Before The Show arrives today, bringing together two longstanding figures in Australian music for a collection of predominantly acoustic songs recorded with minimal adornment.
The album grew out of a working relationship that has included recorded collaborations with The Fat Rubber Band and The Cruel Sea. Produced in late 2025, Before The Show was written and recorded simultaneously, with the majority of the performances captured as first takes by Walker using his mobile recording unit.
That approach gives the album an immediate feel. Footsteps, the tapping of a foot on a wooden floor and the crackle of an open fire remain in the recordings, reinforcing the sense of two musicians playing in the same room rather than constructing the songs piece by piece in a studio.
Perkins’ storytelling is central to the album, with his observations and hard-lived truths balanced by the wit that has long characterised his work. The opening track and first single, ‘It Always Can Get Worse’, is a case in point, reflecting on difficult times without becoming trapped in them. The song reveals itself gradually, a quality that recurs throughout the album.
Walker’s guitar provides much of the musical framework, bringing an earthy weight to the performances while allowing Perkins’ vocals and narratives to remain at the forefront. ‘A Little More Time’ moves into future-blues territory, while ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ combines 12-string guitar and vocal harmonies. Elsewhere, ‘I Have My Doubts’ takes the album further into a more surreal folk-blues space through the addition of further instrumentation.
Before The Show sits somewhere between intimate acoustic performance and more expansive folk-blues arrangements. While many of the songs retain the spare character of their original recordings, others use additional instrumentation to move beyond the room in which they were captured.
Before The Show is the first album-length statement from Perkins and Walker as a duo, documenting a collaboration shaped by years of touring and working together. It is out today via Cheersquad Records & Tapes, on black 12-inch vinyl, CD and digital formats.