Grinspoon’s Raucous Return: No Comebacks, Just Rock ‘n’ Roll
Joe Hansen is calling from his home on New South Wales’ north coast, fresh off a month-long journey through the Nepalese landscape. It’s a fitting metaphor for his band Grinspoon’s journey – a well-deserved respite followed by a triumphant return, armed with new stories to tell.
Twelve years after their last album, Grinspoon is back with a self-titled record that hits like a shot of adrenaline. “We never meant it to be 12 years,” Hansen admits. “Time sort of flies.” The spark reignited in February 2020 in an Adelaide studio, briefly doused by COVID, then roared back to life. “We thought, ‘We better do something, otherwise we’re never going to.'”
Don’t call it a comeback, though. “We’ve been trading off our back catalogue for a while now,” Hansen says. “But if people want to say ‘Grinspoon are back’ in an exciting way, I’m all for it.” Their new single, “Unknown Pretenders,” is a raw, high-octane throwback to their early days. “This record is more uptempo, more full-on than our last couple,” he explains. “It’s a banger.”
Recorded with Oscar Dawson of Holy Holy in his Mornington Peninsula home studio, the album balances rawness with polish. “We tried to keep a little energy to it, not overly polished to an inch of its life,” Hansen says. The decision to revisit their roots was intentional. “If you’re gonna have a comeback, you might as well come back strong and hard.”
Their 49-date tour reflects this ethos – a grueling schedule reminiscent of their “Relentless Band” days. “It’s kind of exciting,” Hansen says. “We’re all looking forward to it.” To survive, they’ve learned to take breathers. “You’ve got to take time out away from each other, clear your head.”
Living scattered across Australia helps maintain balance. “When we come together, we’re really focused,” he says. This renewed energy suggests more music on the horizon. “Once we broke the ice after 12 years, it’s not going to be another 12.”
As our chat wraps, it’s clear: Grinspoon aren’t attempting a comeback. They’re simply doing what they’ve always done – making unapologetically hard, fast, high quality rock, and that’s all we can ask for.
