Moler return in 2026 with Roky, a new single taken from their forthcoming album 69, due out March 6. It’s a significant moment for the St Kilda-formed band, marking only their second full-length release since their ARIA-nominated 1997 debut Golden Duck, and it finds them sounding focused rather than retrospective.
The track began life as a series of riff ideas from guitarist JJ McCann, loosely inspired by the spirit of Roky Erickson, before bassist and vocalist Helen Cattanach reworked the foundation into a driving, melodic bass line. From there, Rokysettles into a sound that blends hazy alternative textures indebted to My Bloody Valentine and Deerhunter with post-punk guitar phrasing and a glam-leaning rhythmic stomp that keeps everything grounded.
Lyrically, Roky examines unrequited love refracted through screens and algorithms, questioning how intimacy functions when connection is mediated online. The song probes the uneasy space between desire and performance, asking whether anyone is really at fault when expectation and reality fail to align. Its central refrain, “Could you be my bloody Valentine?”, lands less as a declaration than a provocation.
Recorded at Soundpark Studios with Andre ‘Idge’ Hehir, mixed by Cattanach alongside Miguel Alonso, and mastered by longtime collaborator Lindsay Gravina, Roky captures Moler working collectively but without polish for its own sake. Drummer Dave Peacock notes it has already become a highlight of recent sessions, particularly in a live context.
Having reformed in 2018 and steadily rebuilt momentum with releases and live shows alongside Ash, Regurgitator, Custard and Magic Dirt, Moler’s current lineup, now featuring McCann, feels settled and purposeful. With 69 on the way and Roky setting the tone, the band sound less concerned with legacy than with continuing to make work that holds up in the present.
Fans can catch the band live this summer:
SAT 21 FEB | FREE All Ages In-Store, 2PM | Desert Highways, Reservoir VIC
FRI 13 MAR | Theatre Royal, Castlemaine VIC | 18+
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
SAT 21 MAR | The Tote, Collingwood VIC | 18+
Tickets: www.thetotehotel.com/gig-guide
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