Wellington, New Zealand four-piece Hans Pucket writes nervy but effortlessly danceable rock songs about feeling bad. Their second full-length album, No Drama, which is out November 4th
via Carpark Records, gleefully captures the all-too-common twenty-something anxieties of talking too much and then being unable to find the right words to say. When frontman Oliver Devlin
sings, “I’m surfing a constant wave of alarm” on the title track, it’s a compass for the other nine tracks. This is inviting and relatable music for people who, despite their best efforts, feel uncomfortable about themselves, the state of the world, and their place in it.
Both lyrically and sonically, No Drama is a departure for Hans Pucket from their 2018 debut Eczema. “I realized I didn’t want to write any more real heartbreak songs,” says Oliver Devlin. “We were and still are a live band. We’re still trying to make music that’s catchy and people can dance to, but also really interesting to us: songs about growing up and finding how you exist in the world.” Songs like “My Brain Is a Vacant Space” with its blistering guitars and ebullient hooks hone in on the feeling that you have nothing to offer while “Bankrupt,” a fuzzed-out punk track, boasts lines like “I don’t know if I’ll always feel like / I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Recorded with the band’s good friend and former tour mate Jonathan Pearce of The Beths at his Auckland studio, No Drama is full of big leaps, immaculate arrangements, and a ton of immediate grooves. “We were very ambitious when we first started recording this,” says bassist Callum Devlin. “Intentionally we left heaps of space in the track so we could add strings and horns. Because we were very measured and quite deliberate with the parts we had. It was a really fun process filling in the gaps.”
No Drama came together over several years and during its creation, the band added multi- instrumentalist Callum Passels, who provided all the horn arrangements on the LP. With Pearce producing, his other Beths bandmates like Benjamin Sinclair added string arrangements while singer Elizabeth Stokes provided backing vocals.
Overall it’s a remarkably eclectic record where the smooth pop of a track like “Kiss the Moon” can coexist perfectly with the Abbey Road freakout of “Some Good News.” “We didn’t want to be afraid of our 15-year-old self’s influences,” says Oliver Devlin.” We really wanted to make an album that teenage us would just be amazed by.”
The result is Hans Pucket’s most sparkling and confident collection yet. While it’s danceable and fun, it’s also a thoughtful exploration of anxiety, a call for empathy in a turbulent time, and a relatable reminder that it’s hard to figure things out.
RELEASE PREVIEW
TRACK LISTING
1. My Brain Is A Vacant Space
2. You Must Chill
3. Misery Loves Company
4. No Drama
5. Honey
6. The Square
7. Some Good News
8. Bankrupt
9. Kiss The Moon
10. Drag Me Through Your Heart
11. I'm Not Opposed to
ABOUT
Wellington, New Zealand four-piece Hans Pucket writes nervy but effortlessly danceable rock songs about feeling bad. Their second full-length album, No Drama, which is out November 4th
via Carpark Records, gleefully captures the all-too-common twenty-something anxieties of talking too much and then being unable to find the right words to say. When frontman Oliver Devlin
sings, “I’m surfing a constant wave of alarm” on the title track, it’s a compass for the other nine tracks. This is inviting and relatable music for people who, despite their best efforts, feel uncomfortable about themselves, the state of the world, and their place in it.
Both lyrically and sonically, No Drama is a departure for Hans Pucket from their 2018 debut Eczema. “I realized I didn’t want to write any more real heartbreak songs,” says Oliver Devlin. “We were and still are a live band. We’re still trying to make music that’s catchy and people can dance to, but also really interesting to us: songs about growing up and finding how you exist in the world.” Songs like “My Brain Is a Vacant Space” with its blistering guitars and ebullient hooks hone in on the feeling that you have nothing to offer while “Bankrupt,” a fuzzed-out punk track, boasts lines like “I don’t know if I’ll always feel like / I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Recorded with the band’s good friend and former tour mate Jonathan Pearce of The Beths at his Auckland studio, No Drama is full of big leaps, immaculate arrangements, and a ton of immediate grooves. “We were very ambitious when we first started recording this,” says bassist Callum Devlin. “Intentionally we left heaps of space in the track so we could add strings and horns. Because we were very measured and quite deliberate with the parts we had. It was a really fun process filling in the gaps.”
No Drama came together over several years and during its creation, the band added multi- instrumentalist Callum Passels, who provided all the horn arrangements on the LP. With Pearce producing, his other Beths bandmates like Benjamin Sinclair added string arrangements while singer Elizabeth Stokes provided backing vocals.
Overall it’s a remarkably eclectic record where the smooth pop of a track like “Kiss the Moon” can coexist perfectly with the Abbey Road freakout of “Some Good News.” “We didn’t want to be afraid of our 15-year-old self’s influences,” says Oliver Devlin.” We really wanted to make an album that teenage us would just be amazed by.”
The result is Hans Pucket’s most sparkling and confident collection yet. While it’s danceable and fun, it’s also a thoughtful exploration of anxiety, a call for empathy in a turbulent time, and a relatable reminder that it’s hard to figure things out.
ALBUM CREDITS
All tracks written by Oliver Devlin
Arranged by Hans Pucket
Production, Mixing and Engineering by Jonathan Pearce
Additional engineering and production Oliver Devlin
Mastered by Bevan Smith
Hans Pucket are:
Oliver Devlin - Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals, piano on 5, 9
Callum Devlin - Bass, Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar on 6,
Jonathan Nott - Drums, Percussion on 4, 9, Synth on 1, rhythm guitar on 6, guitar solo on 11
Callum Passells - Sax on 2,3,7 Bass Clarinet 4,7, synth on 9
String Arrangements - Benjamin Sinclair
Horn Arrangements - Callum Passells
Jonathan Pearce - Slide guitar on 6, Wurlitzer on 7, Perc on 1, 2
Jonathan Shirley, Laura Robinson, Sophie Scott-Maunder - Claps on 4
Ben Sinclair - Clarinet on 5
JY Lee - Flute on 3
Elizabeth Stokes, Chelsea Prastiti - BVs on 4
Horns Pucket on 2,4,7,10
Callum Passells - Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet
Henry Swanson - French Horn
Sean Martin-Buss - Tenor Sax
Ro Rushton-Green - Bari Sax
Hans Plucket:
Milena Parobczy - Violin
Miyo Yoon - Violin
Helen Bevin - Viola
Kathleen Tomacruz - cello
Hans Pucket wish to thank:
Samuel Austin, Amanda Cheng, Matthew Crawley, Chris Cudby, Neil Finn, Abe Hollingsworth, Bob Frisbee, Finn Johannsson, Annabel Kean, Oscar Keys, Gussie Larkin, JY Lee, Jonathan Lee, Ben Locke, Taylor Macgregor, Alex Mathews, Eleanor Merton, Alicia Mendez, James Milne, Chelsea Prastiti, Ezra Simmons, Anthony Metcalf, David Parker, Mark Perkin, Adam Tobeck, Liz, Jon, Ben and Tristan, Todd, Steph, Alec, Beth, Rob and Carpark Records, and most of all to our family, friends & everyone we forgot. We love you all equally.