With a record deal to independent label Rude Records freshly-inked Melbourne (Australia) four-piece, MOBS, have announced they are hitting the studio to record their debut album due for world-wide release later in 2019.
Guitarist Michael Ashfield says of the signing: “We feel extremely privileged and grateful for the opportunity to be working with Rude Records. They’ve been really supportive of the band and we are so excited to be working on some really big things with them!”. Singer Jordan Clarey adds: “We’ve been a band for a long time so this meant a great deal to us”.
The band, whose 80’s-inspired tracks have been described by critics as “power pop” and “synth-filled retro bangers”, will give international audiences a hint of what to expect from their debut LP when they re-issue their "Bad Love" EP featuring lead single "Dark Side Of A Good Thing" on February 15th 2019.
The group first released their debut single, "Dark Side of a Good Thing", in Australia on January 27th 2017 - their first under the guise of MOBS - followed by the fully fledged “Bad Love” EP in May 2017. The EP saw the band’s first success on commercial radio with the single receiving airplay on Melbourne’s Hit FM and KIIS FM as well as live TV appearances on MTV and Channel 9.
MOBS, who have always entertained and won fans over with their catchy melodies boosted with their high energy, are poised to be the next to represent the strength of Australian pop music to a global audience.
MOBS has a rich history. What began as an acoustic duo in 2013 with Michael Ashfield (Guitar) and Jordan Clarey (Vocals/Keys) forming as Move On Be Strong, soon grew to include drummer Matt Purcell in June that same year. In April 2015, Scott MacDougall (Bass/Keys) was added and the band, as it is currently known, was complete. Touring with the likes of Short Stack and With Confidence and having released two EP’s and three singles, Move On Be Strong grew from strength to strength and a fan base to boot. In early 2017 the band rebranded under the acronym of MOBS after a shift in their musical direction.
The band have spent a lot of time crafting their niche sound, mixing old (drawing inspiration from 80’s icons including Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, Mr Mister, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Steve Winwood and Billy Ocean) with new (including pop culture stalwarts LANY, COIN, M83, 1975, Joan, LAUV - to name a few). Don’t be quick to pigeonhole the band though: they have experimented, drawing sounds from a retro era and writing songs from the perspective of the main character of specific 80’s or 90’s films. At a time when styles of 80’s retro are making their return to this modern day… The world just can’t get away from 80’s nostalgia, which is fruitful for MOBS to create their own unique footprint.
“We have always been huge fans of the 80’s era musically and cinematically”, says Matt Purcell. “To gel these two concepts together, we believe it represented our vision going forward with the band”. Scott adds: “The nostalgic pop sound that we have put out there is something that we have been working on for a really long time and it’s great that we can branch out into such a broad genre and yet still recognise where we have come from”.
“We want to show the world who we are. We love what we do and we want to continue to write more music together”.