“We always love to experiment with new sounds” – An Interview with DICE
Aussie quartet DICE have just released the follow-up to their 2024 debut that transformed them from local indie-rockers to an international act selling out venues around the world. On their excellent new album I Thought The Altitude Would Make It Worth The View (out now on Tone City Records), they have added to the immediacy of Midnight Sun with a more expansive sound that adds synths and polished production which makes for a compelling listen.
Recorded at Hollywood’s legendary East West Studios with production from the legendary Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, The Strokes), DICE brought along friends Jay Watson (POND, Tame Impala) and G Flip to work on tracks for the album. Watson’s synths shine through on the wonderful singles “COOLER”, an indie anthem for the summer about the complexities of relationships that don’t work both ways, and “Call Me For A Good Time”. There are still plenty of catchy riffs that made their previous work so inviting but they’ve added a more upbeat feel which works so well on songs like “Echo” and opener “Breathe”. I Thought The Altitude Would Make It Worth The View looks certain to continue DICE’s growing reputation and fanbase.
DICE formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2020 and are comprised of Ben Hodge (vocals, guitar), Tom King (lead guitar), Regan Beazley (bass), and Sam Barrett-Lennard (drums). We had a chat with Sam as the band prepared for the release of the new album.
Hi Sam! How’s everything going right now?
Amazing! We’re extremely excited about the release of our new album I Thought The Altitude Would Make It Worth The View
What classic album cover art is your current mood?
24K Magic – Bruno Mars album art is my current mood right now, vibing to the max.
Congratulations on “I Thought The Altitude Would Be Worth The View” – it’s a cracking listen with some great songs. When and where did you write and record the album?
We spent the most time writing the album in Tone City Studios in Injinup, Western Australia. Such a beautiful part of the world and perfect to be free creatively. Then we took the songs to Hollywood and recorded them with Joe Chiccarelli at East West Studios which was such a sick experience.
It seems that you’ve embraced your poppier side on the new record while still packing it full of catchy riffs as you had on “Midnight Zoo”. Was there anything in particular that led to this?
Yeah! Overall I think we were just naturally writing happier, more upbeat tracks to our previous album and lent into the more poppy sound. We loved how the vocals felt so strong on their own so kind of built the instrumentation around that in some of the tracks. We always love to experiment with new sounds and I don’t think that will ever change.
If you could only listen to one record, what would it be?
All four of us boys would have some drastically different responses but for me, I’d have to say Californication – RHCP.
Jay Watson from POND helps out on the new album. How did he get involved and what did he bring to the record?
He was such an asset when it came to helping with the key parts and finding synth sounds that complimented the tracks. Ben writes the keys parts for our songs but Jay helped finetune them which was great.
After the success of “Midnight Zoo”, did you feel any pressure to avoid a “sophomore slump”?
Honestly I feel the opposite, we felt so much pressure in the writing process of our debut album but this one just felt so natural and free which I feel like I can hear in the end product.
Who were your musical heroes when you were growing up that helped shape the DICE sound?
We all have very different influences musically which I love and definitely contributes to our sound but some common favorites have to be:
U2
Sam Fender
Two Door Cinema Club
The Strokes
Catfish and the Bottlemen
Kings of Leon
Arctic Monkeys
You’re about to head off on a tour of Australia before hitting Europe and then coming to see us in the US. What’s your favorite venue that you’ve played and where are you looking forward to playing on the new tour?
We absolutely loved playing Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, that show was insane and that venue has such a crazy history. For the hometown show in Perth we can’t wait to play the Astor Theatre because thats been on our bucketlist since pretty much the start of the band.
What would go on your signature pizza and what would it be called?
Pineapple definitely! With lots of ham, chorizo, cheese, olives, tomato sauce. I guess we have to call it the DICE pizza.
What else do you have on the horizon for 2026 (and beyond) that we should know about?
After this tour it’ll be straight into writing the next project which is so exciting. It will never stop its just an ongoing cycle at this point. Lots of new music and shows after this tour!!!
You can get tickets for the DICE show in your locale by visiting this link. Make sure to follow DICE on Instagram and TikTok for all the latest news on new releases and upcoming gigs.
Feature Image Credit – Anna Cappello
