Crocodile Brothers Ft. Wage War

0:14 Maxwell, when you look up Heft in the dictionary, wage war is the definition. Must be a very specific dictionary. A music dictionary potentially. Yeah, it's not the Harvard. All the Oxford. All the Oxford, yeah. There's a few. What about the Macquarie? Uh not in that one either. I think it's in the The Collins?

0:31 No. I think it's in the Florida Metal Core dictionary. Yeah, no, I think you're probably onto something there. Yeah. But we are joined by Britton and Cody from Wage War on the show ahead of the release of their new album, or actually at time of release of their album. Pretty much. On the day, unless you're listening in America, the moment this drops, in which case it's slightly ahead of time.

0:49 Yeah. Inside accent. We don't play any songs from the album. No, sorry. Um, but the new album's called Landfall, and this thing is boofy. Yeah, we caught up with these guys when they were here in Australia uh a couple of months ago now. Yep. But uh we'd give we we've been given the inside scoop, the inside line on the album, and I'll tell you what, uh Chonker.

1:09 It's Chonka. Uh yeah, it's they they've been incredibly busy. They dropped an EP uh at the start of this year with songs like Song of the Swamp and Karma and 4x4, and uh everyone thought shit, new wage war is uh hefty, they've come out of nowhere with it, but they thought, no, we're not done yet. We're gonna put out a full album before the end of the year.

1:30 Uh arguably America's busiest band. Well, they talk about that in the in the uh conversation about how they just don't want to stop when they've got the momentum. So I think let's let them uh tell us all about it, hey? I think over to you to uh kick us off. Maxwell, joining us backstage on their Australian headline to a Cody in Britain from Wage War.

1:47 Lads, welcome to the show. On Star Thanks for Elmas. It's a pleasure to have you with us. We've got a lot to dive into that our listeners won't be ready for just yet, but before we get to that, we start our show in the same way with every guest, and that is what's spinning in your playlists.

2:03 Ooh, guilt trip. Nice. Yeah.

2:08 Yeah, I've listened to Guilt Trip. Uh just been called in color that are like similar life.

2:14 Yeah, okay.

2:23 I feel like they're underrated though. Like Guild Trips having a massive blow-up, but in color.

2:27 It's brand new though. They're like a year old and they're already selling everything out, so they're they're gonna be huge. I played a song I listened to like seven times in a row when I first said it's like what yeah, I got in an absolute dick with that song.

2:40 I listened to it all the way home from like Europe on time. It's crazy. It's they're gonna be soby. And for those listening that don't know them, do yourself a favor and get onto it. Because yeah, so that's three out of you're the only old word out here. You know what? Nine out of ten dentures agree.

2:57 We can we can work for this. Yeah. Look, we I'm gonna launch you to some big wage war news uh a little later in in the interview, but let's quickly chat to her because you are here in Australia. Um, you've brought out Orthodox, the show sounds like they've been absolutely fucking insane. How have you guys felt being on stage seeing the reactions?

3:14 What's what's been the reaction what's been your reaction?

3:17 This is my favorite string of shows we've ever played every year or so. Oh wow. Yeah.

3:21 Awesome. Yeah, it's relatively long overdue. Um, this is our fourth time here, but our first time headlining. I think we played a couple sideshows around like festivals, yeah, but our first time like really putting the way to our flag down on on down under soil. Um, and yeah, I think we just feel like it's been long overdue, but it that's what's made the show so great, is it feels like the time was right.

3:42 Um, I'm pretty sure most, if not all, have sold out, so that's a great feeling for us to come to a different territory and have that kind of response. Um this is just kind of feels like home for us, obviously. You know, when when you go international, sometimes there's different things that are like uncomfortable or whatever, but like once you get over the worst flight of all time, it's as it here.

4:03 Like we we truly love being here, and the shows are just crazy. We put the paint the front, like once you clear it.

4:09 Yeah, exactly. I'm a crocodile brothers.

4:12 Exactly. Well, I feel like our listeners are thinking so far into this chat, we're chatting tour, we're talking, it calls me by name, but Max and I have actually been privy to a little bit of an early release. We're gonna chat Landfall, which is the brand new album, dropping in October. And you guys have doubled down, like you don't muck around.

