Sydney school friends The Rions today share the first taste of new music for 2023 with their latest single and video ‘Scary Movies’ along with the announcement of their accompanied national single tour this May.
SCARY MOVIES TOUR
Fri 12 May – The Brightside – Meanjin/Brisbane
Fri 19 May – Jive – tarndanya/Adelaide
Sat 20 May – Amplifier – Boorloo/Perth
Sat 27 May – The Evelyn Hotel – Naarm/Melbourne
Fri 02 Jun – The Lansdowne Hotel – Eora/Sydney
Recorded in Byron Bay with producer Chris Collins (Matt Corby, Skegss, Middle Kids), the band set out to make a song that conveys the fun side of falling in love. They share, “Too often stories about love are written from the perspective of the hardships that come along with a relationship, or the heartbreaks a lot of people can relate to, but an aspect that isn’t touched on enough is how fun falling in love can be and how happy finding your person can make you.”
Even with its childlike title, ‘Scary Movies’ marks a distinct leap past the growing pains of their formative high-schooling years when we first met them, and into the maturity and depth of their contemporaries. Fronted by vocalist Noah Blockley who sits at the cross-section of Alex Turner, Sam Hale, or Ezra Koenig in his cheeky yet assured confidence that any mum could fast become a fan of, the band takes a collective step towards the band, and men, they want to be.
‘Scary Movies’ also comes with its own black-and-white German Expressionist-inspired music video directed by Ben Develin and Alex Given. Likening falling in love with the jumpscare of horror films, Develin shares, “The track was really calling out for something fun and upbeat, so the challenge was to see if we could play that contrast between super dramatic visuals, and quirky character moments.” Given adds, “It couldn’t have worked out better. The cast, the crew, the location, the song, the costuming, and the make-up; absolutely everything fit together so perfectly to create such a memorable, quirky, and funny music video. I’ve watched it countless times and I laugh every single time, without fail – all thanks to Noah, Harley, Asher, and Tom’s ability to pour so much personality into their monster characters and bring this little story to life.”
First forming back in high school where they took to talent shows encouraged by their music teacher Mr. Stone (father to Northern Beaches musical royalty Angus & Julia), Noah Blockley, Harley Wilson, Asher McLean, and Tom Partington went on to upload their single ‘Night Light’ to triple j Unearthed. It was from there that the band went on to take out the winning prize for Unearthed High in 2021 which catapulted them to national recognition. The win built on the momentum of debut singles ‘Sadie’, ‘Halfway Out’ and ‘Head Still Hurts’, followed by ‘Disassociation’ and ‘Anakin’, each stronger than the last.
Since, The Rions have racked up some 10 million streams worldwide, gone back-to-back in consecutive Hottest 100 countdowns and drawn praise from the likes of even the most unlikely of fans in Avatar’s Sam Worthington. Live, the band impressively sold out their 9-stop debut headline tour months in advance, played festivals such as Party In The Paddock and Festival of the Sun, and toured the country in support of Lime Cordiale, Pacific Avenue, Boy & Bear, The Terrys, and more.