The Rubens look forward to Tassie hospitality for kick off of national tour

Award-winning Australian rock band The Rubens are soon arriving to Tasmania — and will debut their new album. Here’s why the island holds a special place in their hearts.

The Rubens new album Soda releases on Friday, September 20. Picture: Guilia McGauran

It’s clear that Tasmania has a special place in the heart of Australian rockers The Rubens, kicking off their national tour with two stops in Tasmania on the same day their new album SODA releases.

SODA is the 5th studio album for the award-winning Sydney five-piece band who mark the new album as a return to some of their traditional rock music roots as well as pushing musical and technical boundaries.

“We’ve been sitting on this one for quite a while and have been tinkering and making sure that it’s exactly what we want to achieve,” lead singer Sam Margin said.

“It’s definitely a combination of sounds we’ve explored in the past and we’ve probably brought back more of the natural-sounding guitars like we had on our first sort of records, which is really cool.”

Eager fans have already had a six-song sampler of the twelve-song album, including Black Balloon, Pets & Drugs, Good Mood and title track SODA.

The Rubens will kick off their nine-stop national tour in Tasmania, stopping at Forth and Hobart. Picture: Guilia McGauran

For keyboard player Elliot Margin, SODA is the track that resonates personally and is one of the band’s bigger ‘brainier’ pieces.

“SODA is really that piece that is a culmination of stuff we’ve done so far, but there’s also a lot of experimentation and crazy sounds,” he said.

“Everyone gets to show off their little flavour in the track, which is also why it’s so good to play at shows.”

For Sam, the autotune of his voice was a new experience in producing the music.

“Our producer Konstantin Kersting wanted to try putting autotune over my voice and on it’s own its really quite freaky to hear,” he said.

“It does bring a darker sound to the record though, which is all about being the cause of a break-up and carrying that burden with you, and really shows the sort of trial-and-error stance we took with some songs.”

The Rubens’ first stop on a 14-stop national tour will be at the Forth Pub in the state’s north, an already sold-out show on Friday, September 20, before heading to the Odeon Theatre in Hobart on Saturday 21.

The Rubens have just released their new single 'Liquid Gold'

For the band, regional shows are always a highlight of touring – particularly Tassie.

“We do love touring, which I guess is lucky for trying to keep sharing our music,” Elliot said.

“I can’t even count how many times we’ve come down to Tassie, but it’s one of those regional stops and places that we just get all the love and energy back to us.

“It’s always a worthwhile stop and really energising for us as a band.”

Apart from Tassie’s hospitality, the food and sights are always a great joy for the band.

“It’s a beautiful place with some beautiful food so it’s not a big ask for us to come down and have some fun down there,” Sam said.

VIP and general admission tickets are still available for The Rubens Hobart show at the Odeon Theatre, which can be purchased online on Oztix.

Originally published as The Rubens look forward to Tassie hospitality for kick off of national tour