Q&A WITH EORA/SYDNEY POST-EMO BAND ‘FINDING BETTER HEATH’
Sydney, Australia- Finding Better Health, the five-piece band hailing from the suburbs of south-west Sydney, released, "Pauper's Grave," on August 17th. The song delves deep into the theme of a struggle with religion, exploring the existential nightmare of questioning the concept of a cosmic safety net after death. The track is a compelling and emotional journey into the band's experiences with faith and the search for meaning.
"Pauper's Grave" reflects the songwriter Harry Belcher's upbringing in a stifling environment where God was ever-present, leading to a profound existential crisis upon questioning the existence of a greater purpose. The lyrics resonate with those who have grappled with the fear of living a life without meaning, while others around them seem to be blessed with unwavering certainty. The song doesn't seek to provide definitive answers but rather serves as an expression of the complex emotions experienced during this process of self-discovery.
Finding Better Health's music draws influences from shoegaze, post-hardcore, and post-rock, incorporating elements of emocore with a sense of immediacy reminiscent of their early inspirations. Their debut single in 2021 garnered attention, and they have since played shows alongside notable Aussie emo favorites Whatever Forever and Colourblind. The band has been praised for breathing new life into Sydney's post-hardcore scene with their follow-up release "WHY DIDN'T YOU APPEAR//IT WON'T BURN FOREVER."
‘We want to be Phoebe Bridgers. We want to play to the festival crowds and have people connect with the music we make to the point of tears. But we also want to be the band that puts out a screamo song, or a blackgaze song, or a folk song. And we will do all of those things’ — ‘We are not an emo band. We are not a post-hardcore band. If people want to call us those things then awesome’ – Finding Better Health
We are bringing them to the Central Coast on October 27th for SPOOKY #1 and thought we’d catch up with them!
Where did you get the name Finding Better Health from?
Honestly we’d love to be able to say we came to the name as a result of the transformative and cathartic power of music and it’s influence on our lives but the truth is way dumber. Back when we were just starting out we had this awful name that I’m honestly too embarrassed to repeat - just meaningless and ridiculously verbose.
The initials of that name were fbh, which we all promptly got tattooed on ourselves. Once we woke up to ourselves and realised that our name was shithouse, we were already bound to those initials since they’re on our skin permanently. We went through a tonne of options and Finding Better Health was what we decided on. Serendipitously it very much fits our approach to our music and by extension our lives, but that’s fully a byproduct of the main motivation which was to make sure it fit our tattoos. You win some you lose some.
What are your main influences behind the sound for FBH?
The whole wave of early 2010s emo and post hardcore pretty much. Bands like Touche Amore, Seahaven, Title Fight and the Hotelier were the reason we started playing music. Seeing Oslow was also a massive watershed moment for a few of us as teenagers. They’re criminally underrated and we also try to do that shoegazy/blackgazey thing - bands like My Bloody Valentine, Nothing, Alcest and Deafheaven were massive for us but Combine that with more singer songwriter-y stuff like Bright Eyes, Frightened Rabbit, Phoebe Bridgers and you pretty much have an FBH song. We try to draw from a tonne of different places, that way nobody cottons on to exactly what we are ripping off haha
What has been your favourite show to play to date?
Our favourite show so far has definitely been our Calypso release at the Factory Theatre. Seeing so many people come out to support us, hearing people sing the words… it was very very special. Other highlights would be supporting Whatever Forever last year (truly one of our all time favourites) and playing From the Floor Up Fest in Brissy. Going to a different state and meeting people that fuck with our music was such a special experience.
Do you have plans to release more music before the end of 2023?
The EP is demoed and ready to be recorded. We’d love to have it out super early next year… but as with every release, you can never be truly sure until it’s tracked. The people will have to wait until then i’m afraid! You can expect both a much harder and a much softer side on this one - we’ve been sitting on these songs for a while and we’re super excited to share them.
What are some of the go-to records for listening to in the FBH camp?
The classics we all tend to come back to are Touche Amore - Is Survived By, Oslow - Self Titled, Seahaven - Reverie Lagoon: Music for Escapism Only and a billion more we don’t have time to list. As far as what we have on repeat right now -
Josh: PUP - The Dream Is Over
Harry: Arms Length - Never Before Seen, Never Again Found
Matt: Hats - The Blue Nile
Riley: Tigers Jaw - Charmer
Are you looking forward to playing SPOOKY in Long Jetty on October 27th?
Of course! this will be our first show in the Central Coast, and we can’t wait to get this music in front of some new ears. The Savoy is a super cool venue too. We probably play some of the least beachy music I can think of so hopefully we’re not too much of a bummer for such a lovely place.
Where can we find you?
@findingbetterhealthau on all platforms that matter xx