Artist Profile: Eliza & The Delusionals

Eliza & The Delusionals have never been afraid to think big: “The goal has always been to play huge shows,” says singer-guitarist Eliza Klatt, who founded the band in 2015.

Over the past few years that dream has slowly become a reality as the group’s sweetly snarling, anthemic brand of indie rock has led to supports with artists such as Grinspoon, Nothing But Thieves, Dear Seattle and Killing Heidi, appearances at landmark festivals such as BIGSOUND, Falls Festival and Canadian Music Week, and major radio support both locally and internationally. After a slew of well-received early singles, the band’s climb was kickstarted in earnest by 2017 debut EP The Deeper End. A potent mix of buzz-saw guitars, ear-worm melodies and Klatt’s undeniable vocal hooks, singles such as “Salt” instantly caught the attention of national broadcaster triple j. 

“We’re just writing songs we want to hear ourselves,” says guitarist Kurt Skuse. “You hear us in our purest form in our writing.” Skuse and Klatt go back years, living down the street from each other as kids. They reconnected in the Gold Coast’s thriving band scene, with Skuse joining alongside guitarist Ashley Martin, a friend of Klatt’s at university, to solidify the line up. 

The extended periods on the road since have acted as a steep learning curve, while fusing the band into a tightly-wound live unit. "We learned how to put our live set and show together through the experience of watching bigger-scale bands do it” says Klatt. You can hear that experience in the single “Just Exist”, the first taste of the group’s forthcoming second EP. The track introduces a more mature subtlety to their sound, with Klatt ruminating on finding a balance between creativity and good mental health against a slowly building and insistent melody.