Faith Ridler
Australian newcomers With Confidence have already had an extraordinary amount of success. Their debut EP Youth was released back in 2013, and earned the band enough hype to score them a deal with mega-label Hopeless Records. With Confidence released their long-awaited debut album Better Weather on June 17th. The album is an impressive start, combining powerful melodies with profound lyric constructs. Better Weather is an intense, polished throwback to the pop-rock of five years ago.
Better Weather kicks off with the curiously named “Voldemort”. Sorry to disappoint, but the track isn’t a tuneful list of Harry Potter puns. Instead, it was named on a much deeper level. “It’s the idea that mental illness is Voldemort, and everyone’s terrified to talk about it, but I think once people start talking about mental illness it’ll stop being so terrifying” vocalist Jayden Seeley explained about the track.
With this in mind, the lyrics of “Voldemort” elude to the album’s overarching theme. It even seems the album title—Better Weather—owes its origins to a couple of lines in “Voldemort”: “And I know that you’re holding out for better weather / Despite the weather it gets better, you won’t do this alone.” These lyrics, alongside those of “We’ll Be Okay”, “Keeper”, and “Gravity”, seem focused on the thoughts and fears of an individual struggling with their mental health.
It’s remarkable that With Confidence can intertwine such important, heavy sentiments within their relatively commercial sound. Of course, this isn’t the first time a pop-rock band has tackled these issues—Fall Out Boy being an infamous example—but With Confidence still deserve to be recognised.
This aside, Better Weather does contain themes much more typical of a pop-rock debut: leaving home, the future, and self-doubt. Anthemic track “Archers” is a clear example of this. “We are the swords and we are the archers, we wanted more than a normal structure” expresses Seeley in the track’s chorus. “Archers” is a typical pop-rock track, layered with techniques characteristic of the genre. The track, alongside “Keeper”, “Dinner Bell”, and “Keys”, is punchy, energetic, and was clearly designed to be performed live.
With Confidence are phenomenal lyricists, and this is proven repeatedly within their slower tracks. “Gravity” is by far the most powerful, building slowly to an idyllic chorus—“I fight through to see tomorrow, don’t get tired don’t beg or borrow.” “Waterfall” is presented in a similar way, closing the album with a dynamic, technically flawless bang.
Even in their most commercial moments—“We’ll Be Okay”, “Higher”—With Confidence excel. Seeley’s raw, gruff vocals sit seamlessly against incredibly polished, calculated instrumentation. The result is something extraordinary, and it’s this edge that will push With Confidence ahead of others in their genre. They’re thoughtful, talented lyricists, and they already have everything they need to succeed. Australia’s With Confidence is a great addition to the new generation of Blink-182 inspired pop-rock bands.
You can check out the band’s latest single “Voldemort” below!
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