Australia’s Hockey Dad Try to Keep It Together on New Single “Safety Pin”

It’s hard to say which Australian trademark is more consistently killer: the wildlife or the guitar-pop bands. New South Wales duo Hockey Dad fall into the latter category, and they recently shared “Safety Pin,” the best single yet from their forthcoming album Rebuild Repeat (June 14, Farmer & The Owl / BMG).

Fans of Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever will feel right at home with “Safety Pin,” a cool summer breeze that blows for just over two minutes. Hockey Dad, i.e. childhood best friends Zach Stephenson (vocals, guitar) and Billy Fleming (drums), keep it simple at first, pairing buoyant guitar strums with uptempo percussion, then unleashing a hook that will follow you around all afternoon.

The duo up the ante as the track speeds along, with faint synths burbling up beside Stephenson’s yearning lyrics and dynamic gang vocals taking the second chorus to new heights. Meanwhile, Stephenson’s narrator laments his disordered and self-destructive life, exalting the person who helps him stay on the rails: “Be my safety pin / Clip the ratchet in / When I fall to bits, you hold my contents in.”

“’Safety Pin’ started off initially with just a drumbeat and the title,” Stephenson recalled in a statement. “It quickly picked up speed with the tempo as we were writing it and it got super exciting.”

“The lyrics refer to your ride or die,” he added. “The person you can count on when you need someone to listen to you rant, explode or breakdown. Someone who without even asking, knows exactly what to say to calm you down and keep you together in crazy situations.” 

Hockey Dad recently wrapped up a U.S. headlining tour, and will join Militarie Gun on an Australian run after their album’s June release. Rebuild Repeat was produced by Sparkadia’s Alex Burnett, and “Safety Pin” is our third preview of the album after February’s “Base Camp” and October’s “Still Have Room.”