4:32 This is a bad heavy fucking album. You guys, like, what is it? Like the turnaround's been insane. I don't know.

4:41 It just still feels so not even talking about it because we don't even have the the we don't even have the first song out, probably yet. But yeah, I mean, I don't know, like we just kind of are in are in that season, you know what I mean? Like we this is our technically our sixth album. The EP was five and a half, you know what I mean?

4:59 And uh we uh when we started working on um music, we didn't really know last year we didn't really know what it was gonna turn into. We didn't the EP thing kind of came together last minute. It was just like we started working on songs, and you know, those five raised their hand and you know it just felt like a good like identity for uh someone's coveted argument of the ballad.

5:22 Yeah, it just felt like a good snapshot of like where we were at at the time, and then the EP did really well, and we still had a lot of other songs working on that we were working on, and it was just like, well, let's just round out the whole round out the whole thing, really. And so um, yeah, I mean I think it's just uh just like every album for us, like they're kind of yearbooks, and it's just a great snapshot of where we've been at from 2024 to 2026, you know what I mean?

5:47 So based off you know, influences or what we've been listening to or what we like, what we wanted to create, just it's kind of what's the truest to us right now, and that could change next record. You know what I mean? Yeah, I guess it's just I guess we're maybe yeah.

6:00 I think the uh like the sound of the added to the uh uh the EP kind of spill over into the album too.

6:06 So yeah, it definitely does. I mean, we're gonna we've got some questions coming. But just on that, with the the sort of the EP spilling into the album, I suppose like it's got the classic hookie choruses that we know from you guys, but it's got the brutality of the EP as well. How much like was were these songs that were cut from the same sessions, were they you know written around the same time?

6:27 What kind of led that overall shift across the last couple of releases that we've seen that's been the heavier shift for you guys? Like, was it just these all kind of ideated at once?

6:35 Or I think it's kind of like what Cody said earlier, it's just we've been in that season. We've we've like, what the last two records, we haven't really done like a we're gonna go go away for like a month and a half and just do a record. It's just kind of been like, let's do songs and we feel them we'll file to wherever we've got to go and do a couple here and there.

6:52 And then you know, I feel like we did the same thing for the EP and then now for this record, so it's just kind of the the season of what we were feeling.

7:00 Definitely a mixed bag. Like there's songs that are on the album that predate the EP. Yeah, you know, and then there's songs that came really late to the EP, like Blindfold was done in August, you know what I mean? And that was and the EP came out in February, but that was like the last song to come for that.

7:19 But Son of the Swamp kind of started the EP thing, but that was like halfway through the process, so it's kind of been really interesting. Some songs got reworked uh for the album after the EP came out, like it was sitting in this place, you know, production style or whatever, and some stuff just got flipped on its head because you know we got to listen to it for a year and a half before we decided we didn't put it out.

7:38 So um, yeah, it's really like it it really is like a mixed bag of like the last couple of years, and I think it's it's nice to be able to sit down with songs and you know tailor them until they are exactly the way that we want them. I think that's what this album is.

7:55 Absolutely, and it is, yeah, it's it's sort of the perfect encapsulation of Wage War through New Year is, but I mean the first three songs are an immediate flight. Kick to the face, like it's just so heavy listening through it. And I mean, when you were forming the structure of the album, you talked about having sat with them for you know a year and a half.

8:16 Was the start of the album an intentional statement you guys wanted to make? Like just heavy in your face straight up?

8:24 Uh I think so. Like we honestly, if you like look back through Wigsworth discography, we have like pretty similar album intros, you know what I mean? Like they're all kind of the same song in some way, shape, or another. We kind of deviated from that on the last album the show's about to start, and kind of this like German club vibe, which worked really well.

8:41 Yeah.

8:42 Um, and I think for this one, like, you know, it's more this one is more so just straight in, you know what I mean? And I think uh thematically with the Omni called Landfall and the opening track being Landfall, I think it was last year. Uh me and Seth, and I don't remember who I was walking, we were in New Orleans or something, just kind of talking about where we wanted the next album to go and like you know, titled or whatever, and then the idea of landfall came up, and this predates the EP.

