The Hard-Ons Announce New Album ‘Ripper ’23’ and Accompanying Australian Tour

April 3, 2023

Australian punk icons The Hard-Ons have announced they’ll be releasing their new album Ripper ’23 on Friday, 3rd June. The album, the band’s 14th studio record, follows 2021’s I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken, which landed at #4 on the ARIA charts (the strongest performance of the Hard-On’s career).

In support of the album, the band have also announced an Australian tour which will take them upu the east coast throughout late June and July. See all the dates and details below.

The Hard-Ons: ‘Hold Tight’

Hard-Ons: Hold Tight (official music video)

The first single from the album, ‘Apartment For Two’, will arrive on Thursday, 20th April.

You Am I frontman Tim Rogers has maintained his spot in The Hard-Ons lineup, having joined as the lead vocalist in August 2021, a couple of months before the release of I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken. The addition of Rogers came after the departure of drummer/vocalist Keish de Silva due to sexual misconduct allegations.

“It was just joy, straight away,” Rogers told Music Feeds’ David James Young in 2021. “We were planning a show at Frankie’s Pizza that was going to be my first one with the band. The guys said to me, ‘Why don’t you write a setlist?’ I called my best mate in a panic – I was like, “fuck, I can’t whittle it down from the 83 songs I’ve picked.”

Unlike the last record, which was mostly written before Rogers came on board, Ripper ’23 (which takes its name from the classic compilation albums) was written with him involved.