PLTS

Based in the Australian beachside paradise of Byron Bay, PLTS (pronounced 'Pilots') have been on a beautiful artistic evolution since forming in 2012. Clocking in over three million streams, PLTS are the archetype for independent music: they appeal to practically everyone, and answer to absolutely no one. They don't need to compromise. Instead, PLTS find strength in honesty and the diversity it inspires in their music. Each stage of their development has brought further exploration and discovery – from dancefloor indie beats, to punk rock guitar tones, to the alluring vocal timbre of soul – all within the band's innate knack for writing larger-than-life songs.

Their growth as a band has gone hand-in-hand with the esteemed company they keep. The early days saw them hitting the road with the likes of Wolfmother and British India, and finding a kindred spirit in producer JP Fung (Last Dinosaurs, Art Vs Science, Josh Pyke) who helped the band take their songwriting to the next level. With him, PLTS found their confidence and sonic polish, releasing a swag of high fidelity, anthemic singles bursting with new sounds and ideas – from the shimmer and sleekness of Call Me Out to the soaring power of Astoria and the rolling On & On.

Teaming up with the equally brilliant Nick Didia (Powderfinger, Rage Against the Machine, The Gaslight Anthem), PLTS have stripped their sound back of any studio alchemy, offering up their most raw, organic recording to date in Lonely Leaves. A distillation of their incredible live sound, each tonal bite of guitar, each impassioned vocal aspiration is right there, proud and undiluted. But for all the sonic ferocity of the band in full flight, PLTS produce a mesmerizing sound that travels with a hypnotic sway. Tied into this is a feeling of nostalgia, conjured by the symbiosis between Kit Bray's effortlessly smooth voice and his heartfelt, connective lyrics.

Ushering in a new era of PLTS, Lonely Leaves finds a home for the band's unique sound that articulates feelings of growth, change and loss, yet hones and harnesses the beauty of their hometown. Now veterans of the touring and festival circuit (with BIGSOUND and Splendour In the Grass notches on their belt) PLTS have arrived at a place where there is little division between the explosiveness of their live show and their ability to capture it in the studio. While they will always continue to grow and progress, Lonely Leaves feels like the sound they were always meant to have, and a true expression of how great PLTS really can be.