New Music Friday can be a lot. That's why every week we cut it down to the songs you need to hear for PLAY, our new music edit, and deliver a new cover feature to go alongside it. This week... DMA'S.
Ten years on from 'Hill's End' – the 2016 debut that introduced DMA'S as masters of big-feeling indie and even bigger choruses – the Sydney trio aren't interested in standing still. That first record landed with a rush of immediacy and quickly found a second home in the UK, setting up a decade that's taken them from early buzz to sold-out academy shows, major festival slots, and an expanding catalogue that's only grown in confidence. Four albums in, with over 500 million streams and a string of platinum singles behind them, they've long since outgrown any "next big thing" label. They’re well past proving themselves.
With a new album on the way and March's 'My Baby's Place' leading things off, they're moving into their next phase on their own terms. Speaking ahead of the record announcement, guitarist Matt Mason checks in mid-whirlwind. "I'm expecting a baby in a week, so I'm running around like crazy at the moment." It's all go. Timing, as ever, impeccable.
It’s written all over the way this album took shape, too. "Demo sessions are evolving into releases more than ever around the world, and this album is 100% that. It felt like the album just appeared, in a way. It's my favourite way to make music these days." Which is a neat way of describing a very un-neat process. It's a shift away from more traditional studio structures, and they've also taken more ownership than before. "It's co-produced with our mate Lach Bostock, but it's the most we've been involved for a while. It makes it hard to know when to deliver it when you're making those calls, and it's taken much longer to finish, but the payoff is crazy."
Without an external voice drawing a line under things, songs were given more time to evolve. Basing themselves in their own studio in Glebe seems to have reinforced that. "Working on our own time changed everything and gave us breathing room so we could really sit on things and make sure it felt right."
Getting to that point meant rethinking the plan entirely. "We originally flew to the US to do the album with a producer, but it wasn't clicking, and the hardest decision was when to call it and give it a crack ourselves. Semi risky, but so glad everyone involved trusted us with it." Pulling the plug could’ve gone either way; from there, it was about finding the right people to bring it together. "We tried a few mixing engineers, and when we first heard Cian's mixes, it was like, 'Okay, this is going to be really sick'."
As for what’s actually on the record, DMA'S point towards variation within a consistent frame. "It all works as an album, but there's subtle style variations going on within that world, so I'm keen to get it all out there cause we've considered all the different fans we have when putting this together."
"It's taken much longer to finish, but the payoff is crazy"
— Matt Mason
That’s nothing new for them. From the directness of 'Hill's End' through to the polish of 'THE GLOW' and the broader palette of 'How Many Dreams?', they've tended to expand rather than overhaul. This time, though, the shift might be more about precision than scale. "Previous albums, there's been a bit of throwing a lot at a song sonically and trimming it later, but this time was more deliberate in guitar layers, etc., which has given us a clearer picture earlier on."
"It's minimalistic in a lot of ways," he continues, "and there are a few new production things for us, but no big surprises to be honest." It’s more about sharpening what’s already there. "I think with the production side, we always knew we had it in us, but this has given us the opportunity to prove we could."
Revisiting 'Hill's End' recently has only reinforced what's stayed consistent. "The Hills End tour was so mad. Revisiting all those songs and the energy from back then reminded us we're still the same in a lot of ways, and how keeping that energy going has been easy for us." The scale’s grown, no question, but the core of the band – that direct, emotional pull – still seems to be the thing they measure everything against.
There's also a sense that the wider setup around the band has shifted. "It just all feels fresh. We have a new label, a great group of friends helping with merch designs and artwork; the whole team is just feeling really good at the moment. Fans are liking the new single. We are stoked."
After a decade, that kind of reset can carry a lot of weight. It feeds into what comes next, especially on stage. "Having a larger catalogue means the setlist can be intentional, and I'm looking forward to the next few years being able to curate the shows for each festival or tour and really taking advantage of that."
And as for any downtime after the album lands, it doesn't sound likely. "[We're] getting back into the studio!"
DMA'S have never been a band to overcomplicate their identity. A decade in, that still holds. The new album pares things back in places, sharpens the edges in others, but it's set to be recognisably them at every turn.
'My Baby's Place' was the opening move. The rest is close behind.
DMA'S self-titled album will be released on 7th August.
