Gareth Liddiard doesn’t know what to expect when Tropical F Storm appears Tuesday, July 1, at Club Congress. The Australian singer-songwriter has been almost everywhere around the globe but has yet to set foot in Arizona.
“What is it like there,” Liddiard asked while calling from Chicago. “I know I should expect heat.”
But it’s a different type of heat that’s paralyzed Liddiard in the not so Windy City. “It’s hot as hell here,” Liddiard said. “But I guess that’s the way it goes during the summer in America.”
Liddiard and his bandmates, bassist Fiona Kitschin, who is his wife, guitarist Erica Dunn and drummer Lauren Hammel, make their bed this way whenever the band goes on tour. The art-punk band writes and records music at home during the balmy Aussie summers and after releasing the project, hits the road in America in June.
“That’s the best way for us since we hang out back home all summer in this nice rental property we have in the bush,” Lilliard said. “We’re two hours north of Melbourne. We have this ramshackle studio next to a river. It’s amazing. We drive around in a speedboat. We relax and create. It sounds messed up, but it’s a great time on the river.”
Being messed up is a way of life for Liddiard, who often dropped LSD a generation ago when he was an Aussie roadie. “It was the only job I could imagine having in which you could drop acid, unload equipment and be completely off my head and hear, ‘Great work Gar!,” Liddiard said. “It all worked out for me.”
Liddiard, 49, existed as such for seven years before forming the punk rock band, The Drones, which was together from 1997 to 2016. The Drones, which also includes Kitschin, recently reunited for a pair of benefit shows in February. However, Tropical F Storm is the focal point.
The band is showcasing tracks from its latest album, “Fairyland Codex” on its jaunt. It’s been four years since Tropical F Storm released a full-length album. “Irukandji Syndrome” kicks off the album. The melodic tune is about life at sea and is perhaps inspired by the river adventures experienced by Liddiard and Kitschin. The new songs are playful, unpredictable and at times hook-laden.
The band’s roots are evident. A number of avant-garde bands from the ’80s had a huge impact on Liddiard, such as The Birthday Party, Bad Brains and Suicide.
“I loved all of those bands,” Liddiard said. “Those bands created incredible music and were great live during an amazing period. That was when recording artists made their own music. They didn’t copy what was popular. You had these talented bands that were on some of the greatest labels, like SST and Touch & Go. Things were looser then. Some of my favorite bands from back in the day were the MC5 and Black Flag. You didn’t know what they were going to do next when they created their songs and they were all great live.”
Liddiard needs to relax to create. He enjoyed making “Fairyland Codex” more than 2021’s “Deep States.”
“It was so difficult making an album during the pandemic,” Liddiard said.
“We could have done better than that, but that’s how it went. In hindsight, we should have held on to what we were working on and finished it properly when things (lockdown) changed. But you move on. This time we were primed to make something much better this time out. We had a great time making this album since it felt like we were on holiday when we were making this record.”
Don’t expect Liddiard to work on songs while he’s in Tucson.
“It’ll be interesting seeing what it’s like there and also in Nevada since I’ve never been there either. I’ll see what’s going on and we’ll also focus on the shows and have the best time possible.”
Tropical F Storm
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 1
WHERE: Club Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $20
INFO: 520-622-8848, hotelcongress.com
This article appears in 06-19-2025.