DEZ DARE

“It’s definitely a fixed piece. I’m just rolling it out over time to keep it in front of people.”

“Chaos is important to clarity. There is always a pattern if you stand far enough away.”

“Truth is a difficult concept. Not sure it really exists in a wider sense, just locally.”

“I always have an idea of titles and narratives. Lyrics are more fluid and fast.”

“I resist most conventional things, as much as I can and still live in a community.”

“I always feel like an active observer. Watching how people engage and behave.”

“Absurdity is simply reality.”

“Life becomes much simpler when you accept that we are not rulers and have no control.”

“Identity is a strange thing. I’ve always felt different and disconnected.”

“Sometimes songs have meaning. Sometimes not. Sometimes you just pose questions you can’t answer.”

Blurring the lines between chaos, satire, existential observation and raw DIY energy, British/Australian punk artist Dez Dare continues to carve out a uniquely unfiltered space in contemporary underground music.
With the staggered release of ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘, Dez Dare turns fragmentation into intention, humour into critique, and noise into sharp reflection.
In this conversation with Fok ’bs’, Dez Dare discusses absurdity, identity, streaming culture, lyrical construction, and why clarity often emerges only through chaos.
‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘ unfolds gradually over time rather than arriving all at once.
Do you see the album as a fixed work, or as something that only truly exists through its release process?
“It’s definitely a fixed piece. I’m rolling it out over time partly because you have to keep the release in front of people as long as you can these days and partly because I wanted to try something different.”
Your music often feels like a collision between clarity and absurdity.
Do you use chaos as a way to reveal truth, or to question whether truth even exists?
“I think chaos is important to clarity. There is always a pattern or truth if you just stand far enough away. Truth is a difficult concept though. Not sure it really exists in a wider sense, just locally.”
Many of your lyrics read like fragmented thoughts rather than linear narratives,
Are you documenting your mind in real time, or reconstructing it after the fact?
“I always have an idea of titles and overarching narratives for a release. Lyrics are more fluid. I tend to write quickly with loads of ideas and then mold them into a narrative. I don’t like to make lyrics to direct, good that people can take what they want from them.”
You’ve described moments of waiting as creatively important.
What is it about stillness that generates ideas in a project built on restless energy?
“On this release it was more about forced distance. Feeling alone with people all around. I think we all need time in strange parks, in strange cities by ourselves. Helps you see more clearly.”
There’s a tension between DIY immediacy and conceptual depth in your work.
How do you prevent one from diluting the other?
“I try not to think about it too much. When I write and record it happens fast because I do it all in my own studio, and the depth is just all the nonsense I am trying to get out of my head. I don’t try to limit either, except for the depth with a little humour.”
Tracks like ‘Insolvent Soldiers‘ critique modern social dynamics.
Do you feel like an observer of these systems, or someone actively resisting them?
“I resist most conventional things, as much as I can and still live in a community. I always feel like an active observer. I am the slightly less chatty guy in the corner of the pub watching how people engage and behave. It’s how I learnt to socialise being Autistic.”
Your release strategy disrupts how people typically consume music.
Is this a reaction against streaming culture, or simply an extension of your artistic identity?
“That would be up for debate. Streaming companies want artists to release as regularly as possible. Running a successful radio/PR campaign requires multiple singles/videos. Most people don’t listen to albums anymore, only nerds like me. Staggering your time and money over the year seems better for everyone.”
Humor and confrontation often coexist in your lyrics.
Do you see absurdity as a coping mechanism, a weapon, or something else entirely?
“Absurdity is simply reality. You can’t help but look at everything happening and how people act and not think so. I am not about confronting people with my views, but existentialism and absurdity are concepts I think about often, and they influence the ideas I present. A lot of people find these ideas confrontational because they don’t want to think of the world in this way. It’s easier to believe we are the rulers. That there is a guiding force. That we have a destiny that is out of our control. When in fact we aren’t rulers and we have no control. Life becomes much simpler when you accept this. I was making a short film for my day job once and the museum curator we interviewed had a mammoth tusk from one that live in London. Mammoth’s lived in London for 200,000 years and there is only a few bones and tusks left! It is humbling to realise this considering we have only been around for 300,000 years and look at how we treat the world around us.”
Across your work, identity feels fluid and unstable.
Is that a reflection of personal experience, or a broader comment on contemporary life?
“Identity is a strange thing. I think everyone deserves to be whoever they are. I personally have always felt different and disconnected. That’s a neurodiversity thing I guess. And growing up the band and art freak in a catholic all boys school built that within me as well. Everything I pick up along the way feeds info my life view which is why it can feel chaotic at times, just like my brain. Trying to make sense of a million connections.”
You collaborate with a wide range of artists, yet the result always feels unmistakably ‘Dez Dare‘.
What anchors your identity amid that diversity?
“Most of it is still me. I play, sing and produced 95% of it so I guess it is always going to sound like me. Maybe if I start getting band members in the future that may shift.”
There’s a recurring sense that you distrust easy meaning.
Do you think music should clarify the world, or complicate it further?
“It can do both. Sometimes songs have meaning. Sometimes not. Sometimes you pose questions that you can’t answer and that is OK. I definitely don’t think the world needs to be more complicated, we should simplify. My new song ‘I Need Your Fire’ has little meaning. I just wanted a fun song to play live 🤘“
The album title suggests both confusion and intensity.
Do you see ‘wild‘ and ‘blind‘ as states to escape from, or states to embrace?
“It refers to the state of the world. So many crazy things happening and so many people blinded by digital tunnel-vision. It is neither escapable nor embracing. It simply is. They will always coexist in the wider universe.”
If someone listens to your music looking for answers, are they asking the wrong question entirely?
“Depends on what they are looking for. I don’t think there are answers in what I do. Just observations. Not all of it is as serious as it sounds. But if you like existentialism, absurdist humour and petty gripes about social behaviour, it might be for you.”
With ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘, Dez Dare once again transforms instability into creative fuel, offering a record that doesn’t attempt to resolve the chaos of modern life but instead reflects it back with wit, discomfort, and clarity.
Between satire, philosophy and raw punk immediacy, Dez Dare proves that meaning doesn’t have to be fixed.
It can be fragmented, questioned, and still hit with full force.

