Fresh from selling out shows across the US and Canada, Australia’s favourite indie-rock duo Old Mervs (David House and Henry Carrington-Jones) share their second studio album Carparks out today. It arrives with the new track “Adeline” just a week before their much-anticipated Carparks AU/NZ Tour gets underway.
Carparks sees Old Mervs turn inward on more than anything they’ve produced previously. There are glimpses of younger years, of small-town life, of the particular feeling of a place that keeps shaping you long after you've left it. Where their debut album captured years of becoming, this record captures what came next; twelve months of touring, global audiences, long drives, and the particular clarity and confidence that comes from doing something long enough to trust your own instincts. What Carparks ultimately offers is a band growing more certain of itself without announcing it.
Written by Dave and Henry and produced by ARIA Award-winning producer Chris Collins (Royel Otis, Ruby Fields, Matt Corby), who recorded and engineered their #1 Australian ARIA debut album and has become something close to a creative anchor for the band, the arc for Carparks was built around one guiding idea, "we just wanted it to sound like a band, " Dave says. Songs were tracked without a click where possible, performances kept close to the room, and a beautiful Japanese handmade acoustic guitar Henry’s father had stumbled across, ended up on nearly every track. Again, not by design exactly, more by the fact that every time they put it on something, they'd look at each other and knew it belonged there.
Chris Collins mixed on the fly throughout the sessions, allowing the band to leave each day with production-ready bounces. It kept the energy of Carparks honest. "You'd drive home and listen and be like, that was sick, " Henry says. "Or, hang on, that's not working." The ability to critically assess things in real time, rather than waiting months for a mix to come back, changed how they moved through the record. A second block of sessions, roughly six months after the first, gave them unexpected distance from the earlier material and let them bring everything into alignment. What started as a practical necessity turned out to be one of the smarter decisions they made.
Dave came into the album having spent the better part of a year trying to get out of his own way lyrically. " I used to overthink lyrics a lot," he says. "I'd write so many different lines and scrap them." On Carparks , he let more through, including for the first time flashes of specific, real events tucked inside the broader storytelling. Dave writes almost exclusively in third person, something that has always come naturally rather than being a conscious technique. The effect is a kind of deliberate openness: listeners can find themselves in the songs without being told exactly where to look. "It’s kind of cool how it’s more like third person ", Henry explains. " People can be like, that's me, or that's someone I know." The album's most guarded moments also end up being their most open.
Bursting with energy, “Adeline” serves up the duo’s signature blend of stadium-ready indie rock, catchy hooks, sun-drenched guitar riffs and propulsive drum beats. Speaking about the single the duo share,” we recorded Adeline on the first session of the album. As we were recording we were actually convinced it would be the lead single of the album… It feels relatively fresh for us whilst being still very Old Mervs at its core.”
Having recently wrapped up their second headline tour of the US and Canada, following an extensive UK tour, Old Mervs are gearing up for their AU/NZ Carparks Tour kicking off in Melbourne next Friday, October 9 at the Forum, followed by Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Fremantle, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. The duo also have a number of festival appearances coming up including Handpicked Festival in Langhorne Creek, South Australia, Rolling Sets Festival in Tweed Heads and Newcastle, Le Currents Festival in New Zealand, The Great Escape Festival in Tasmania, and NYE On The Hill in South Gippsland, Victoria. To celebrate the release Old Mervs will head to Mills Records , 22 Adelaide Street, Fremantle this Sunday October 4 from 5pm AWST for a special intimate instore acoustic set and vinyl signing.
IN-STORE SIGNING
Sunday October 4 – Mills Records, Fremantle, WA
OLD MERVS AU/NZ CARPARKS TOUR DATES
October 9 – Forum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC (18+)
October 10 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW (LIC/AA)
October 16 – Fortitude Music Hall, Fortitude Valley, QLD (LIC/AA)
October 23 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, SA (LIC/AA)
October 24 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS (LIC/AA)
October 31 – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA (LIC/AA)
November 5 – The Loons, Christchurch, NZ (18+)
November 6 – San Fran, Wellington, NZ (18+)
November 7 – Double Whammy, Auckland, NZ (18+)
AU & NZ FESTIVALS
Saturday November 14 – Handpicked Festival, Langhorne Creek, SA
Saturday November 28 – Rolling Sets Festival, Tweed Heads, NSW
Saturday December 5 – Rolling Sets Festival, Newcastle, NSW
December 27 – 28 – Le Currents Festival, Riverside Park, NZ
December 29 – January 1 – The Great Escape Festival, Redbanks, Nugent, TAS
December 30 – January 1 – NYE On The Hill – South Gippsland, VIC
For tickets and event information HERE
OLD MERVS NEW ALBUM CARPARKS TRACKLIST
- Adeline
- Old Friend
- Abbey’s Wine
- Heavy In The Morning
- Tether
- Once More
- She Said
- The Balcony Song
- Stacked Up
- One Way Road
- The Hills (with Kim Churchill)
- For You
OUT NOW VIA DEW PROCESS/UNIVERSAL MUSIC
ABOUT OLD MERVS
Old Mervs have an unbreakable bond shared between lifelong mates, David House and Henry Carrington-Jones, who hail from the tiny farming community of Kojonup, a town three hours south of Perth, Western Australia. Starting out as school friends and rehearsing in a makeshift space in an old farm shed, Old Mervs are a far cry from their humble beginnings. Turning heads in the industry and among fans alike with their sunny sound, the duo have a string of headline shows under their belt and have shared stages with Liam Gallagher, The Wombats, Spacey Jane, and King Stingray. A festival favourite, Old Mervs have played slots at Lollapalooza, Splendour in the Grass, Yours & Owls Festival, Beyond The Valley, Groovin the Moo, Rolling Sets and more.
In 2025 Old Mervs placed #38 in triple j Hottest 100 with ‘What You’ve Lost’, and placed #105 with ‘Parched’ and #128 with ‘Forget It’ in the Hottest 200. With more than 93 million global artist streams, and a rapidly growing global fan base, Old Mervs are quickly becoming known for their infectious, hook heavy singalong anthems and high-energy live shows, with a dash of charismatic casual, mates next door banter.
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