As they gear up to make their anticipated live return to the UK this Autumn, Sydney-based alt-rock band RedHook unleash a towering collaboration today, ‘Dr. Frankenstein‘, with respected UK rock band, Holding Absence – produced by Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic) and mixed by James Paul Wisner (Underoath, Paramore). It is the latest single off their forthcoming sophomore record ‘Mutation‘ – out Friday, 22nd November. Pre-order / Pre-Save HERE.
‘Dr. Frankenstein’ arrives alongside a riotous music video directed by the band’s frequent collaborator and friend, Colin Jeffs (‘Breaking Up With‘, ‘Imposter‘). Set inside a creepy vintage 90’s arcade, the clip sees the members of RedHook sucked into a retro horror fighting game where they unlock the supercharged Lucas to help them defeat the “big boss” Frankenstein’s monster.
A soaring slice of heavy melodic rock/pop-punk laced with playful synth earworms, duelling vocals from RedHook’s Emmy Mack and Holding Absence frontman Lucas Woodland and an undeniably huge chorus, ‘Dr. Frankenstein’ explores themes of accountability in relationship breakdowns, using a “Frankenstein’s monster” metaphor to examine a toxic love story in three distinct chapters and from two opposing perspectives.
Emmy elaborates: “‘ Dr. Frankenstein’ tells the story of a fairytale romance that rapidly devolves into a nightmare as one partner displays increasingly more possessive and controlling behaviour. But the bridge then hits us with a plot twist by suggesting that this emotional abuse may have spawned from the other partner being dishonest and unfaithful, thus posing several questions for us to consider: who is the real monster in this situation? Does making mistakes and hurting each other (emotionally) make us monsters? Or does it make us human?
Ultimately, this song is about me owning my shit and taking accountability for my role in a past relationship that became toxic as all hell. During the breakup, I was guilty of privately indulging that kind of ‘victim’ mentality, but now that I’m a bit older and wiser, I feel like it’s important to take responsibility for the mistakes that I made too.”
On getting Holding Absence to feature, she adds, “Holding Absence are one of our favourite bands in the world right now, and Lucas’s vocal talents are unparalleled. I wrote this song with a male feature in mind, and Lucas was #1 on the list! We cheered so hard when he said he loved the song and was keen to jump on board!”
Speaking about the collaboration Lucas Woodland: “I’m super hyped to be featured on this song! I knew from the moment I heard it that I had to get involved. Dr. Frankenstein is a total rager with hooks galore, and Redhook are a great band. I can’t wait for people to hear it!”
You can catch RedHook at the following dates:
26th October 2024 – Clwb ifor Bach, Cardiff
27th October 2024 – Hairy Dog, Derby
29th October 2024 – Key Club, Leeds
30th October 2024 – The Garage, London
31st October 2024 – The 1865, Southampton
2nd November 2024 – Core Festival, Stuttgart
3rd November 2024 – AB Club, Brussels
4th November 2024 – Tsunami Club, Cologne
5th November 2024 – Dynamo, Eindhoven
6th November 2024 – De Helling, Utrecht
7th November 2024 – Headcrash, Hamburg
9th November 2024 – Glazart, Paris
Tickets on sale now HERE