Out today, Sawdust Memories is the third album for Joeys Coop one of Australia’s best-kept underground rock secrets.
Featuring an impressive line-up led by former Died Pretty guitarist and songwriter Brett Myers alongside Decline of the Reptiles frontman Mark Roxburgh, with Marc Lynch (Glide) and Lloyd Gyi (Perry Keyes, Dave Warner), Joeys Coop brings together decades of Australian independent rock history. Yet despite the pedigree, the band has largely avoided trading on past reputations, preferring to let the songs speak for themselves.
Sawdust Memories follows two earlier releases on Sydney’s legendary Citadel Records, but this time the band has gone fully independent. A confident collection of ten songs that draw naturally from the members’ shared influences without sounding like a nostalgia exercise. Echoes of the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, Big Star and Wilco, alternative country blended with melodic guitar rock and an Australian sensibility.
Lead single “In The Pines” offers an ideal introduction, pairing Myers’ unmistakable shimmering guitar work with Roxburgh’s weathered, expressive vocals. Fans of Died Pretty will recognise the melodic textures Myers helped define, while longtime followers of Sydney’s fertile ’80s underground scene will appreciate the chemistry between two musicians whose careers have travelled parallel paths for more than four decades.
The release of Sawdust Memories also marks the beginning of an extensive national tour, with dates scheduled across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT throughout the second half of 2026, including appearances at the Mullum Roots Festival and shows in Newcastle, Brisbane, Canberra, Castlemaine and Ballarat.
Sawdust Memories is available today from Joeys Coop Bandcamp on digital, vinyl and CD including a bonus hidden track.