Dumb Things first made a marker on the wider Australian indie-pop scene with their 2019 album Time Again and now the Brisbane/Meanjin group are back with the first single and title-track from their forthcoming 2024 LP Self Help (Coolin’ By Sound).

The song’s wonderful laidback shuffle and strum harks back to the heyday of Flying Nun guitar pop and their trans-Tasman contemporaries such as The Go-Betweens and in more recent years Dick Diver, Lower Plenty, Twerps etc. There’s a jangly, melancholic streak running through the music, augmented by a comforting harmonica, as singer/guitarist Adam Vincent ,meditates on the quest self-improvement during a low romantic ebb.

“….the original idea for the song ‘Self Help’ is that it’s a letter (in the form of a song) from a guy who’s a bit down on his luck but still in the fight, to his ex, some time after they split up”, says Vincent, who even references Brisbane heroes The Go-Betweens’ timeless ‘Dive For Your Memory’ in the new song.

Talking about some of the other influences on the single, Vincent says, “At the time I wrote it I was listening to a lot of Silver Jews and the Purple Mountains album. I would say that the song Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones is another massive influence on it.”

Dumb Things will perform live in Brisbane on Saturday 11 November at It’s Still A Secret alongside fellow local trio The Blankettes.