If you’ve been finding your mouth a little parched lately, look no further to quench your isolation dehydration than ‘Frosty’, the most recent single by Melbourne alt-rockers The Stained Daisies. It’s the second taste of the Daisies’ upcoming album recorded in their old Brunswick abode, set to be released “whenever we get our shit together”. And it goes down a treat.
‘Frosty’ packs a huge punch with funky bass lines gyrating underneath playful riffs as guitarist and vocalist Jayden Hebbard broods upon everyday frustrations. “It was a real shit week that I was having. I was on a big walk in Darebin Parklands one day … and I sat there and wrote the whole thing on my phone”, said Jayden. “I was just beaten down and sad, I suppose.” From there, it only took one afternoon’s jam session to pull the emotionally charged piece together, hitting its climax with the cathartic battle-cry chorus: “I want a frosty as cold as my heart!”. It’s a testament to the perfect remedy for a shit day - a huge yell and an ice-cold beer.
Given the boys originally hail from the coastal country town of Grafton, ‘frosty’ could easily have been some country colloquialism for beer that they’d brought down with them. But alas, the boys picked it up from a mate from South Australia. “A lot of people down here say ‘frothy’, and we fuckin’ started smashin’ ‘frosty’. It’s a pretty somewhat universal thing, one way or another,” said Jayden. When it comes to any particularly northern-NSW sensibilities that make their way into The Stained Daisies’ music, it “definitely shows that we all grew up in country towns”, they said. “We’ve got a certain work ethic from that which we’ve brought with us”.
When asked what a frosty is the best cure for, the Daisies’ answer was unanimous: everything. And Cooper’s is a band favourite.
If ‘Frosty’ was in a blockbuster film, The Stained Daisies are certain the emphatic rock anthem would be the soundtrack to “a monumental Lord-of-the-Rings-style battle”. When asked how they want people to feel when they listen to ‘Frosty’, the Daisies truly feel a call to action. “Invigorated,” said Davo. “Thirsty,” said Dan. Jayden simply wants people to know that “they are not alone in their thirst.
I want them to feel like they can come ‘round here and have a frosty with me.”