Melbourne’s Billy Peril is a project in two parts, co-existing under one name.

The first is the live band: a guitar-led pub-pop trio – sometimes a quartet – formed on a winter morning drive when Will Dyer and Steve Harris (Saint Jude) sketched out a plan for a new project, soundtracked by the car stereo’s mix of Comet Gain, The Go-Betweens, and Yo La Tengo.

Harris summoned long-time friend Drew Schapper (Signal Chain, Pretty City) on drums, and the trio began shaping a handful of loose demos Dyer had been developing. Recording sessions with producer Brooke Penrose (Captain B Studios, Saint Jude) followed, evolving from a few planned days into an extended creative stretch. The result is a collection of understated, agile pop songs that carry Peril’s DIY spirit. Rooted in the Antipodean indie tradition there’s jangle, melancholy, and brightness, with melody that wears its heart on its sleeve. Live the songs are lean and keen, conjuring late 70s Aussie pub punk rock without any pretence or nostalgia.

The second side of Billy Peril is a splish-splash of bedroom synth pop, born the day Dyer stole Harris’ shite bass guitar and bought a TR-8 drum machine. Once again, Brooke Penrose’s brilliance behind the desk shines through, shaping the tracks into something sleek yet offbeat – a vibey, lo-fi counterpoint to the live band’s rock ‘ n’ roll.

The first taste of Billy Peril’s forthcoming debut album, on Cheersquad Records & Tapes, is ‘The Whitest Bread’, a song that starts like a lost gem from The Cars before staccato guitar stabs introduce Dyer’s vocal, all arch and artful, sounding like Graeme Downes of The Verlaines. It’s an infectious slice of minimal art pop— skeletal and poetic, with a gentle sonic euphoria.

“This is about YOU. US,” Dyer emphasises. “‘The Whitest Bread’ is a tongue in cheek piss-take of modern Australia – greed, growing wealth disparity, and wide-spread ignorance of our privilege. The protagonist is a tight-arse with investment properties, anger issues, ill fitting chinos and a really big TV.”

“This single kick starts the release of our first record – don’t be offended if it feels close to home…”

Together, the two projects trace the range of Billy Peril’s creative universe – from their immediate and varied pop punk to intimate electronic daydreams.