Drastic Park Launch New Era with ‘Backdown’, Compound Fracture EP & New Member Elise Felsbourg

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

It’s time you get to know Melb pop punkers Drastic Park a little better!

Following on from last year’s smash-hit ‘Deadline‘ – which not only won the band some new fans AND scored my personal Video of the Year title, the boys are back with a new face and a new era of the band taking them into the bright lights of 2023.

Joining the former three-some is lead guitarist Elise Felsbourg, who not only offers up her own shredding duties, but harmonising vocals alongside John Stokes and Chris Tannahill. While her introduction is slowly eased in with this song, you can already hear and feel the dynamics change and I have no doubt in my mind this will open up more doors musically for the fast-rising pop punkers.

We asked John how they came to find Elise, to which he explains:

“We were getting to the point where we wanted to evolve our sound a bit more and we knew to do that we needed two things… someone who could shred on guitar but could also sing in a higher register than Chris and I for those high harmonies our songs were lacking. We went to Steve Cannatelli (who also suggested we get Joe to be our drummer in 2020). He just has a knack for knowing the perfect fit for the bands he works with, and he basically said look no further than Elise. And he was right. He is to us what Simon Cowell is to boy bands.”

When the offer came, it was a no-brainer situation for Elise, as she adds:

“I felt like there was a lot of room to experiment with lead lines, riffs and solos that could further develop the sound of the band. They had a really fun pop punk vibe about them, and I thought it would be an exciting project to jump on and add more vocal and guitar layers to”

‘Backdown’ was produced by the one and only Alan Day (Four Year Strong) and his influences can be heard and felt throughout, especially with a tighter sound and guitar-focused solos which now find the band moving away from their blink-182 fetishes, in favour of a new, whole sound that’s their own. The track comes from their forthcoming Compound Fracture EP – set for release on September 20th and features 5 new songs including today’s single drop.

“We learned so much from working with Alan. We went to him because we are a band that sing and play our instruments live at the same time – and Four Year Strong are among the best in the game at that. He has helped us grow as musicians and not let our singing limit our playing. All our songs were very simple on guitar and bass in the past so we could focus on singing, but now we have the confidence to get more technical with our guitar work. In terms of songwriting, what Alan brought to the table was super eye-opening… elements we have already started introducing into our own songwriting.” John discuses working with Alan Day

From an initial reaction, this new lineup has the potential to produce the kind of sound and feel +44 was supposed to before Carol Heller dropped out of the project (only providing her vocals for ‘Make You Smile‘ and a few demos). But, I personally would love the band to hone in on the punk/core direction they took with ‘Deadline’, because who doesn’t love sing-a-longs and breakdowns on a personal level?!

Time will tell what the band have in store for us, but until then, soak up ‘Backdown‘ and get keen for the next phase of Drastic Park!

Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul

Follow the band via their socials through LinkTree

Stream ‘Backdown‘ here

Pre-save Compound Fracture EP here