Gerling’s 2001 ARIA-nominated album will receive a 25th anniversary double LP featuring five previously unreleased or rare tracks and newly updated artwork.
by Paul Cashmere
Gerling’s When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun will receive its first-ever vinyl release on November 6, 2026, with Warner Music Australia issuing a deluxe double LP to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sydney trio’s second studio album. The edition revisits one of the most ambitious Australian alternative records of the early 2000s, adding five bonus tracks from the band’s archives and artwork newly reworked by Gerling.
The release gives the album a physical format it never had during its original campaign. When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun was issued in 2001 through different labels across Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the UK, but vinyl was not part of its original configuration.
Its history is inseparable from the events of September 2001. Gerling had planned to release the album in Australia on September 16, with copies already in the warehouse when the September 11 attacks occurred in the United States. The title and artwork suddenly carried an unintended association with the tragedy, forcing changes to the packaging and a delay to the Australian release.
The band has now revisited that history while preparing the anniversary edition.
“It was meant to be the year we released what was, at that stage of the game, our definitive GERLING album,” Darren, Burke and Presser said in a joint statement. “But the year was 2001 and the album was scheduled for its Australian release on September 16. Then September 11 happened and the entire Australian release was completely derailed.”
The record had already been released in Japan on July 25, where the band said it was successful enough to lead to an appearance at Fuji Rock alongside Oasis, New Order, Neil Young and Patti Smith. Gerling subsequently returned to Australia for a national tour with Regurgitator, with When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun intended to be released during the run.
Instead, the Australian campaign was delayed and the packaging altered. In the Northern Hemisphere, the album was issued under the title Headzcleaner, with revised artwork and some changes to track titles.
When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun was built around Gerling’s willingness to disregard conventional genre boundaries. Indie rock, electronic music, house, disco and hip-hop were incorporated into an album that moved between guitar-driven songs, programmed rhythms and experimental production.
The collaborators reinforced that approach. Kylie Minogue appeared on “G-House Project”, while US rapper Kool Keith contributed to “Brother Keith on Destructor Mountain (4001)”. Dutch electronic artist Solex appeared on “Windmills and Birdbaths”, and Inga Liljeström featured on “Dust Me Selecta”.
“Dust Me Selecta” became the album’s most prominent club-oriented track and helped establish Gerling beyond the conventional Australian alternative scene.
The album was produced with Magoo and Josh Abrahams, with recording undertaken at Gerling’s own Gerlog Studios. At the 2002 ARIA Music Awards, Gerling and Magoo received a nomination for Producer Of The Year for their work on the album.
Commercially, the record reached number 41 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 50 in New Zealand. It followed Gerling’s 1998 debut, Children Of Telepathic Experiences, and preceded 2003’s Bad Blood!!!, with the group eventually ending its run in 2007.
The new edition adds five tracks to the original 14-song sequence. Among them is a previously unreleased studio recording of “Deep Fryer”, a song that had become a live favourite, alongside an instrumental version of “Brother Keith Of Destructor Mountain”. The bonus material also includes remixes by Cornelius, Jacques Lu Cont and Riton.
For Gerling, the anniversary release also provides an opportunity to reconsider the visual identity of the album. Darren has recreated the cover artwork to remove associations that were never intended by the band, while Presser has reworked the gatefold artwork used for the Headzcleaner edition.
The band said the experience of returning to the record after 25 years had reinforced what they were attempting at the time: “Genre-less. Relentless youthful spirit. Punk indie, DIY, dance music.”
The original album’s unusual combination of sounds and collaborators has helped maintain its place in the history of Australian alternative music. While Gerling would make only two further studio albums, When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun remains the record most closely associated with the group’s experimental peak.
The 25th anniversary edition will finally put that album on vinyl, while preserving the original music and adding material that was not available when the record first appeared. For a release whose original presentation was so unexpectedly shaped by world events, the new packaging offers the band a chance to define the record on its own terms.
Gerling’s When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun 25th Anniversary Edition is released November 6, 2026.
Original Tracklisting
Phazer Kidz In The Windy City
Dust Me Selecta (featuring Inga Liljeström)
High Jackers Manual
G-House Project (featuring Kylie Minogue)
Fight Revolution Team
Brother Keith On Destructor Mountain (4001) (featuring Kool Keith)
Deka
Hot Computer
Serpentheadz
The Deer In You
Windmills And Birdbaths (Intro)
Windmills And Birdbaths (featuring Solex)
Summer Lake Rewind
We Design The Future
Bonus Tracks:
Deep Fryer
Brother Keith Of Destructor Mountain (Instrumental)
Cornelius Remix
Jacques Lu Cont Remix
Riton Remix
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