Donnarumma have today announced their raucous debut single Love Your Man, a horn-bouyed heavy hitter that leaves little to the imagination, out June 2. The trio have also dropped a spectacularly menacing clip to accompany the track, directed by Lewis Brideson (Last Dinosaurs, West Thebarton Brothel Party). Love Your Man is the first taste of the upcoming EP from the guys, Billy Billy, due for release on June 30. Donnarumma will be hitting the road to celebrate Love Your Man and Billy Billy throughout July, hitting up Adelaide, Melbourne, Wollongong and Sydney along the way.
Love Your Man is undeniable in many ways; those drums, those horns, that hook – you better love your man, love your man, delivered with just the right concoction of desperation, frustration and bubbling, tenuous anger. With hints of jazz influences that filter through the likes of The Cat Empire, and notable production and arrangement references to Gang of Youths, Donnarumma have devised a unique and innovative composition in Love Your Man. The accompanying clip, with its scorned female conceiving cruel and perilous circumstances for her unfortunate lover, reflects the frenzied nature of the song perfectly. Speaking on the song and its unforgettable, ominous video, lead singer Louis Donnarumma says, “Love Your Man is about the jealousy that warped my perception of a relationship I was once in. The song travels back to a time where I felt betrayed by my partner – what an innocent boy I was! The video shows this toxic relationship where the girl goes insane, kidnaps her partner and tries to kill him – then it is revealed that he’s been cheating on her the whole time and he ends up getting what he deserves. Sounds ridiculous I know, but we tried to be as over the top as we could be. It’s like those moments when you’re so angry you picture the most outrageous stories in your head. We find it amusing and love the irony; there’s this man singing how he doesn’t feel loved, but does nothing but betray her!”
Billy Billy, the EP that Donnarumma have been honing and crafting for a year, provides a fine example of a band that understand how to express the highest highs and the lowest lows of the human experience. Not only do they express, but they communicate with the listener, through punchy horn lines, irresistible rhythmic turns and hooky lyrics. Drawing from a wide net of influences cast as far as Nina Simone to Arcade Fire, Billy Billy was engineered by Tom Barnes (The Shaolin Afronauts) and includes guests Paige Court (MANE), Maggie Rutjens (Timberwolf), and Ollie English on backing vocals. Reflecting on the record, Louis remarks, “Firstly, the main message in these songs is one of feeling lost as you’re growing up. I imagine Billy as being a general name for anyone that’s feeling lost with the whole business. I feel like not many songs nowadays tackle this issue and it’s one that hits close to home, so I had to share it. The other biggy is love, but not the way most people go about it, we have no rose coloured glasses so all of our love songs are about loves that have been lost.”
After experiencing Donnarumma through the speakers it’s pretty clear that this is a band that simply must be seen live. Luckily for audiences the trio will be hitting up a bunch of venues along the east coast of the country and in their hometown of Adelaide throughout July. Excited to be hitting the road, Louis gives audiences a taste of what to expect, “Loud guitars, a drummer that jumps around and a bass that looks like a huge violin is just the start. Armed with those, and a bunch of songs both from the EP and brand new, the live shows will leave you singing the hooks hours after you go home.”
Love Your Man will be available from June 2 and Billy Billy will be released on June 30.
DONNARUMMA ‘BILLY BILLY’ SHOWS
SAT 1 JULY | GRACE EMILY HOTEL, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
FRI 7 JULY | WHOLE LOTTA LOVE, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
THURS 13 JULY | RAD BAR, WOLLONGONG NSW | 18+
FRI 14 JULY | THE TOWNIE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Free Show
