Track of the Day: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever “Time in Common” (2018)

There is something particularly surprising about the success of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. On face value, the music shouldn’t be particularly interesting nor as successful as it is. Put simply, there are a lot of bands doing what they’re doing. But for some reason (let’s call it “talent”) – their latest single “Time in Common” being no exception to this – they seem to be continually creating music that is both as original as you’ll find anywhere in the genre, compelling, addictive and acclaimed. Go figure!

Over the last couple of months the band have been enjoying seeing their international profile grow, off the back of the release of their debut album and an international tour, taking them everywhere from Barcelona’s Primavera festival to The Great Escape in Brighton. I was lucky enough to catch them in both locations, where they played to huge crowds… I even caught them this past weekend as they played the Bello Winter Music Festival, serving as last-minute replacements for Justin Townes Earle. Now, this weekend, they will be appearing at Splendour in the Grass! They are without question one the most in demand bands in the world right now, and Hope Downs, the album from which the latest single is taken, is among the most acclaimed of the year.

So things are going pretty well for this Melbourne quintet, to say the least.

This week, the music video for “Time In Common” dropped, a beautifully edited black and white video by J. Austin Wilson, showcasing the band as they travel around the world, having many of the adventures mentioned earlier in this piece. Eventually, the clip lands on them performing the song in question at one of the dozens of venues they’ve been seen at in recent months, on some corner of the globe.

It’s an excellent and perfect summation of where the guys are in their careers right now. Watch the clip here:

Hope Downs is available now through Ivy League Records. After Splendour this weekend, the group are touring Australia through September and October. For more details about the tour head to the band’s Facebook page.

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.