Fake News - Dead Set (Album Review)

Fake News – Dead Set
Released: May 7, 2025

Lineup

Tim Russ | Vocals
Darren Crowe | Guitar
Mick Braszell | Guitar
Nick Vanderkley | Bass & Vocals
Nat MacDonald | Drums

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As I’m getting older, I find myself gravitating more and more to the style of music that’s been around my life - not just during my teen years, but also my 20’s and 30’s. While this might include a good handful of Metal or J-Rock bands, the style that’s really resonated with me the most since turning 40 has been Punk Rock.

Perhaps part of that is because Australian Punk Rock has seen somewhat of a boom in my age bracket over the last few years, not just in my stomping ground of Newcastle/Central Coast, but also in areas such as Perth, Geelong and the Gold Coast.

Which brings us to Gold Coast legends Fake News, who have popped up on the bill of various punk shows I’ve been to since 2017, supporting the likes of Guttermouth, Bodyjar and more recently, the Millencolin and Pennywise tour. The guys are following up that kick arse tour with their second full length album, Dead Set.

This collection of twelve punk rock tunes contains that style of melodic punk that has become the background music for many of us older punks around Australia. The riffs are abundant, the drums are tight, and group singalongs adorn some catchy hooks, crafting an album of music that’s ready to be the soundscape of live pub sets across this big brown nation.  

Opening track ‘Destination’ kicks off the record with a cool atmospheric build up into heavy guitar work. Vocalist Tim Russ delivers some cool vocal harmonies here, bringing a melodic hardcore feel throughout the album. Heading straight into ‘Break A Leg’ next, the band breaks out some killer lead guitar passages which have that skate punk influence that fans of A Wilhelm Scream will feel right at home with.

The album’s lead single ‘Southbound’ was a great choice for giving us a taste of what’s to come from the whole album, a driving rhythm (pun intended) with a catchy hook, a bit of production polish has made this song a standout of Dead Set. The catchiness continues on ‘Therapy,’ backed up with some cool gang vocals and a tight punk chord passage.

‘Complicated’ introduces some dynamic with its intro, alternating in tempo between its different verses and getting a little more hardcore as the song goes on. The instruments on this album are tight, and follows the lead of how a lot of Aussie punk is sounding of late – that's not a bad thing, as I really love how our overall sound has been taking the elements of various skate punk, Fat Wreck and Epitaph bands and really refining it, while still holding onto an Australian sound.

This trend is kept up in the songs ‘Face of Death’ and ‘Running Out Of Time,’ highlighting some excellent songwriting and vocal delivery from Tim, while giving us some punk as fuck tracks to crank up in the car stereo.

In a live setting, Fake News are a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously, and the single ‘Beer’ showcases this perfectly, and great singalong that doesn’t outstay its welcome. That short and sweet trend bleeds into ‘Not So Tough,’ a fast paced offering with some attitude, delivering a clear message to its intended subject.

A cover of ‘Fortunate Son’ is up next, arranged into a short punk version that is good, but I’m keen to hear how Fake News are closing out their album. I don’t have to wait long, with ‘Hit The Ground’ giving us a full band closer that punctuates Dead Set with a strong guitar outro. The final track, ‘Rewind,’ isn’t so much a full band outing but an atmospheric end to the release, complete with cinematic style strings, and for me sounds like the song would make for a great intro to their live show as the band takes the stage.

In Dead Set, Fake News have continued to refine their style of Punk Rock, and I’m keen to see this band continue to grow and even raising a drink to their live set the next time they’re in my neck of the woods. A solid release from an outstanding Aussie act.

Rating: 9/10
Dead Set is out May 7th via Thousand Island Records. Get it here.
Review By Simon Valentine @SimonValentineAU