Stealing Your Heart

Music in Melbourne is just so freaking awesome at the moment, with so many rockin’ bands to head out and see on the weekends with some weeknights thrown in, which is coincidentally how I stumbled across Arabella and The Heist. And how the heck did I miss them for so long? Kicking out the jams with a high-voltage set list of absolute bangers, we recommend making a date for yourself to see them as soon as you can! 

Please tell us a bit about yourselves and how the band got together?
I brought the band together in 2019, I was 18 and wanting to have a backing band for my solo project. I had a few tracks I’d written on my first electric guitar (the man in the shop sold me the most metal looking super-strat ever!) and they were super indie, singer-songwriter-y numbers. However, it became clear within our first few rehearsals that the sound was begging for more umph, and we started writing gritter, punkier tracks. With my freshly bleached hair I began to experiment with different vocal styles and the band became Arabella and The Heist. 

Who or what would you say has influenced you – and the band – both musically and personally?
I think the most beautiful thing about this band is that it has grown up with me, and so it’s been influenced by a lot of different phases. Growing up, punk has always held my hand in life, beginning with a love for bands like The Damned, The Sex Pistols and a bit of femme rock in The Pretenders. These bands gave me a lust for powerful sounds. Along my path I’ve found punk in the lyrics of Nina Simone, I’ve found punk in the mould-pushing of my favourite pop artists, and I’ve found punk in the conviction of modern-day artists like Idles, Jack White, and Soft Play (who are currently on high rotation). 

How would you describe the band’s style and sound?
This feels like a cop-out, but I struggle describing sounds. I think that instead, feeling has played a larger role than sonics in creating our style. For example,1769 feels chaotic to me, it feels dizzying, it feels like being in a club at 3am. And that just happened to be best portrayed in a two-minute punk track. Rock music can take so many forms, and we have the energy of 100 rhinos and the hearts of
build-a-bears, and sonically that leads to a lot of exciting things.

What makes you smile the most?
Our band. But that’s what happens when you love something this much.

What’s coming up next for you – tell us everything!
We’re working on a larger body of work, maybe an album! The tracks will find their way out in one form or another. I’m excited to make more memories on the road, and I’m excited to make more music. Always. 

Links
arabellaandtheheist.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @arabellaandtheheist