SOY returns with ‘Front Yard Fossicking’ their Second Album and Announce East Coast Dates

SOY is a six-piece psychedelic jangle and punk band based in Newcastle, New South Wales, originally formed on the Central Coast in 2016. Known for their chaotic, immersive live shows and DIY community ethos, the group has supported acts like The Murlocs and ORB + many more

They co-founded the label New Brain Communications (Fungas, Poltergeist 9000, Sheena Dali + more) and are actively releasing new music, including singles like "Expired Plead" and ‘The Other End’

Front Yard Fossicking is their second full-length record out now everywhere, and they will be playing a slur of shows including Melbourne with Media Puzzle, Newcastle with The Medheads, Long Jetty and Mullumbimby with Feever this July :)

Hey SOY, how are we today and who’s writing to us?

Cade here chatting on behalf of SOY. Those other Soy boys have big boy 9-5 jobs.

Congrats on the New Album release for Front Yard Fossicking! Why was now the right album to bounce back and drop an Album after laying low for a while?

I spent 3 years traveling around remote Aus and this became a bit of a dormant period for the band. In 2023 I flew home for our 10 show Garage Day Spa tour and at the end we spent a week recording our new material. This is what became Front Yard Fossicking. So to us a lot of the songs aren't so new, but it feels good to have sat on them for this long and still be pretty stoked with the sound. This year marks 10 years since our first show so it also seemed appropriate to put it out and celebrate.

How did Front Yard Fossicking come together, was it a long process, quick process, and who worked on the Album from mixing/production and art direction?

Tasman and I live at his parents' ranch on the Mid North Coast and this is where we recorded the album. We basically had an empty sweaty brick room and some mics and tried our best. Half the songs we'd already written and played a couple of times, but the other half were just concepts from jams. It was fun trying to mould them into songs within the recording process.

Once the bones were done I headed back to WA. Alec took the reins and the boys overdubbed for the next couple of months at New Brain Communications studio in Newcastle. It was nice not having time restraints as an issue with working out tones and stuff. They could record something, listen to it for a bit, and decide if they wanted to change anything.

We chose Mikey Young to mix our album. He's a big inspiration for us as a band and we have been big Eddy Current fans since very early SOY, so it was pretty epic hearing how he helped bring it to life.

The album cover was a film shot I took in Coober Pedy. We had tossed some names around for the album and this image came to mind. All the singles' album covers were also taken on my trip around Aus; Expired Plead – Coober Pedy, The Other End – Cactus, Enabler – just down the road from the ranch.

Sick to see you guys will be playing a number of shows this July with Media Puzzle, Feever, and more through Melbourne, Sydney and then Newcastle and Central Coast, I’m guessing everyone’s gonna hear the new album primarily live on this run?

We will play most of the songs off the album. We have a few that aren't on every set and play depending on what the vibe of the show is. We prefer to keep things current so we won't play too many older ones and throw in a couple of unreleased ones as well. Bit of a concoction.

Where is the band primarily based these days, Coast or Newy?

When we started we all lived on the same street pretty much but now we are all over the place. We span from the Northern Rivers down to the Central Coast. Not so fun for organising practices but when we do get together it feels a bit more special and we're a bit more focused. We're also super fortunate to have spaces to facilitate jamming when we want to.

With a stop in Long Jetty, what can punters expect from that show?

We're excited to be playing back on the Coast again. We really wanted to make it happen and the Savoy reached out so it was great timing. It's a sick venue and I haven't actually seen a live band there, but I can assume it will be a pretty awesome space to watch some bands. Supporting us is Fee Ver, a band Tasman and I have recently helped form featuring a few other fellow Cenny Coast expats.

What influences came together ie music/film/art with putting this new album together?

Off the back of Garage Day Spa we had a bit of an idea where we wanted to go next. Something that still had that raw energy but was somewhat more mature. Bit more space, bit less frantic but still SOY. I think this came through in the songs. There's some chiller ones and some heavier ones. Most of the lyrics relate back to societal dissolution, environmental dismay and ignorance. Pretty gloomy topics but I think we have shaped it conceptually and metaphorically in a way that still shines a light in the tunnel. We have such a broad range of influences and between us all quite different tastes so our music seems to become a middle ground for these flavours, a Sauce if you will.

What’s the gameplan with SOY moving forward after this tour, as I know SOY shares members in other bands under the New Brain Communications banner

We have a couple other dates throughout the year but not many. This will be your chance to come see us. Alec and Charlie play in Fungas and they're always doing something. I've also recently released music under my solo project Dr. Dankenstein. Sheena Dali has just mastered my new album so keep an ear out for that also.

What’s everyone listening to right now from the band, give me your top 3 records on repeat?

The new Eddy Current Suppression Ring album – In Light Of Recent Events. Wasn't expecting new stuff from Narrm's finest.

The Make Up – I Want Some. Was kind of like a rite of passage handed to us by Simba from the Medheads when we were forming NBC. If you haven't done the same, do yourself a favour.

Stereolab – Dots and Loops. Another oldie but has a close place in a lot of our hearts. Some very fond memories made to this psych masterpiece. We recently saw them live and they didn't disappoint.

Any final words?

It's pretty crazy looking back now thinking we've been playing together for ten years. In that time we have seen a lot of venues and bands come and go. One thing stays the same though. Go to shows, buy merch, support local bands. A little bit goes a long way. The music community is probably only going to get pushed further underground, so don't be afraid to dig—you'll probably find something tastier anyway. Front Yard Fossicking, as such.

Tickets on-sale now for their July 25th Show at The Savoy in Long Jetty with FEEVER