Harold Holt Search Party: RIP
- laurenren904
- Jul 29
- 4 min read
Bendigo, Victoria, isn’t the first place you’d expect a chaotic punk force to erupt — but for the last five years, Harold Holt Search Party have been doing exactly that. Harold Holt Search Party (HHSP) aren’t just another garage act; they’re a full-force, sweat-soaked live experience, and they’ve managed to bottle that chaos on their debut album, RIP.
Formed out of the ashes of previous band, Dero, HHSP came together when drummer Warwick Cooney and guitarist Reece Cooney decided the end of one band wasn’t enough reason to stop making noise. They roped in vocalist Dave Gamble, and later convinced bassist Greg Clohsey to stick around — first for a single show, then another, then a tour, then a record.
Controlled Chaos and the Live Experience:
From the start, HHSP have been known for their wild live shows — the kind where you’re never entirely sure what’s going to happen next. “Dave, our singer, is rarely on stage,” says Reece. “He prefers running around yelling at people in the crowd.”
That unpredictable energy became the blueprint for RIP, recorded in just a day and a half at YeeHaa Studios with Sam Noske of Astrofuzz behind the desk. “We asked Sam to make the album sound like us playing a tight live set,” Reece explains. “We wanted to put the energy we’re known for onto vinyl, and I think he nailed it. It’s mostly recorded live, with just a few guitar overdubs. Then we came back the next day to do vocals.”
The result is raw and immediate — a record that’s just a hair slower than their live show but captures the same feeling of being in the front row with sweat flying and guitars howling.
Songs About IBS, Heroin, and Not Being a F**kwit
Harold Holt Search Party’s lyrics weave together sharp political commentary, gallows humour, and brutal honesty. Their band name nods to one of Australia’s most famously “missing in action” figures — former Prime Minister Harold Holt — but their politics aren’t always front and centre.
Take Run — it’s not a metaphor, but a literal account of living with IBS on tour. “It’s funny, but it’s also honest,” says Reece. “Knowing where toilets are adds an extra layer of planning on every tour.”
Then there’s Heroin, often misunderstood but technically an anti-drug song. “I’ve worked in healthcare, mostly in public hospitals, for about 20 years,” Reece explains. “It came from conversations about the difficulty of treating ice users — and how heroin overdoses tend to be less violent to deal with. None of this is funny, but dark humour is a necessary coping mechanism when working in hospitals. If you can’t laugh at some of the fucked-up things you see, you won’t make it.”
“We wear our hearts on our sleeves,” says Reece. “Everyone has the right to their own beliefs. Do we need to agree? Fuck no. But if people can express their beliefs openly, we can have educated discussions that might stop someone on the fringe turning into an extremist. The world’s in a precarious place. If we can all stop hating each other so much, maybe we have a shot.”
Reece adds: “That said, not everyone needs a podcast. Sometimes people need to realise that just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should. Educate yourself, read, watch the news, listen to those with more knowledge and experience. Accept you’re not always the smartest person in the room. In short — try not to be a fuckwit.”
From Bendigo to Everywhere:
HHSP are fiercely proud of their roots. “Bendigo used to have a thriving scene,” they say. “Multiple venues, touring bands stopping through all the time. Then it dried up — it was mostly cover bands and blues for years. When Mick and Relle opened Trashcult, it gave the music scene a kickstart. For the size of the place, the number of touring bands is crazy now.”
They’ve since shared stages with the likes of FANGZ, Wolfpack, Boom Boom Kid, Buddhadatta, Grindhouse, Hoon, Bodies, Mannequin Death Squad and more. But no matter how far they roam, they carry a bit of Bendigo’s grit with them — and a lot of humour about the realities of touring.
Punk Roots, Future Plans:
Their influences run from early hardcore pioneers like Black Flag, Minutemen, and Circle Jerks, to warped outsiders like Butthole Surfers, and homegrown heroes like Hard-Ons, The Meanies, Magic Dirt, and God. “Early SST records releases were a big influence on the sound of the record,” Reece says.
But HHSP aren’t looking backwards. RIP might have taken five years to arrive, but they promise album two won’t be such a wait. “RIP is a snapshot of what we’ve done the last few years. Hopefully we’ll have album two out a lot faster than number one.”
In the meantime, you can catch Harold Holt Search Party where they shine brightest — on stage, in the middle of the crowd, bringing their “controlled chaos” to anyone brave enough to stand too close to the mic.
Check em out online:
Bandcamp: https://hhsp.bandcamp.com/album/rip
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhsp.music/
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