Words: James Frostick
Band image: Charlie Perry
Bizzaro post-punk outfit Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice caps off a frenzied run of activity with its new four-track EP Remember The Future? Vol. 1. Packed with off-beat instrumentation and on-point observational commentary, the record arrives at a time where the picture of our future has never been muddier.
Receiving bad news from the doctor is one of my biggest fears. The foreboding dread of awaiting test results is a kind of terror that I prefer not to think about, but in the case of the EP from Melbourne’s Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice, this is news I’m keen to hear – even if it’s a dire diagnosis. Just under a year ago the talented four-piece (comprised of Miranda Holt on drums, Jake Suriano on bass, Jack Mccullagh on guitar, and Dr Sure himself – Dougal Shaw – on guitar and lead vocals) blessed the world with their debut LP The West, which wonderfully encapsulated the group’s style of off-the-wall dystopian robo-punk – a little bit absurd and a little bit surreal, but also a whole lot of fun. The group’s got a knack for theatrics that serve to heighten the listening experience, with Dr Sure positioning himself at the centre of a buzzing maelstrom of nervy activity (wiry guitar noodling, abrasive buzz and experimental sonic flourishes), leaning fully into the oddball outsider aesthetic the Unusual Practice peddles.
It’s not all fun and games, though – the crew has time and time again weaved threads of social critique into the fabric of their songs. In fact, they’ve done it again with their new EP Remember The Future? Vol. 1, which officially drops today. According to the Doc himself, this four-track EP is an “attempt to document the absurdity of the present” through a satirical, post-futurist lens – from the unrelenting greed of the elite that is contributing to the destruction of the planet and the strictures imposed by social stratification to the wilful ignorance of many when it comes to our encroaching environmental collapse (and the panic of those that pay attention). This is dystopian punk for a society predicted to reach the grim precipice of collapse. Whether or not we tumble into the abyss, Dr Sure’s can’t say for sure – but you don’t need a doctorate to know that changes need to be made in order to survive. Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice is positioning itself as the “loose screw in this well-oiled machine”, rattling around to let us know that there’s a problem that needs investigating. Hopefully someone does before the idyllic future we all envision for ourselves becomes a fond memory of a time when hope existed.
Listen to Remember The Future? Vol. 1 below, or head to the group’s Bandcamp page to order a physical pink 7″ vinyl copy, which comes with lyric insert!
Weirdo Wasteland 