people spent half the amount of time and energy that they spend gossiping creating something positive, the world (and Melbourne) would be a much better place to live. 

Feelings

Another song about anxiety.

Tunnel Vision

This song is about Doctor Who. If you are familiar with the series, you’ll get this back and forth between the doctor and their companion. Companions are often blinded by the chance to travel throughout time and space at their own peril, even though the doctor may continuously warn against it. To the companion, these adventures seem like such an amazing opportunity, but the Doctor has been through this before and knows it will only ended in tragedy.