9:12 Like, we didn't even know that we were gonna do the It Calls Me My Name EP. You know, we were just like, man, it would be really sick to like what feels true to us, and then landfall was actually before any of the EP stuff came around. It's kind of a big zoom out of like, you know, it calls me by name is like very swamp focused, and then landfall like zooms out, you know, another 30,000 feet, and then now you've got stores, which is a big part of where we're from in Florida.

9:36 Yeah.

9:36 Um, so it also just like identity-wise, like really brands the record, and it's a good uh it's one of those all all the wage war things in one song song. Song song.

9:49 It's one of those song songs. Yeah. Uh just going off off the street for a second. Go on Rogue Same, bear with me. You guys are from Florida, you you speak a lot about uh you know the way that those sort of songs uh capture what it's like living here. Living sorry, here in Queensland, very similar uh kind of vibe.

10:08 Do you do you find when you travel to places around the world that have a similar geography as Florida or a similar climate as Florida, you you kind of find that the fans can actually do more?

10:18 Yeah, I mean it's pretty rare to run into a place like Florida. It's kind of one of a kind. I know it's very similar here. Yeah, a lot of the nature and subag snakes, the crocodiles and all that stuff. But yeah, I would say like in the states, like more of like the southern states like Georgia, Louisiana, things like that, but we did pretty well.

10:40 I feel like yeah, the Florida Queensland comparisons are quite strong.

10:45 The meme of the two the two guys doing the handshake.

10:49 It's just an alligator and a crocodile.

10:51 Just the two. Yeah. I think we need to do that. I mean, I was gonna I'm gonna jump, we're gonna jump around at least. I mean, I've got a niche question on the topics of alligators and crocodiles because listening to Summer the Swamp, I've never had alligators more in my mind since that drums. I mean, when you're looking at animal documentaries to find that voice sample, how long are you spending, you know, in Trillancer, David Adler stuff, discovering planet stuff to try to find something that fits them up?

11:18 That was like a happy accent. I think Chris found it. Uh you talk about the ending of the song? Yeah. Yeah, it kind of. Yeah, it just kind of came together and we found that. And it was uh, you know, Florida obviously is like a big tourist attraction. Well, I don't even know what era of it might have been like 30 or 40s, I don't know, 50s, like super old.

11:39 Uh and it was just this old Florida promo of um, you know, people that you know they're talking about Disney World and you know the glass bottom boat, uh, glass bottom boats of Silver Springs, which is where we're from in Ocala, like all this like nature attraction stuff, and we just found that clip.

11:53 We're like uh sick.

11:56 Can we find that while we were in Europe, right? I think so. Yeah, we were a little homesick, so the sounds of YouTube, like sounds of Florida, let's go.

12:06 Our sleep our sleep noise machine.

12:12 Just a couple of swamp guys up there, shouting each other. Yeah. Going back to the to the album and to the to the record, Silk, Spell Down, and Stay With Me were absolute standouts, at least to my ears when I was listening. Do you guys, I'm gonna ask you to do something quite crazy here and pick favourites and and you know, your favorite children.

12:30 Do you guys have favorites from the from the album that you you're most keen to see the recraft reaction to or the listener reaction to?

12:37 For the heavy stuff. Silk for sure. Yeah, that that's a that's a palm.

12:42 Silk feels like the most insane button we've gotten. Yeah, yeah.

12:46 I feel like if you're a fan of like our early songs like The River and things like that, like you're gonna like that one. So 100%.

12:53 Yeah. I'm excited for Sweet Dreams. Uh the like working title for that song was Wage Wagyu. Because it it it just, it's like the it's really the most like super form of our band, like riff-wise, melodic-wise. It's got you know guitar solos, it's got heavy breakdowns. Like, it truly does everything that we have always done, but I feel like it does it on another level.

13:18 Yeah.

13:18 Um, I mean, you said two of the said two that you said, stand with me and spellbound. I'm excited for those. Very different for us. Uh, but that's kind of just cool for us to the um spellbound for me is like I've always wanted to recreate the blackout by Metallica, and that's like as close as I think we're gonna get as far as like you know, being like Hetfield fans and stuff.

13:42 So you're recreating Sinangon next, you're gonna need that fucking bounce. We're gonna crank the stair way up. I mean, that's that stare sounds coming back because you hear it a lot.

