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Song

Fairweather Love

Artist

The Dust Coda

The Dust Coda backstory

It’s a decade since Aussie vocalist John Drake and hotshot guitarist Adam Mackie hatched The Dust Coda.

And during that time one of the pacesetters of the burgeoning NWOCR scene has set about creating a robust canon of critically acclaimed bangers.

Drake, Mackie and fellow founding member Scott Miller (Tony Ho is the ‘new boy’ on bass) have come a long way since 2016’s toes-in-the-water The More It Fades EP.

And if the band’s full-length self-titled debut — dropped the following year — hinted at the hard rockers’ vast potential, then fans had to wait a while for that promise to be fully realised.

A global pandemic might have temporarily halted The Dust Coda in their tracks.

But when 2021’s magnificent Mojo Skyline crashed the UK album charts it was clear Drake and Mackie had found their calling.

And in standout single Jimmy 2 Times the band had crafted some of their finest work to date.

A stirring set at 2022’s Call Of The Wild Festival firmly established The Dust Coda as the meatier alternative to label mates Massive Wagons.

And upcoming album Loco Paradise looks odds on to bolster the reputation of a band more than justifying the industry buzz.

In The Dust Coda’s own words

“Fairweather Love is about a toxic twisted romance: no future, no past, just the ever-present, day-to-day, no expectation.

“When it’s good, it’s wild and bad ass.

“But when it’s down, the quicksand takes a hold and you get swallowed up in the ocean of loneliness, all the while next to someone you thought you could trust.

“The song’s got a serious message but the video was huge fun to shoot.

“Who wouldn’t want to shoot a video in an underground nuclear bunker?

“It was loads of fun, there were so many tunnels in the place that we got lost trying to find the set. 

“It was like Spinal Tap meets Dad’s Army!”

The verdict on Fairweather Love

Does The Dust Coda’s ambition know no bounds?

Fairweather Love is a bold choice to tease forthcoming long player Loco Paradise.

But the meandering anti-ballad is typical of this ambitious quartet’s mission to push the creative boundaries.

Brutal and beautiful in equal measure, Fairweather Love’s acoustic-led intro is the proverbial calm before the crazy storm.

And not for the first time Mackie steals the show with an understated earworm of a riff that drives The Dust Coda’s most affecting cut to date.

The band’s penchant for marrying a post-grunge groove to their hard rock roots manifests itself in a Soundgarden-esque search for perfection.

But Fairweather Love is best enjoyed as an audio-visual whole — the video clip’s a classic of its time.

Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker and The Dust Coda are a match made in heaven. Or hell. Take your pick.

What’s next for The Dust Coda

Loco Paradise is released via Earache Records on July 7 with the label already offering the usual range of wild and wonderful vinyl variants.

The Dust Coda kick off their 11-date UK tour at Southampton’s Engine Rooms on October 17.

That run of shows wraps up with a return to the capital on October 28 and a set at London’s Dingwalls.