Jordan Dunbar - Starve 'If Opportunities Aren’t Arising We’ll Make Them Ourselves'

There's an abundance of words that come to mind when describing Melbourne-based core act Starve, but the one that keeps coming front and centre is determination. This four-piece have put their heads down and bums up over the past few years as they make a name for themselves in Australia's underground scene, and slowly but surely, they're rising up the ranks - and doing it all on their own.

The independent grind is a long but rewarding process and following the release of the band's debut album Life's Promise Dies, we can only predict big things are on the way for the outfit, so before they get too big to return our calls, we grabbed frontman Jordan Dunbar for a chat about the new record, the DIY band life and their manta going into the second half of 2024...

Jordan, you've gone from dropping EPs and singles to now stepping up to debut release status. What's the grind been like as an independent band and what have you learned about yourselves in the process?

It’s been a lot! We’ve definitely had a lot of ups and downs with this release but I am proud to say we’ve come a long way as a band and as people in the process. We’ve really just had to focus a large portion of our time on getting four adults with different jobs and schedules in the same room multiple times and that’s by far the hardest thing to accomplish haha.

We have all come together a lot closer though and I feel a lot of us have found our place and voice in the band in the process.

Watching your progression from Nausea to now, we haven't been starved of music; but you're not like the fast-paced bands who constantly release new tunes and EPs in quick succession, is there a method behind this madness?

We just wanted to make sure we were happy with what we had released into the world to be honest. We released music every year for the first few years of being a band, but this was a lot of going back and changing things we weren’t happy with. We wanted to bring the best of what we had to the table but also make sure we felt confident in what we knew. I guess seeing a lot of bands put out so much music and so much content can be quite exhausting as a fan and we never want anyone to feel that the band is overbearing. It’s a fine line to walk because you still have to put out enough that people don’t forget you exist you know?

Previously you've worked with Scottie Simpson from Alpha Wolf with your releases, but presumably due to Alpha Wolf's success, you've gone on to work with Clay from The Brain Studios in Sydney, who has also notably worked with Graves on their recent singles. What changes did this present when it came to approaching the writing process?

It was exactly that. Alpha are killing it so the big man himself didn’t have the time to see us anymore (what a bastard), but that meant we needed someone else. We had previously worked with Clay and Ange in the live setting a few times and gotten along with them like crazy so we decided to do the album with them.

The travel was a killer and changed our process. We previously didn’t demo any music and Alessio just went in with everything already written and planned in his head like a psychopath. We had to learn how to demo and prepro a lot so we didn’t go up blind. But also that meant we only went up every now and then when we would take time off work.

However, it ended up working out really well as we treated it as a mini getaway where we got to see our good friends, eat food and record an album!

You've obviously been inspired by bands like Nails and Converge - was the album's short track duration a nod to these influences?

Yes and no. I feel a few of us really like those bands but the short run time is purely because we like straight to the point songs that grab you and hold your attention. But if you like the song 'Sick' you should listen to the song 'Cry Wolf' by Nails hahahahha

'Deadly Weapons' is a fucking tune. An ominous synth reminiscent of KoRn opens the track and lingers throughout the song, but that signature Starve throwdown reminds us who we're listening to. What inspired this track and would you say the nu-metal masters played a part in its conception?

Thank you! The reminiscence is a massive compliment! We just wanted to keep trying new sounds and new vibes and see what we liked the most. It fit well for the song so we kept it. You’d have to ask Alessio what his immediate influence was but it was probably Kesha.

How did you pick the very obviously considered features on the record, notably No Cure on 'Deadly Weapons' and Justice For The Damned on 'World of Shit'?

They’re two bands we like a lot, similar to what we did in Nausea we wanted one Australian and one international feature. Justice clearly because they’re the best Australian band but No Cure because they’re one of my personal favourites going around at the moment and I would love to see them down here ASAP.

Starve's sound is menacing and abrasive, yet you guys are some of the friendliest and most welcoming blokes in this industry. What's a fun fact about each other that will not only shine a different light on you, but make the band more approachable hahaha

Alessio only listens to pop and hates all other genres of music.
Darcy can do tricks on a tech deck like you wouldn’t believe.
Ewan is ranked number one in the world on League of Legends (allegedly).
Jordan can only make conversations about trading cards.

'Getting Well' offers us a different side to Starve than the band's usual aggressive soundscape with a slower tempo. How do you anticipate this track to be presented amongst a crowd of mosh-hungry punters?

I think we’re hoping that the more uneasy and emotionally heavy tone of the song resonates on a more emotional level than anything else we’ve done. It’s an ongoing theme we’ve had since Nausea, a bleak feeling of sadness, desperation and hopelessness that we’ve tried to convey through a lot of our songs, but only really managed to break through in this album properly.

The final song on the album I feel captures that feeling better than any others and 'Getting Well' sets it up so that you never feel comfortable for the whole run time. Plus there’s a breakdown at the end if you can’t get through two minutes of sad yelling ahha

Looking ahead, what's the band's mantra, and what goals are you setting your sights on for the rest of 2024 and beyond?

Keep doing what we’re doing. If opportunities aren’t arising we’ll make them ourselves. We’ve been doing this whole thing independently for just shy of six years so I think we can continue that mentality for a few more. I’m keen to see where this album can take us and what the next step is for us also.

How can fans (new and old) help the band reach those milestones?

Tell your mates, buy a shirt, ask labels and bigger bands to tour the smaller ones. There’s heaps that can be done but honestly just showing up is enough for us. The conversation between everyone keeps us alive and we wouldn’t be able to continue if it wasn’t for the passion of the community for us to reciprocate and propel off. Come to a show, say hey, have a two step. Easy as that.

You heard the man, buy the damn shirt!

Catch the band performing an All Ages show on Sunday, August 4th at Stay Gold.
Tickets Here

Life's Promise Dies is out now. Get your copy here.

Starve – Life’s Promise Dies tracklisting

1. (Null)
2. Nightmare at my Door
3. Deadly Weapons (feat. Blaythe Steuer of No Cure)
4. starve2death
5. Getting Well
6. Nothing More
7. World of Shit (feat. Bobak Rafiee of Justice For The Damned)
8. Sick
9. Patchwork
10. (Void)
11. Life’s Promise Died Long Ago