Gaining audiences after sweaty live shows over the past 12 months, South-East Melbourne outfit, Tax Evaders are rewarding their new fan base with recorded works, the latest offering being the fun, explosive ‘Sticking Around’, which is out now.

The second single from the four-piece, it follows on from their debut release, ‘Something Like This’.

‘Sticking Around’ imbues lo-fi garage rock, with a few explosive touches of surf punk. Kicking in with a rolling bass line and drum fill, the fuzz lead introduces a Casablancas-ish vocal take, but that slacker/garage rock gets flipped on its head by the chorus that, for lack of better words, just lifts, and has a sense of mid-90s nihilist punk-grunge. Add in some production trickery for a middle section and solo, and you have one energetic, fun slap to the face.

While previous release, ‘Something Like This’ showcased a Killers-meets-Spacey Jane vibe, ‘Sticking Around’ demonstrates a rougher, punkier side to Tax Evaders.

Encompassed by an overarching theme of overcoming doubt, ‘Sticking Around’ strikes a tone that is about, well, sticking around, in opposition to throwing in the towel. The band leave it up for interpretation, with the defiance is about relationships, doubt in one’s self, or work situation, the cryptic delivery also complements the hints of heaviness presented in the chorus, with the heavier section being metaphorical.

Vocalist Nic Berry explains it was a culmination of the various influences throughout the band that forged the track’s overall sound.

“The opening guitar hook and vocal are inspired by indie bands of the early 2000s, while we took influence from 90s grunge bands when putting together the climactic jam. Between the two primary influences of The Strokes and Silverchair, we believe we have created something that taps into our collective nostalgia for rock music at the turn of the century while being a fresh and exciting combination of classic influences,” he said.

Tax Evaders have now shown that they are a multi-faceted outfit, and we are all for what comes next.

‘Sticking Around’ is out now on all streaming platforms.