The Rions Are Now A Real Band
Amidst the release of their debut album, the rising indie-rockers talk brotherhood, toxic masculinity and what “indie rock” really means.
Words Emily Wilson // Image Charlie Hardy
The Rions are happy to be here.
Guitarist Harley Wilson and drummer Tom Partington are glowing over Zoom, in awe of the upward-climbing trajectory of their own careers. Ever since winning triple j’s Unearthed High for their single ‘Night Light’ in 2021, the indie rock four-piece’s star has been steadily on the rise. And now, they are gearing up to release their much-anticipated debut album, Everything Every Single Day.
The project has been a long time coming; it is the culmination of years of energy and musical growth. Now that it is completed, it is the first time that the group has felt like “a real band.” And they are enormously thankful to be able to own that label.
“It’s easy to forget almost the scale of the things we’ve been able to achieve when compared to other bands who don’t get as lucky,” Wilson says. “It’s all about perspective. We can’t believe it when we really think about it.”
Partington “completely agrees,” explaining that there is an element of imposter syndrome wrapped up in all of this success. “I feel it all the time, can’t escape it, don’t know if I ever will. I guess to get past it, you just have to rely on gratitude.”
They have described Everything Every Single Day as “the most open wound we’ve ever allowed the world to see.” Wilson likens making the album to “group therapy with my three best friends.”
It is a sensitive and all-encompassing project, a representation of four young men doing their best to understand their place in society - the title is, indeed, apt. Is it scary, then, to have such a vulnerable project out in the world?
“I feel like I’ve been getting good at removing myself from the equation, because, if and when people hear this album, they more than likely will interpret it themselves, rather than, oh, this song is about Harley, this song’s about Tom. They will hopefully just be thinking, oh, I relate to this so much. When they do, that’s a special moment, because it makes being open worth it if someone feels seen. It’s a small sacrifice,” Wilson says.
Partington adds, “I just think about, when I listen to other artists, you can really tell when someone’s being honest and open. It says a lot when they open up about stuff that is obviously really emotional and heavy and sensitive. And that’s when I feel like music is at its best. And hopefully people will get that from us.”
The album is sensitive and personal, but it’s also notably political. The penultimate track on the album, ‘Cry,’ for example, explores the cycle of casual misogyny, with lyrics like, “I don’t know why / We let this slide / Excuses won’t make this right.”
There is always a chance that there will be pushback against musicians dipping their toes into socio-political issues. Partington, eyes gleaming, brings up a specific example.
“Actually, I’m going to call this guy out. Someone commented on our music video being like, ‘You guys are too young and naive to know about everything…”
“I think when you look back, you’re going to be disappointed in yourselves,” Wilson cuts in, rolling his eyes.
“But it’s like, when has music not been political? Music has always been political. So many of the best songs are so powerful because they bring up what’s wrong with the world, not just what’s wrong with yourself.”
Wilson says that if the day comes when someone approaches them to reveal that ‘Cry’ is a song that bothered them, he would explain, “You’re who we’re writing about! You’re the problem, not us, so thank you for letting me know that this struck you the way that we wanted it to. Honestly, if people are moved to a point of disturbance that they feel the need to come after us, that’s just disrupted them in the exact way we wanted to. Joke’s on them.”
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The Rions first formed as pre-teens and came of age during a global pandemic - it was, possibly, a defining feature of their success.
Wilson says, “It was an interesting time to be on Unearthed when there was a record amount of people on their phones all the time. Everyone was turning to the platform we were being given specifically. That’s probably a factor.”
“It was a tragic time for a lot of people, but I feel like it really played into our hands,” Partington says, laughing sheepishly. “We got lucky with Unearthed High.”
Now they are touted as major players in this new up-and-coming generation of Australian indie rock, with over 60 million streams and two ARIA Gold Certified singles to their name.
“I personally struggle with the idea of identifying Australian indie rock,” Wilson admits, “because I think indie has been overused so much.”
He describes the label of indie as traditional meaning that an artist would typically have a lower budget and be unable to afford a certain level of production. “We’ve gotten to a point where we can have any kind of production on a song we want, but we are still independent. So it’s hard to really give power to the word, especially when every Australian band ever, except for maybe metal bands, will call themselves an indie band. So I think if anything, with the album, we probably were subconsciously thinking, what is indie and how can we challenge it, and how can we, not necessarily separate ourselves from indie, but separate ourselves from the broadness of what indie is.”
He concludes, “I feel like hopefully people can listen to the album and we can give them somewhat of a new understanding of what indie rock can be.”
“The term indie can very much pigeonhole you, almost into this kind of random and broad category of music that can really mean anything,” Partington adds, “I think if anything, we’re trying to break out of that label.”
The Rions are set to play Spilt Milk in December, alongside the likes of Doechii and Kendrick Lamar. Their horizons are broadening and broadening - but the iron bond they have with each other is keeping them grounded.
“I genuinely just always enjoy their company,” Wilson says of the other band members. “There’s been so many times that for me, we’ve been playing a show, and we’re having the best time, and I’m thinking, I’m hanging with my best friends, this is sick. And then we’ll get onstage and start playing and I’ll look around and be like, whoa, they’re pro musicians. I completely forgot Tom could drum like that! I completely forgot Asha could solo on guitar like that”
“I would say also, to get real corny, for the most part it’s just been us four against the world,” Partington says. “We’re bound by blood, basically.
Everything Every Single Day by The Rions is out now. Catch them at Hindley Street Music Hall on Saturday 18 October. Tickets on sale now via moshtix.com.au.
