Novocastrians RAAVE TAPES just dropped a massive alt-pop banger in their latest single, ‘I Just Wanna Be Alone’ - the third single to be released from their forthcoming debut LP (due on May 24th).

The new single demonstrates the full range of the band’s ever-changing sonic palette, and follows on from the huge hype of RAAVE TAPES previous single, ‘k hi’. ‘I Just Wanna Be Alone’ shows a completely different side to the outfit, opting for a little more subtlety in its production, which in turn lets vocalist Lindsay really shine through. The track centres around the idea of new-found individualism, finding solitary happiness that doesn’t always rely on a connection to others.

RAAVE TAPES find solace in lonerism, and make a banger of an alt-pop track in the process. There’s elements of familiarity and comfort in filtered synths and melodic percussion, and while there’s plenty of layering, there’s also a lot of breathing room during the verses, before the mid-tempo DnB beat lifts the spirit and makes you feel not alone in wanting solitude. Lindsay morphs into full underground dance party princess mode on ‘I Just Wanna Be Alone’, and you just know that this track is ripe for anthemic moment on the big stage.

“There's not much that the title doesn't address with 'I Just Want to be Alone'. It's a song born out of the cycle of mid-20s dating, figuring out how to spend time by yourself and most of all, being comfortable in your own skin. There is something quite special about a pop anthem you can sing in the mirror to reaffirm all of the self improvement beliefs, from 'You never wrote back/I didn't mind at all' to 'I don't want to be something that I'm not’,” says Lindsay.

The album was produced, recorded and co-written by long-time collaborator Fletcher Matthews (Dear Seattle, Trophy Eyes, The Buoys), who has helped drive the band as they’ve worked tirelessly towards a new stylistic direction over the past few years. The album itself was a big undertaking, as the band started with little more than a good attitude at the beginning of the writing process.

Other half of RAAVE TAPES, Joab Eastley explains the process of creating their debut LP.

“We went into this album with a completely blank slate, and no preconceived notions of what it was going to sound like. We wanted to create a body of work that fully captured the new direction we’ve been edging toward for the last few years. We’ve been working with our producer Fletch for so long now that we didn’t really need to fully discuss the direction of the record or a game plan, we just went to work in the time we had. We had our workflow down and a shared vision - which made bouncing ideas around so much easier when you’re all pulling in the same direction from the get go. Like a well oiled machine, except the oil was caffeine and very very late nights,’ he said.

Although the band have been incredibly busy behind the scenes, their live schedule hasn’t slowed down in the slightest over the last 12 months, with recent appearances at BIGSOUND, SXSW, Laneway Festival and Brisbane’s Mountain Goat Valley Crawl. No stranger to the big stage, RAAVE TAPES have previously toured with the likes of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and These New South Whales, and have supported bands such as The Presets, Northeast Party House, Slumberjack, Crooked Colours and many more over the years.

As the band continues this upward trajectory, 2024 is looking more and more like the year of the RAAVE TAPE.

‘I Just Wanna Be Alone’ is out now on all streaming platforms, while RAAVE TAPES’ self-titled debut album will be out on May 24th.