Melbourne alt-rock maestros One More Weekend have returned, and they’ve dragged us all into a fever dream with their visceral new single and video, ‘Aunty Meredith’. Known for their flair for the dramatic and knack for crafting anthemic hooks, the four-piece—comprised of brothers Connor and Leith Dougan, alongside Tim Aslett and Jayson Riley—have genuinely outdone themselves, delivering a track that is as hypnotic as it is confronting.
Right from the get-go, ‘Aunty Meredith’ is a punchy, relentless statement. The initial blast of distorted sound and a pounding rhythm section drags you headfirst into a sonic tornado. It’s an intoxicating blend that effortlessly swerves between the full-throttle attack of hard rock and the crafted melodies of their pop leanings, echoing comparisons to groups like The Getaway Plan and Yungblud. It’s aggressive, but crucially, the melody is never buried by the sheer brute force; it’s guided by a hook-based chaos.
Lyrically, the track is an unflinching look at a festival experience gone sideways. It’s a spiralling narrative of escapism that descends into a dark odyssey of self-reckoning. Lead singer Connor Dougan’s gritty, urgent vocal delivery is the core of this tension, providing the raw emotion needed to carry such a weighty subject. As Dougan himself puts it: “This one’s about that thin line between freedom and losing control,” he says. “It’s personal, intense, and we didn’t want to sugarcoat any of it.”
This internal struggle is perfectly mirrored in the track’s accompanying music video, a surreal, visually arresting journey into a bizarre, cult-like world. The performance clips of the band—Aslett’s guitarwork shifting from soaring riffs to snarling dissonance, Leith’s bass lines slinking in sync with Riley’s exceptional drum assault—are tightly edited, cementing ‘Aunty Meredith’ as a complete multi-sensory experience. It’s a haunting reminder of the band’s unflinching authenticity and the sheer power of their chemistry, honed over 300-plus gigs shared with diverse artists across Australia.
This release follows a successful run for the Melbourne outfit, whose debut album ‘We Used To…’ has racked up nearly a quarter of a million Spotify streams and whose single launch shows, including the sold-out gig for ‘Aunty Meredith’ at Melbourne’s iconic Catfish Bar, are always an event. For a band that started by winning a ‘Best Act’ award on only their third live performance, ‘Aunty Meredith’ is a vivid, bold new chapter.
It’s a track that will satisfy alt-rock purists, but its accessible, anthemic quality means anyone who appreciates genuinely gripping modern rock won’t be disappointed. For more, be sure to follow the band today on Instagram and Facebook.
