dlvr.it
'The Old Chemistry Was There': Epicure Stage A Grand Return With 'Is There Any Way Out Now?'
If you were a card-carrying member of the triple j listenership back in the '00s, it would have been pretty difficult to escape Epicure.
Hailing from Ballarat, Victoria, Epicure largely escaped mainstream success in their career, but records like 2003's The Goodbye Girl and 2005's Main Street were undeniable classics of the era, with the former even cracking the top 100 on the Aussie charts.
Tracks like Armies Against Me, Life Sentence, Self Destruct In Five, and Tightrope Walker were fixtures of triple j's Hottest 100 countdowns, and they even took part in an early Like A Version session, delivering a breathtaking rendition of The Dead Salesmen's Bluestoned.
However, in 2010, Epicure fittingly embarked upon their Quietly Into The Night tour and waved goodbye.
In the years since, members have been active musically, including vocalist and guitarist Juan Alban, whose last solo record arrived just last year. One might have expected those musical activities to once again feature Epicure.
Indeed, today sees Epicure once more venturing back into our collective hearts with the release of Is There Any Way Out Now?, their first new single since disbanding 16 years ago.
Embedded Content
Speaking to The Music, Alban looks back to what started the gap in the band's resumé, attributing their split to "the normal stuff, I guess."
"An underperforming record (on radio at least, it was the best-reviewed of our career), and a management dispute left us with considerable debt," he explains. "We remained an independent band and funded everything ourselves. Once the writing was on the wall, some members left for family reasons or a better paying gig. Crowds had thinned.
"We were lucky that crowds showed up again for our farewell tour though, and again for a couple of reunion shows in 2015. Not very glamorous I'm afraid but that's the truth of it."
Teases of new music first arrived on social media in late 2025 when the group revealed they had entered the studio. Of course, very little info was shared at the time, save for a repurposing of Oasis' reunion statement in which they claimed "the great wait is over".
As Alban explains, the origins of this reunion can be traced to his last album, the 2025 release of Juan Alban's Guilt Zone. As he placed the finishing touches on the album, he began to wonder what was next musically.
"It felt weird being more proud of those solo records than the Epicure ones," he admits. "I began to wonder what a new Epicure album might sound like, knowing everything we do now about songwriting, production, etc.
"Myself, Dom [Santamaria, drums], and Tim [Bignell, bass] have been friends since we played in the same under 12s football team in Ballarat (around 1990) and if you know them, you know they're pretty wonderful company. So initially I just asked if they'd be up for jamming on some new song ideas I had. They were happy to oblige, even just as an opportunity to hang out and play without expectation.
"I think it took several months to convince them to reform, but as we worked up the new songs the results were pretty undeniable," he continues. "The old chemistry was there and we had some strong material. And as always once Dom and Tim were in, we had a band again. I tried to really just enjoy their company this time around and not put too much pressure on things.
"Back in the day I'm sure they would have said I took it too seriously, and I would have said they didn't take it seriously enough. Neither of which is really true, but it's pretty great that after such a long break we've been able to make, what I think is our best record."
Embedded Content
When it comes to the notion of a fully-fledged reunion, pause is often given – be it by fans or the artists themselves. After all, can it ever be as good as it was? Playing live in a one-off capacity is far different to reactivating a band, and then, the question arises as to whether it will faithfully continue the trajectory of what had come before or simply fail to meet expectations.
Not that Epicure would fall victim to the latter, but Alban admits there was "a little" apprehension in revisiting the band.
"Being in a band is to compromise," he points out. "I still played in a band for my solo albums (with incredible musicians, that I hope to play with again) but being in my name I was able to have everything exactly the way I wanted.
"But in Epicure we do generally have to come to a consensus, which means some give and take. But being a little older and wiser you realise none of the small stuff matters that much. And there was something special about Epicure, the music we made, the experiences we had and the wonderful fans (many of whom became friends) we made along the way.
"I feel very fortunate to be playing with Dom and Tim again. They're wonderful musicians and more like brothers than band mates."
Rather fittingly, the story of Epicure's Is There Any Way Out Now? can be traced back to Alban's last album. As he explains, he wrote the track in the very same week he wrote Nowhere, the opening track and first single from the record.
"They both have this strummy, British quality to them," he says. "I'd been listening to The Smiths, The Verve, The Stone Roses, and the Noel Gallagher album Council Skies at the time. And that line just came to me, 'Is there any way out now?'.
"I've been pretty hyper-focused on what's going on in the world in the last ten years. Just feeling like society is succumbing to the worst aspects of human nature. So much unkindness, everyone for themselves and the villains always winning.
"And I guess I just ask myself, is there any coming back from that? It's bleak, but unfortunately it feels like the answer to that is no. Not an easy reality to live with. And at the same time trying to check my own privilege. Lyrically the analogy is this sort of 'Title Fight For Existence'."
Embedded Content
However, all these years down the line, what does Is There Any Way Out Now? say about who Epicure are in 2026? "I like that it's identifiable as Epicure but new at the same time," Alban muses.
"It sounds more confident to me, less self-conscious than some of our older material. And I guess it speaks to the friendship myself, Dom, and Tim have had for 35-odd years."
So with this new single out in the world now, what is the future looking like? Well, fans can effectively look forward to a reactivation of the band. Is There Any Way Out Now? serves as the first taster of their forthcoming album, Evenings In Honduras, which is due out in August.
"As well as the three of us, we had some incredible guest vocalists and musicians play on the record, not dissimilar to the way I approached my last solo album," Alban explains. "We have a big relaunch planned at Her Majesty's Theatre in Ballarat on August 29th, with several of those special guests performing with us on the night. And we have a national tour planned for October.
"We're so looking forward to getting around the country and seeing some old friends, and celebrating the Epicure back catalogue with the fans who gave the band and our songs life. And after that who knows? We have a bunch of new material, another album after this isn't out of the question!"
Epicure's Is There Any Way Out Now? is out now. Tickets to their album launch show are on sale now.
Embedded Content
Epicure – Evenings In Honduras Album Launch
With special guests The Dead Salesmen (duo) and Daisy Kilbourne
Saturday, August 29th – Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat, VIC
