Melbourne’s alt-rock provocateurs The Mean Times are back with ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’, available for pre-save now on all major platforms and out August 22 via Golden Robot Records. New album ‘Feel More Dumb‘ is released on 19th September. 

A swaggering, sardonic character study wrapped in a woozy, off-kilter groove, ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’ takes a fearless look into the mind of a man who knows his violence will go unpunished – and doesn’t care. Told from the uncomfortable point of view of a privileged abuser, the track tears into the entitlement of toxic masculinity and the culture of complicity that allows it to thrive.

Musically, ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’ is equally uncompromising. A sleazy bassline slinks beneath jagged guitars, while the sneering vocals split the difference between AM-era Arctic Monkeys and the jaded suburban poetry of Blur or Pulp. There’s a theatrical bitterness to it all, balanced by the raw, pub-rock punch of The Mean Times’ Australian roots – refracted through a darker, more contemporary lens.

‘Hook, Line & Sinker’ doesn’t ask for redemption. It doesn’t offer answers. But it does hold a mirror up to a version of masculinity that too often goes unchecked – and dares listeners to look.

Pre-save ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’ HERE

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

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Melbourne/Naarm’s The Mean Times have always existed somewhere between a raised eyebrow and a clenched fist – equal parts party and panic attack. With their debut album ‘Feel More Dumb‘, out 12th September through Golden Robot Records, the four-piece finally delivers on years of glorious potential, fusing post-punk fury, garage-pop swagger and sharp-tongued absurdism into one dangerously catchy pressure valve.

Written throughout Melbourne’s seemingly endless lockdowns and recorded at the now sadly incinerated Head Gap Studios in Preston, Feel More Dumb is the band’s most complete statement yet. Produced by Anna Laverty (Camp Cope, The Peep Tempel, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds); mixed by the band’s guitarist, Eoin Clements, and mastered by Nao Anzai (Rolling Blackouts CF, Teskey Brothers), the record sharpens the band’s unruly edge without sanding it down – capturing all the raw energy of sweaty gigs, functioning alcoholism, and half-shouted therapy sessions disguised as lyrics.

Thematically, ‘Feel More Dumb‘ dives headfirst into the triple threat of sex, death and depression – but don’t expect earnest navel-gazing or po-faced doom. These songs wrestle with the absurdity of adult life: lust without romance, grief without clarity, and a nagging anxiety that maybe your best days were five years ago at a pub you can’t remember the name of. It’s loud, literate, occasionally filthy, and always uncomfortably honest.

From the fast, fiery and over-it opening single, ‘Already Done’ to the sex-positive, chaotic swagger of ‘Hell’. and the slacker-soul anti-domestic violence messages of “Hook, Line and Sinker,” the album moves like a bad thought you can’t shake – groovy, grimy, and impossible to ignore. It’s a record you can dance to while falling apart.

‘Feel More Dumb‘ is also a testament to a band that’s stuck together longer than most marriages. Formed in 2011 via a trail of missed messages, kebab-fuelled jam sessions and accidental auditions, The Mean Times – Tom ‘Captain’ Morgan (vocals/guitar), Rob Meerkat (bass), Rhino Williams (drums) and Eoin Clements (guitar) – have built a reputation for self-deprecating charm, musical tightness, and never doing anything the easy way. This is the first time they’ve captured that live-wire chemistry in full on record.

But beneath the chaos and distortion, ‘Feel More Dumb‘ has a clear throughline. It’s an album about what happens when the wild freedom of youth crashes into the slow realisation that you’re not invincible, not special, and maybe not even coping. It’s funny until it isn’t. Then it’s funny again.

The Mean Times aren’t offering answers – but they’re damn good at describing the question. ‘Feel More Dumb‘ is what happens when four musicians hurtling toward middle age with no plan, no filter, and no sense of when to stop decide to make something honest. It’s clever, cool, loud, flawed, cathartic, and weirdly beautiful in its refusal to fake it.

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

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Melbourne’s finest donkeys of musical mischief, The Mean Times, are back with ‘Hell’, the second single from their upcoming album ‘Feel More Dumb’, dropping September 2025 via Golden Robot Records. ‘Hell’ is out now and is available on all digital platforms.

We’re all going to Hell. Might as well make it sound good.

Stream here: https://orcd.co/the-mean-times-hell

A garage-pop post-punk panic attack disguised as a party anthem, ‘Hell’ is part sermon, part sleaze, and fully unhinged. Imagine The Vines if they took their meds with beer instead of water. Or early Arctic Monkeys after two weeks of no sleep, bad decisions, and worse influences. It’s Dune Rats with existential dread. Depeche Mode getting personal with Jesus. You get the picture. But underneath the mayhem is a message – or maybe the absence of one.

‘Hell’ is a filthy, sex-positive anthem that kicks down the doors of shame and invites everyone in. Too many sex songs cater to straight male fantasies. This one’s for everyone who enjoys getting dirty, regardless of gender or orientation. With surreal euphemisms, cheeky blasphemy, and a whole lot of hip-thrusting swagger, it’s unapologetic, inclusive, and just plain fun. 

