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Australian synth-pop duo Strange Talk returns with their first, heavily-anticipated independent album “Speech Therapy”, due for release in late 2021.

It’s been eight years since Gerard Sidhu and Stephen Docker released ‘Cast Away’, the album that resulted in over 1 million Soundcloud streams and remixed by artists such as Dillon Francis, Chainsmokers and Viceroy. ‘Cast Away’ was produced at the first peak of Strange Talk’s popularity, in between performances with Foster The People, The Rapture, Neon Indian, The Presets, Kele (Bloc Party) and Pink. The single ‘Climbing Walls’ soared to Number 1 on the US Billboard’s Unchartered charts and the duo won Triple J Unearthed in 2010.

Singles from the album garnered serious airplay. ‘Young Hearts’ featured in the Snapchat app marketing including the platform’s commercial and link to purchase, which exposed the single to 35 million Snapchat users. Several tracks also featured in hit shows ‘Glee’, ‘90210’, ‘Degrassi’ and ‘Made in Chelsea’, and in worldwide campaigns for giants such as Gucci and Sony.

Strange Talk also hit the big screen, with single ‘Morning Sun’ appearing in a prominent scene in ‘That Awkward Moment’, starring Zac Efron. In 2015, ‘Young Hearts’ was used to promote the international trailer for ‘The Intern’ which starred Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. It also featured within the film.

Going beyond theatres, Strange Talk songs were also used in popular video games 'Need for Speed’, 'Sleeping Dogs’ and ‘Real Racing’.

With a sound that draws similarities with Cut Copy, Passion Pit, Phoenix and Yeasayer, Strange Talk has been described as a “Dance utopia” by Rolling Stone Australia. Their new album ‘Speech Therapy’ - their first full length LP produced independently - is heralded as a resurgence for the Melbourne-based duo.

‘Speech Therapy’ is essentially a reflection of what made Strange Talk so successful. It gives a respectful nod to what Strange Talk is renowned for - sharp electro-pop, indie meets French disco - but with a lighter, less moody take. It’s a refreshing departure from the darker, more

MEDIA RELEASE June 2021

electronic sounds of their last album but the Strange Talk signature sound is still very present. There’s a deeper focus on melodies and song lyrics, rounded out with live instrumentals and percussion. It’s what you’ll put on repeat this summer; the perfect accompaniment to a few drinks by the pool.

“Speech Therapy taps on the lyrics, the melodies, the vocals that built Strange Talk all those years ago, but finished with a more modern production. We’ve taken elements of what we’ve been known for and given them a lighter, new disco, new indie, fresher sound.”

This new sound is reflected throughout the album with singles Down Low, Love Elevation, Starlight Ft. CM and The Good Days, where you'll hear a more considered focus on songwriting, melody and lyrics. Whilst the duo’s grass roots are still evident, the album reveals layers of what Sidhu and Docker have learnt over their years of bunkering down in the studio refining their craft and delivering remixes for other artists such as Foster The People, The Temper Trap and Jarryd James to name a few.