Q&A: No Brakes, No Backing Down: Radium Dolls are Fully ‘Wound Up’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photo Credit: Saskia Kovandzich
IGNITING A NEW ERA FOR AUSTRALIAN ROCK — Hailing from Brisbane, Radium Dolls have built their reputation on explosive live shows that feel uncontainable, fueled by a deep love of 70s-inspired rock and a sharp, modern lyrical bite. There’s a physicality to Radium Dolls’ music that’s sweaty, loud and unapologetically alive, that has made them one of Australia’s most exciting live rock acts. After a run of back-to-back sold-out shows across the country this year, the band is charging toward 2026 with undeniable momentum.
Now, Radium Dolls are winding themselves up for the next phase. Their new single “Moving” offers a first taste of what’s to come on their sophomore album, Wound Up, due January 30. It’s a track that pulses with forward motion, less concerned with staying inside genre lines and more focused on capturing the electricity that happens when the band locks in together.
“I think as we grow as a band and we get more comfortable with each other, it makes it easier to explore further away from what we would traditionally do,” says guitarist Tom Perkins to Luna. “If you tracked our releases, we probably stayed in a more rock sound at the start, and that's evolved as we've played more together. I think that was just the theme for this — to be as honest to our live sound as possible, and explore every idea and really just have fun with the process of converting ideas into songs.”
Wound Up feels less like a reinvention and more like a widening of the frame. Radium Dolls are allowing themselves to chase the thrill and lean into the chemistry they’ve built through relentless touring.
March will see Radium Dolls bring their high-voltage live show to the U.S. for the first time, with a debut American tour that includes a SXSW showcase.
As Radium Dolls enter their next era, with Wound Up on the horizon and global audiences finally within reach, Radium Dolls aren’t just riding the wave of modern Australian rock, they’re helping redefine it.
Photo Credit: Danysha Harriott
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
TOM: What inspires our sound is definitely a mixture of the individual influences from all four members. I think that we all come from pretty different musical backgrounds, and it's that marriage, that amalgamation of them into one entity that turns it into what it is. A lot of Australian bands inspire more rock n’ roll, punk bands.
LUNA: Your newest single “Moving” offers an early glimpse into Wound Up. What is the inspiration behind the track or the feeling that pushed this story to the surface?
TOM: “Moving” was written quite quickly. I was playing around with my guitar. Will and I were living together at the time, and he heard that, and he had a poem that he had written, which was the basis of the lyrics. We put that together in an afternoon and gave it to the band. For Will, it's about a time in his life when he was in a seven year relationship and that broke down. As an outsider looking in, they put in a great amount of effort to remain friends and I think just the poetic imagery of seeing the empty house and moving to the new one probably was the catalyst for that poem.
LUNA: As you prepare to release your second full-length album, what initially inspired Wound Up, and what emotional or thematic ground did you feel compelled to explore this time around?
TOM: I think as we grow as a band and we get more comfortable with each other, it makes it easier to explore further away from what we would traditionally do. If you tracked our releases, we probably stayed in a more rock sound at the start, and that's evolved as we've played more together. I think that was just the theme for this was to be as honest to our live sound as possible, and explore every idea and really just have fun with the process of converting ideas into songs.
LUNA: Have you taken any risks or experimented more — whether that’s lyrically, emotionally or sonically — with Wound Up compared to your previous releases like Legal Speed? What did that expression look like this time around?
TOM: I'm not so sure about risks. The music writing and recording process is that if you do something and you don't like it, you can just do something over the top that you do like. I think there's more variety in this album. I don't know if there’s risks, but there's more points of iniquity, I think more just greater variation.
LUNA: Do you have a personal favorite song on Wound Up — one that feels closest to your heart or most revealing of who Radium Dolls are right now?
TOM: It changes. I really did like “Moving.” The closing song, “All That Falls,” that's a ripper. I'm really proud to have contributed to that.
LUNA: You’re heading to the U.S. for the first time this March, including a SXSW showcase. What excites you most about bringing Radium Dolls to American audiences?
TOM: America is our number one country on Spotify. It's shown that it's up for whatever we bring. I think just going out and meeting people and seeing cities and I think it will just go down really well. I just think there's a similar appreciation of the scene between Australia and America. I just can't wait. I'm so excited.
LUNA: What do you hope listeners walk away feeling after hearing Wound Up front to back?
TOM: I hope they enjoy it. I hope that they just were able to take what they needed from it and enjoy themselves in the listening process.
LUNA: What is fueling your fire right now that’s pushing you into this next chapter in your career?
TOM: I think first and foremost, we all love it. We get a strong sense of satisfaction out of what we do, and I think that pushes us a lot. Because I'm sure you're aware, it can be a lot of hard work for minimal reward. The reward in and of itself is the America tour, getting overseas to play for people we've never seen, getting to play music that is dear to our hearts to people and have them enjoy it. I think that is the motivating factor for us at the moment. We still are very much riding that high of being able to do that.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the upcoming year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
TOM: I feel great. I'm at my parents house. It's Christmas Eve, and that's quite nice. And then going into a very busy year. We've got a couple festivals in Australia to close out the Australian summer, and then the album will come out, and then our biggest Australia tour, and then follow that with the North America tour. It's all going ahead, all very busy, but very exciting. I'm very grateful.
Photo Credit: Danysha Harriott