Musically, it’s the collision of a breakdown and a banger, snarling sarcasm and earworm choruses, driven by a rhythm section that hits like a stolen shopping trolley careening downhill. It’s the sound of trying to keep it together while everything around you burns – fast, loud, and somehow danceable. There’s no redemption arc here. No moral compass. Just a hook-filled descent into joyful chaos. It’s the end of the world. Bring a saddle. And maybe a safe word.

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w
https://themeantimes.bandcamp.com/music
https://music.apple.com/au/artist/the-mean-times/937567972
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https://x.com/The_MeanTimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w

Melbourne’s finest donkeys of musical mischief, The Mean Times, are back with ‘Hell’, the second single from their upcoming album ‘Feel More Dumb’, dropping September 2025 via Golden Robot Records. ‘Hell’ is set to release June 27 and is available for pre-save now: https://orcd.co/the-mean-times-hell

A garage-pop post-punk panic attack disguised as a party anthem, ‘Hell’ is part sermon, part sleaze, and fully unhinged. Imagine The Vines if they took their meds with beer instead of water. Or early Arctic Monkeys after two weeks of no sleep, bad decisions, and worse influences. It’s Dune Rats with existential dread. Depeche Mode getting personal with Jesus. You get the picture. But underneath the mayhem is a message – or maybe the absence of one.

‘Hell’ is a filthy, sex-positive anthem that kicks down the doors of shame and invites everyone in. Too many sex songs cater to straight male fantasies. This one’s for everyone who enjoys getting dirty, regardless of gender or orientation. With surreal euphemisms, cheeky blasphemy, and a whole lot of hip-thrusting swagger, it’s unapologetic, inclusive, and just plain fun. 

Musically, it’s the collision of a breakdown and a banger, snarling sarcasm and earworm choruses, driven by a rhythm section that hits like a stolen shopping trolley careening downhill. It’s the sound of trying to keep it together while everything around you burns – fast, loud, and somehow danceable. There’s no redemption arc here. No moral compass. Just a hook-filled descent into joyful chaos. It’s the end of the world. Bring a saddle. And maybe a safe word.

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/themeantimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w
https://themeantimes.bandcamp.com/music
https://music.apple.com/au/artist/the-mean-times/937567972
https://www.instagram.com/themeantimes
https://x.com/The_MeanTimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w

Melbourne’s garage rock gentlemen The Mean Times return with their first single in bloody ages, ‘Already Done‘, out now via Golden Robot Records. This track is a fast, fiery anthem for the overworked, overstimulated, and over-it. Packed with razor-sharp wit and relentless energy, the track is a full-throttle takedown of burnout culture, political hypocrisy, and the never-ending noise of modern life.

Order here: https://orcd.co/already-done

Stream ‘Already Done’ HERE

With punchy guitars, a pounding rhythm section, and a whole bunch of stuff that demands to be shouted, ‘Already Done‘ is equal parts defiance and catharsis. The track swings from frustration to dark humor, calling out know-it-all boomers, corporate bullshit, the people who oppose it and the sheer absurdity of it all – because when the world’s on fire, set alight by dickheads, there’s nothing you can you do about it but scream and raise a drink, a fist and an eyebrow.

Produced by Anna Laverty, ‘Already Done‘ sets the stage for The Mean Times’ debut album, Feel More Dumb, dropping September 2025. If you’ve ever felt completely spent and surrounded by morons – this one’s for you.

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/themeantimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w
https://themeantimes.bandcamp.com/music
https://music.apple.com/au/artist/the-mean-times/937567972
https://www.instagram.com/themeantimes
https://x.com/The_MeanTimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w

Melbourne’s garage rock gentlemen The Mean Times return with their first single in bloody ages, ‘Already Done‘, releasing April 18 via Golden Robot Records. This track is a fast, fiery anthem for the overworked, overstimulated, and over-it. Packed with razor-sharp wit and relentless energy, the track is a full-throttle takedown of burnout culture, political hypocrisy, and the never-ending noise of modern life.

Preorder here: https://orcd.co/already-done

With punchy guitars, a pounding rhythm section, and a whole bunch of stuff that demands to be shouted, ‘Already Done‘ is equal parts defiance and catharsis. The track swings from frustration to dark humor, calling out know-it-all boomers, corporate bullshit, the people who oppose it and the sheer absurdity of it all – because when the world’s on fire, set alight by dickheads, there’s nothing you can you do about it but scream and raise a drink, a fist and an eyebrow.

Produced by Anna Laverty, ‘Already Done‘ sets the stage for The Mean Times’ debut album, Feel More Dumb, dropping September 2025. If you’ve ever felt completely spent and surrounded by morons – this one’s for you.

Thomas Morgan – Vocals, guitar
Robert Meerbach – Bass
Eoin Clements – Guitar, backing vocals
Ryan Williams – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/themeantimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w
https://themeantimes.bandcamp.com/music
https://music.apple.com/au/artist/the-mean-times/937567972
https://www.instagram.com/themeantimes
https://x.com/The_MeanTimes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0gtA-1-JUzZI6BpI_AI1w