track-list:
When I’m Alone (I Forget You’re Real)
Dunning-Kruger on HI
Insolvent Soldiers
We’re Not Broken Sunshine
You Woke Up On My Side Of Time
The Days Are Longer When You’re Around
I Need Your Fire
Beef Down. Fuck Face!
Belly Full Of Beasts
Good Times In Blame Valley
Atrophy vs. Soul
You Don’t Shine The Way You Think

release schedule 2026/27:
May1st Insolvent Soldiers single
Jun5th We’re Not Broken Sunshine single
Jul3rd You Woke Up On My Side Of Time single
Aug7th The Days Are Longer When You’re Around single
Sep4th I Need Your Fire single
Oct2nd Beef Down. Fuck Face! single
Nov6th Belly Full Of Beasts single
Dec4th Good Times In Blame Valley single
Jan8th Atrophy vs. Soul single
Feb5th You Don’t Shine The Way You Think single

Dez Dare live dates 2026:
Jun8th Schokoladen (with Screensaver/Aus) Berlin/GER
Jun18th BLOC+ (with guests) Glasgow/SCO
Jun20th Leith Depot (with Sha Rivari & The Maybes + So Boring) Edinburgh/SCO

Dez Dare returns with his upcoming album ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘, set for release on May 1st, 2026 – less a traditional collection of songs than an ongoing, evolving experience.
While the full 12-track record will be available exclusively on Bandcamp from day one, Dare has chosen a more unconventional path for streaming platforms – unveiling the album piece by piece, with one track released each month across the year.
At its core, ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘ captures a more introspective and philosophical side of the artist, without sacrificing the restless energy that defines his work.
Written between shows in cities like Berlin and Brussels, the album reflects moments of stillness amid motion – those in-between spaces where clarity cuts through the noise.
“Writing about the things that cloud and warm my brain,”
Dare explains,
“the time while waiting for things to happen is where the most beautiful bursts of clarity come into focus.”
Musically, the record is as unpredictable as its release strategy.
It moves freely between stripped-back, experimental acoustic passages, motorik-driven lo-fi electronics, and fuzz-drenched guitar explosions.
The result is a kaleidoscopic sound that feels both chaotic and intentional, balancing raw immediacy with a deeper sense of purpose.
That purpose becomes particularly sharp on tracks like ‘Insolvent Soldiers‘, the latest single accompanied by a new video.
Here, Dare turns his attention toward modern social and political dynamics, delivering a pointed critique of hollow rhetoric and collective disconnection.
It’s a track that channels frustration into momentum, urging listeners to focus on what can still be changed.
Throughout the album, there’s a sense that Dare is less interested in providing answers than in provoking thought.
Themes of time, identity, and personal meaning run beneath the surface, tied together by a belief that purpose is something deeply individual – something to be claimed rather than prescribed.
Critics have long recognized Dez Dare as a singular voice in the underground.
His work has been described as a collision of punk urgency, psychedelic unpredictability, and experimental instinct – music that feels like a manifesto delivered through distortion and neon-lit chaos.
That reputation continues here, as ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘ leans further into his refusal to conform, embracing absurdity, noise, and clarity in equal measure.
With additional collaborations from members of Sex Swing, Co-pilgrim, Black Nielson, Slum of Legs, and YOU&TH, the album expands its sonic palette without losing its core identity.
It remains unmistakably Dare – wild, confrontational, and vividly alive.
As the rollout unfolds across 2026, ‘These Days Are Wild & Blind‘ stands as both a snapshot and a process:
a record that doesn’t just exist in a single moment, but grows, shifts, and reveals itself over time.

