Hexdebt - Rule Of Four

One of Melbourne's most vital post-punk acts announces themselves in no uncertain terms. Rule Of Four is the debut album from Naarm/Melbourne's HEXDEBT — Agnes Whalan on vocals and guitar, Aife Larkin on guitar, Isobel D'Cruz Barnes on bass, and Lucy Fry on drums — and it is the sound of a band arriving fully formed, with the wisdom and poise of a group well beyond their years.

Across 10 tracks, HEXDEBT traverse the trials of everyday life head-on — the evolution and deconstruction of archaic systems of power, the stifling of oppressed voices, the monetisation of personal pleasure, and the relentless passing of time. It is music that is simultaneously beautiful and confronting, rhythmic and forceful, delicate and fierce — a balance few debut albums manage to strike so convincingly.

Recorded in Carlton and Reservoir by Alicia Saye of Deep Heat and Infinite Void, Rule Of Four already announced itself as one of the most compelling debuts to emerge from the Melbourne underground in years. Standout singles "Covenant" and "Loops" offer a perfect entry point into a record that rewards repeated listening from beginning to end.