Surviving and thriving within the hyper competitive Melbourne music ecosystem requires an extraordinary capacity for constant artistic evolution. Ever since forming in 2018, six piece outfit Bollard has built a fierce reputation as one of the most enigmatic and unpredictable live bands in Australia. The talent collective featuring Tom Walsh, Ju Shung, Benton Ching, Marni Walsh, Declan Moran, and Wes Faulkner has consistently challenged post punk, shoegaze, and art rock conventions. Their late July release No Desire stands as another bold testament to their relentless pursuit of sonic distinction and intricate songwriting.
The journey leading up to this recent release is paved with years of fearless experimentation and relentless live show performance. Their 2018 debut record Trawlers immediately turned heads across local media channels, earning praise for its wild, chaotic blending of indie rock, shoegaze, and unexpected jazz textures. Rather than repeating that chaotic formula, the band quickly shifted gears with their 2019 extended play Beware the Atto Fox, steering their rougher garage origins toward a far more introspective and moody soundscape. That early willingness to pivot established a crucial blueprint: Bollard would never be a group trapped inside a single genre box.
International recognition steadily caught up with their domestic momentum over the following years. A standout placement on cult German label Public Possession for their track Interview with a Doll introduced their distinctive sound to European tastemakers. They capitalized on that global attention with their second full length album Lo in 2023, a refined two year labor of love that distilled their sprawling influences into a focused, crystal clear artistic statement. They kept that creative engine firing on all cylinders with 2024’s I Was Wide Open, demonstrating a sleek, polished production style alongside a remarkable ability to shift musical dynamics with total ease.
Arriving right on the heels of their highly anticipated third full length album Heat, the single No Desire finds the Melbourne group operating at the absolute peak of their compositional powers. The track leans heavily into their signature dynamic interplay, where melodic guitar riffs weave seamlessly through dense, hypnotic rhythm sections. There is an immediate, magnetic tension built directly into the core framework of the song. It manages to feel simultaneously chaotic and tightly controlled, reflecting the raw friction of a six piece band recording in total lockstep with one another.
Executing such a complex blend of post punk grit and lush shoegaze atmosphere requires immense spatial discipline from every musician involved. The dual guitar work creates a thick wall of shimmering distortion and chorus effects without ever smothering the central vocal narrative. Beneath the soaring atmospheric layers, the basslines and percussive driving forces maintain an unyielding, percussive pulse that propels the arrangement forward. Every dynamic drop and sudden sonic surge feels calculated to keep the listener in a state of thrilling unpredictability.
Lyrically and emotionally, the recording navigates the quiet frustration and exhaustion that comes with modern social noise and relentless consumer culture. The title itself operates as a radical declaration of detachment, pushing back against the societal pressure to constantly chase fleeting digital distractions. Delivered with a distinct, deadpan vocal tone that gradually builds toward an explosive emotional release, the performance feels intensely personal yet universally relatable. It captures the exact mood of sitting alone in a crowded room, completely untethered from the chaotic chatter surrounding you.
What truly sets this release apart is the band’s masterful command of contrast and pacing. They build quiet, introspective verses that rely on minimalist instrumental space before suddenly erupting into towering, distortion heavy choruses that demand full physical attention. This brilliant tension between restraint and total release reflects years of honing their craft on sweaty Melbourne venue stages. The listener is constantly drawn into a rich internal dialogue before being slammed back into the physical reality of a roaring guitar amplifier.
In an era where much of the alternative rock landscape feels overly processed and manufactured for quick playlist consumption, Bollard remains defiantly human. Their music carries the unmistakable sweat, instinct, and creative friction of six distinct personalities clashing and harmonizing in real time. They treat every release not merely as another promotional track, but as an essential chapter in an ongoing artistic evolution. No Desire proves that even after multiple albums and years on the road, their appetite for exploring uncharted acoustic territory remains as sharp as ever.
As the final fading feedback notes slowly decay into silence, the track leaves behind a heavy, vibrating stillness in the room. You sit in the quiet afterglow thoroughly energized by the raw artistic integrity on display. Bollard has once again delivered a fierce, unforgettable piece of modern Australian alternative rock that cements their standing among Melbourne’s most exciting musical exports. The future remains completely unwritten for this restless six piece, and that unpredictable journey is precisely what makes following them so endlessly thrilling.
