Roidz is the dynamic punk recording project of New Zealand songwriter Daniel Smith that examines the emotion and aggression of masculine identity. In the few year since Roidz began as Smith’s outlet for solo noise-pop love songs, the project has evolved into a high energy four piece comprised of Smith, bass and synth player Lachlan Smith, guitarist Rueben Winter, and percussionist Joe Locke. Their new album, FIGHT NIGHT, out 2/22 via Danger Collective Records, is a necessary catharsis for Smith, who for a long time has wanted to critique New Zealand’s hostile male culture. “New Zealand is an incredible place to grow up, but it definitely has its issues.” Smith admits. “There is a male culture existent that is insidious and poisonous. Boys being boys largely means, getting wasted, getting violent, and shutting the fuck up when it comes to talking about anything with more emotion than a rugby loss. I wanted ROIDZ to turn to this side of male culture, and to talk about both the emotion and the violence of being a young man in New Zealand.” FIGHT NIGHT is a huge leap forward for Roidz both sonically and symbolically, capturing the bands viceral live energy while and adding a new layer of depth to Smith’s songwriting.
After touring America’s west coast in 2017 with label mates P.H.F. and Slow Hollows, Roidz took a two-year hiatus to craft a follow up to their 2016 debut, S-E-L-F-E-S-T-E-E-M. Smith recalls “Our last record S-E-L-F-E-S-T-E-E-M is largely a collection of bratty love songs, which is great but I still felt there was a lot left unsaid. We wanted the next record to exhibit another side of youthful abandon, one that was dirtier, grimier, and had a bruised and bloodied face.” The once emotional pop-rockers dried their teary eyes, duct taped their fragmented hearts, and began pumping iron… all in preparation for FIGHT NIGHT. Smith became interested in extrapolating the pitfalls of male ideology he found himself in. Smith stated that “The pop songs on the record were written in a similar way to the last one. I tried more to let the emotion speak for itself and not to hide behind irony. A lot of the harder rock songs were a much more collaborative process between Reuben, Lachlan, and myself. Rueben would write these incredibly aggressive guitar lines and I would try to write lyrics representing the aggression in the voice of a young man confronted with a violent masculine identity. I wanted the voice to encompass the darker sides of male culture, while also being critical of it. ”
The band recorded the album in Auckland New Zealand and spent over a year tracking, mixing, and mastering the album with their guitarist and engineer Rueben Winter. Many of the new sounds introduced on the album were inspired by Braniac and Idles. “We really wanted to explore the boundaries of our sound, to see how grunty we could make the tracks while still remaining a pop song.” Smith recalls. “The band Braniac was a huge influence to us, especially in the way they combine both synth and guitar tones to achieve some extremely harsh guttural wailings.” Ripe melodies cascade throughout the record in between screaming guitars, gut-punching bass and hectic untamed drum beats. The vocals have largely slipped out from behind distorting effects and are laid plain on the album, straining and harmonious in equal measure. Beauty becomes sleazy at a moment’s notice, and the pace and feeling of the songs is in constant oscillation, making for an exhilarating listening experience.
The stark contrast between humility and aggression in the local culture Smith began to unpack, mirrors the contrast between the albums melodic pop songs spazzy hardcore anthems. FIGHT NIGHT exemplifies a new dimension of creative maturity and fulfillment for Roidz, which requires their fans to exercise their own demons to get the most of the listening experience.
