Australian alternative rockers Regionals are gearing up to release their debut LP titled "Spoonbender" on August 23, 2024 via Scary Stories & Team Glasses Records. The album was written over the last four years and was recorded with Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels, The Vines, Motor Ace) at Parliament Studios in Sydney over 2 weeks in August 2023 and it was mixed by Mark Perry (Deafcult) in Brisbane in early 2024. "This is the bands truest form" states Regionals singer/guitarist Brett Islaub when discussing the bands debut album Spoonbender. Born from darkness, isolation induced agoraphobia and an unhealthy dose of self reflection, Spoonbender marks a change of course for the Sydney band showcasing their sound as more extreme and experimental than previous releases. After releasing two EP's in the formative years of the band, "Sentimental Health" and "Teenage Séance" Regionals have taken four years to experiment and develop their sound culminating in the composition and recording of a body of work that best represents themselves and their world view. Adding in the light & shade of lush, atmospheric textures and jangly guitars with the abrasive attack of heavy guitars and vocal screams, Regionals combines elements from their emo leaning roots with new aspects of ethereal dream pop and post hardcore, marking a more expansive and versatile sound. About the new LP, guitarist Aaron Costello says "This was also the first time we’ve written and recorded as a band with 3 guitarists which enabled us to create more layers in the songs and embrace our heavy shoegaze influences. There was also time for a lot more experimentation and every song on the record features additional instrumentation such as synths, pianos/keys, drum machines & samples. As always, I can’t count how many different guitar pedals were used on the record."

You can also check out the bands latest single "291" taken from the forthcoming LP which showcases some of this new experimentation with shoegaze/dream-pop and post-hardcore influences. About the lead off single, guitarist/vocalist Brett Islaub states " 291 is mostly a song about a dream. It’s a reference to an inside joke between Aaron and I that we’ll never tell. We feel like this song is the best representation of the band we have wanted to be since the previous release. Having Vetty lend her voice really finished the song for me, felt like the missing piece. One of the first songs demo’d for Spoonbender back in 2020 the song has had many iterations but like I said, probably the best representation of Regionals to date." Costello adds "This track was built on a jangly, heavily delayed guitar riff that is a complete nod to my love of Johnny Marr’s guitar playing, but the track is nothing like a Smiths song. When Brett first laid down the demo vocals for this track and started screaming in the chorus, it completely changed the direction of this track and ultimately the whole record. It was one of the moments in song writing where something unexpected clicks everything into place. This track is great representation of where Regionals are at right now, the verses are dreamy and lush, but the chorus hits you in the face."

RIYL: Mew, Deafcult, Pianos Become the Teeth, Touche Amore