Dust at Phoenix Central Park
Photography by Jordan Munns. Special thanks to Phoenix Central Park.
Words by ella hailey.
Newcastle post-punk quintet Dust have just launched their new album Sky Is Falling, and I was lucky enough to catch them preview it in full last week at Judith Neilson’s Phoenix Central Park.
Urgent, mesmeric, and arresting both on and off the stage, Dust are fast cementing their place as one of Australia’s most singular and essential bands. I’ve been following these guys for a while now, and it’s honestly so sick seeing how far they’ve come.
The first track I ever heard from them was Ward 52, and I still remember that feeling. Gritty, raw, emotional in a way that stuck. Since then, they’ve played alongside bands like The Belair Lip Bombs and Interpol, and now they’ve got North American and European tours on the horizon. They’ve gone from local legends to something much bigger, and they totally deserve it.
Formed in 2020 against the backdrop of COVID, Dust have built a sound that’s both cathartic and confrontational, a jagged blend of punk urgency, melancholic soundscapes, experimental jazz, and electronic textures. It’s a contemporary take on Australian post-punk that feels dark, introspective, and emotionally charged, yet unmistakably forward-looking.
Their latest record, The Sky Is Falling, which they played in full, carries glimmers of Black Country, New Road and King Krule, but it’s still so distinctly them. Hearing it live at Phoenix Central Park was honestly perfect. The venue, intimate, curved, and built almost like an instrument itself, held every bit of reverb and tension so beautifully. It’s one of those rare spaces that feels like part of the performance.
The whole show had this angsty, beautiful intensity to it. You could feel how much they’ve grown. Tighter, more assured, but still unpredictable. It felt like the kind of gig you’ll look back on later as a turning point for a band.
And Phoenix... what a venue. A free performance space that feels like a secret, with tickets only available through a ballot. Designed by John Wardle Architects and Durbach Block Jaggers, and founded by Judith Neilson AM, it’s a stunning blend of art, architecture, and sound. Seeing dust there made perfect sense; both are doing their own thing, a little against the grain, but absolutely magnetic.
For me, this show was a standout. Not just because of the band’s energy, but because of how perfectly sound and space intertwined. It felt like both dust and Phoenix were made for moments like this.
