Lots to talk about on trip to Tassie

THE long car rides travelling from city to city while on tour are a slog for members of indie-rock five-piece Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird.

The Melbourne-based rockers, who struck a chord with Triple J fans in 2016 with their track Melbourne Bitter, kick off an 11-show national tour tomorrow ahead of the launch of the band’s LP, New Romancer.

For the most part touring the country is a load of fun for the group, who enjoy all the rock and roll trimmings such as beer, eight-ball and the “millennial rocker hobby”, yoga.

But the band’s dreaded road-trip around the country, squashed into singer Lachy Rose’s mum’s Volvo station wagon, isn’t like your normal Sunday drive.

“We’ve got this book that we found underneath the seat called Conversation Starters, which is this really old book of icebreakers that keeps us entertained on those tiring eight-hour drives from show to show,” Rose said.

He said he was pleased that the two-hour journey from Hobart to Launceston shouldn’t cause too much “cabin fever” after the band play a show at the Republic Bar in North Hobart on Wednesday, before heading to Saint John Craft Beer in Launceston next Thursday (March 28).

Rose described the group’s latest LP, which features the new single Love is a Heartbreak, as the exploration of “what’s left after a relationship deteriorates”.

Rose’s melancholic voice, which has drawn comparisons to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis and The Smiths’ Steven Morrissey, has seen the group receive kudos from a stack of acclaimed Australian artists such as Matt Corby, Montaigne and Gang of Youths’ Dave Le’aupepe.

The members of Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird describe the latest single as an ambitious and kaleidoscopic piece of indie-pop, which sets the scene for the LP’s journey from heartbreak to recovery.

Rose said the band were eager to bring their sounds to Tasmanian audiences and were keen to explore what Hobart has to offer.

But he said he would be leaving Conversation Starters back home in Melbourne.