track-list:
CHERYL! [Loading…]
Brutalised Robotics
Talk, Clown.
Notopia
Your Love Shines Down Like A Supernova’s Death
Rights Down 50
What Ya Gonna Do With Yr Days
Light Touch Of The Man Spreader
Golden Cerebellum
I Only Cry From a Distance x Time = Frustration
Blistered Eyeballs

guest musicians:
Laura Loriga – vocals
Jonny Halifax – vocals

Laura & Jonny were recorded by Giles Barrett @ Lightship Studios
mastered by Matthew Barnhart @ Chicago Mastering Service

live dates 2025:
sep24th The Hope & Ruin Brighton/UK
oct3rd Komet Hamburg/DE
oct4th Loge Berlin/DE
oct11th Magasin 4 Brussels/BE

Forte:
“The new single Brutalised Robotics is out now, to warm our ears and rewire our brains and boy does it do just that. A chiming electro rock track that makes you think, keeps you static and is just straight weird in the best possible way.”
The Dredge:
“Dez Dare is a punk rock astronaut. A psych-noise shaman. A DIY Doctor Manhattan.”
The Big Takeover:
“Experimental art-punk blending distorted slabs of guitar, noisy psych-infected electronics, and racing beats… wildly original and busy like Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.”
Vive Le Rock:
“Pulsing electro-punk.”
Sun 13:
“[Brutalised Robotics] Chiming electro rock that goes beyond the ideas Wire have explored in their later years.”
Über Rock:
“Dez Dare is one of those artists not afraid to push the boundaries of musical exploration and integration so far beyond the boundaries of the existing maps.”
Thoughts Words Action:
“At a time when much of indie rock is drifting toward reverb-drenched melancholy or algorithm-friendly mush, Dez Dare is a welcome jolt of clarity. His music points out that punk rock music can still be smart, noise can still be meaningful, and absurdity can still be art. He makes records that feel like manifestos written in neon, sung through a bullhorn, blasted through fuzz pedals and synth wires… Dez Dare proves once again that he is one of the most interesting, inventive, and important voices in underground rock today.”

Dez Dare released 5th album, ‘CHERYL! Your Love Shines Down Like A Supernova’s Death‘.
Blending his unique mix of existential wordplay and experimental riffage to create an album that is at arms with itself while cohesive; cheeky and upbeat, simultaneously breaking hearts.
“How often do we think about what we miss when we are distracted by shiny things? While fencing with social media, long winded stories, dreams of other lives, unnecessary toys, and irrelevant social experiments with happiness, we miss the things that make up our world.”
This album looks at those morsels of time and the bits that fill them, soaking existence… as well as manspreaders.
Those people should be added to the 7th circle of hell… or suburbia.
Either is probably a similar commute!
On this album Dez was joined by Laura Loriga on backing vocals and Jonny Halifax on backing vocals and lap steel, expanding on the sound of previous records and adding a new dimension to his trademark weird-n-roll.
‘Talk, Clown.’ is all about those frustrating people who talk loud, and a lot.
This along with the track and video for ‘Brutalised Robotics’, make up the first tracks of the album.
Never too far from the creative edge of rock music, Dez has intertwined pretty and odd melodies, with synth leads and guitar riffs, big beats and sing-along choruses, that will make you feel like dancing moodily in the corner of your living room all day and night.
‘Brutalised Robotics’:
“Here we draw parallels with how humanity exploits technology compared to how they treat all living beasts… What is consciousness? What is success for an organism? Dominance or longevity? One day all sentients will pry the foot from their neck.”
‘Talk, Clown.’:
“Just coz you talk a lot + loudly, doesn’t make you right or smart. You best have a getaway plan for these exact people.”
‘Notopia’:
“There are no ‘topia’s. Just existence. Stop chasing the unattainable + find solace in the moment.”
‘Your Love Shines Down Like A Supernova’s Death’:
“The love that shines from Cheryl… deep + enveloping, dark + brittle…calling to me from across decades + across bits + bytes. Translation: I love Casio keyboards.”
‘Rights Down 50’:
“The decimated rights of the majority squashed by the looming beasts of politics, trapping us all.”
‘What Ya Gonna Do With Yr Days’:
“The constant dilemma, how to live a unique life within a confined system. How to live well without work becoming your existence. How to contribute to the community while ensuring you aren’t bored shitless. Choose well, burn bright.”
‘Light Touch Of The Man Spreader’:
“People need to mind their allocated seats on public transport – Not exclusively public transport. Any public space is applicable.. No one needs that much ball space + I didn’t ask to get intimate.”
‘Golden Cerebellum’:
“The faux reality that if you work hard enough + apply yourself, you too can be rich + happy. These tricks of the mind constrict your sphincter + break finite reality. I was always told to apply myself + I could be like everyone else. I didn’t want to be like everyone else.”
‘I Only Cry From a Distance x Time = Frustration’:
“So many people parading as experts in wellness + personal development online. Why do they feel qualified? Be wary of the self proclaimed digital guru’s.”
‘Blistered Eyeballs’:
“Unseeing is the difficulty… when the disaster addicts are callin’, best leave things unseen.”