13:56 Um, I mean, breakdown call outs for you guys has been a staple of the way it draws down. We've had you mentioned the river earlier, we've had COS, we've had bless, we've had overpower now. I'd love to know, has there ever been a call out you've read in the studio, recorded and gone, nope, that's that's not it.

14:15 Come back.

14:16 Uh we're very picky on those two, so yeah, gotta pick your adjective well. Yeah, I don't think we've ever just like thrown something in as filler and been like going that we're like yeah. If we get to a point that needs something sick, we will sit there until we find whatever it is.

14:31 Yeah, sometimes those spaces just stay blank for a very longer time. It's like the whole song's done, and then it's just this thing just be listening to the and you're just throwing different phrases in there. It's like that's sick, it's like the office that send me a piece of that fancy piece. You know what I mean?

14:50 Same vibes. Is it a is it a group?

14:52 Uh, you know, anyone can throw in ideas for the for the call-outs? Uh it certainly can be, yeah. Well, yeah, come to the group. I was gonna say we're not we're gonna send us some submissions there. There you go. We're pretty good at niche words, somehow. Well, I mean, we talked about get called me by name.

15:09 The fans have been really taken to the EP, but you do have Blindfold and Sonic Swamp on the album. What made those two songs, I guess, to stand out from the EP that made you want to bring them across to land for?

15:22 Um, I mean, I think they're both like when the EP came out, like, again, kind of just like raised their hands as like being fan favorites. And I think they're really important to like the wage war story of 2026 that we're in right now. Um obviously, like putting out an EP and a full length in the same year is like kind of crazy.

15:44 It's a lot of music. Uh, and I I think that was like something that we call it some really challenged ourselves with just because people don't normally do that. And um, it's we just wanted to find a different a way to like differentiate ourselves from the pack. You know, there's bands that are releasing a lot of singles or releasing no singles or doing a bunch of EPs and making them an album or whatever, and like it was really important to us that we had two entirely separate bodies of music.

16:08 Um, I mean, because even without the songs, it's still 11 brand new songs, you know what I mean? But I think as you and even listening down to the record, like we just felt like it was more complete with Song of the Swamp and Blindfold, like with the balance and yeah, I mean, really just telling the story of this year.

16:22 Like, you know, we're gonna have put out what eight, eighteen songs this year, and I think that uh of those those 13 are like you know, really, really doubt for us.

16:33 Wow, it's I mean, on that, like you've gone AP tour album, we're assuming you're gonna go back to touring to take the album around, which sounds like it's just pretty full on for wager all the time. How are you guys personally balancing the exhaustion with the hunger, with the excitement of knowing whether fans are gonna get the excitement of knowing what the fans are gonna get with the album?

16:52 I mean, it's fired, yeah. You know, it's most people will be like, oh my gosh, I have a lot of work to do, but give me more. Let's get it.

16:59 Our team isn't very happy about it. We've got to be like, no, we're gonna do this. Like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, trust me, we're gonna do it. The amount of different plans that we've had to make to be like, wait, we're doing an EP and an album. It's like it's been a lot of a lot of like last minute and you know, like barely getting a thing done, but uh so far everything has been has been great.

17:20 So we're still gonna know, yeah, still get out there until we're you know, you're a fan. I I want people to have multiple you know times to come see it. So yeah, true.

17:29 Yeah, and you guys get the release of like being on stage, you get that sort of crowd engagement. You crew so much that you have to do all the hard stuff, setting up the stage and all that. But shout out roadies. Shout out the roadies, shout out the crew. But I yeah, I feel like I can speak for our listeners knowing what they're like, just album, yeah, it's gonna hit like a freight train.

17:47 It's um I did say to Max it's it's an early album of the year contender for me. So let's go, dude. Yeah. Which is crazy to say when it's when it's not out yet, you know what I mean? Like we can say that.

17:56 We can say that. It's an early album of the year that comes out later in the year. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

18:01 Oh, yeah, so forever listening, keep your ears peeled for uh Landfall, the brand new album from Wage War, which is gonna be dropping on October 9th, and then obviously get out of the chairman wherever you get music. Curdy Britain, thanks so much for taking the time to have a chat to us today. Thanks for having us.

18:15 Thank you.