‘We Know What We Want’: With a New Recording Studio and Label Deal, DMA’S Are Just Getting Started

Australian alternative rock band DMA'S have released their fifth, self-titled album, marking a fresh chapter as the trio worked in their own recording studio for the first time and signed their first major-label deal, releasing through Wonderlick and Sony Music. Despite a decade of success, including sold-out UK shows and a 2023 ARIA award for best group, the band has never scored a No. 1 album, with their previous two records both peaking at No. 2 in Australia. The self-produced approach reflects a band, now five albums in, confident enough to trust its own instincts after an unsuccessful attempt working with an overseas producer.

The album was recorded over roughly a year at the band's Glebe, Sydney studio, a historic space once used by David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and the Bee Gees, which members Johnny Took, Matt Mason and Tommy O'Dell bought via Facebook Marketplace from fellow Australian act Hermitude. Contributors included Lach Bostock of Mansionair, Norwegian duo Jimi Somewhere and Grammy-nominated producer Styalz Fuego. Guitarist Matt Mason said the freedom of owning the studio allowed unlimited time to experiment, calling it his favourite DMA'S record to date. The 11-track album includes singles "My Baby's Place," "Heatin Park" and "Killing Time," with some material dating back to the band's earliest days, retrieved from an old computer.