The Rubens will release their sixth studio album, Group Therapy, and take the new record on an extensive Australian tour beginning in October.
by Paul Cashmere
The Rubens have announced their sixth studio album, Group Therapy, alongside a 14-date Australian tour that will take the Menangle band through capital cities, regional centres and suburban locations from October. The first single from the album, ‘Love Me America’, opens the new record and reflects on the band’s long-running relationship with the United States and the ambitions that shaped their early career.
The tour begins at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on October 16 and continues through South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia before concluding in Wagga Wagga on December 12. The band has also indicated that further dates will be announced.
The Rubens have chosen a deliberately broad touring route, continuing a connection with regional Australia that dates back to their early years. Tickets have also been priced with the current cost-of-living environment in mind, according to the band, with the intention of keeping live shows accessible while extending the tour beyond the major capitals.
‘Love Me America’ provides the first substantial indication of the direction of Group Therapy. The album opener begins with a dense guitar arrangement before moving between acoustic passages and a more expansive rock production.
The song draws directly on The Rubens’ first experiences working in the United States. The band travelled to New York to make its debut album and subsequently encountered American record-industry interest, including meetings over dinners and attendance at Los Angeles Kings games. The experience became part of the songwriting behind ‘Love Me America’, which considers both the attraction of the American music industry and the distance between expectation and reality.
Singer Sam Margin described the song as a complicated expression of affection for the country.
“‘Love Me America’ is a love song to America, but not a simple one,” Margin said. “It’s about the scale of its promise, the thrill of chasing something big, and the strange desire to belong somewhere that can still feel just beyond your reach.”
Keyboardist Elliott Margin similarly viewed the relationship as one that has continued despite the difficulties of establishing a lasting presence in the US. The Rubens have returned to America for performances and recording projects, including work with Run The Jewels collaborators Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby and a collaboration with Chicago rapper Vic Mensa.
The group’s history in the US sits within a broader career that has established The Rubens as one of Australia’s more enduring alternative rock bands of the 2010s and 2020s. Formed in Menangle, New South Wales, in 2011, the band consists of brothers Sam, Elliott and Izaac Margin, alongside Scott Baldwin and William Zeglis.
Their first recording, ‘Lay It Down’, was uploaded to triple j Unearthed in 2011, helping establish the band nationally. The self-titled The Rubens followed in 2012 and reached the ARIA Top 5. ‘My Gun’ reached No. 10 in the 2012 triple j Hottest 100, while ‘The Best We Got’ also appeared in the countdown.
The Rubens consolidated that early momentum with Hoops in 2015. The album debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, while its title track subsequently won the triple j Hottest 100. ‘Hoops’ has since achieved multi-Platinum certification in Australia.
Their third album, LO LA RU, reached No. 3 in 2018 and produced ‘Never Ever’, featuring Sarah Aarons. The song became a major Australian radio hit and won the APRA Rock Work of the Year award in 2019. The same period saw The Rubens support P!NK on her Australian and New Zealand arena tour and perform with Vic Mensa at Splendour In The Grass.
The band reached No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart with 0202 in 2021. The album also earned ARIA recognition for its production, while ‘Live In Life’ became one of the group’s biggest streaming songs.
Their fifth studio album, SODA, was released in 2024 and was followed by a 28-date regional Australian tour that drew more than 30,000 people. That run reinforced the band’s established touring model, in which regional audiences are treated as an important part of the national touring circuit rather than an extension of a capital-city campaign.
With Group Therapy, The Rubens are entering their 16th year as a band with a catalogue that spans five previous studio albums, major festival appearances, international touring and multiple ARIA-certified singles. The new album will be followed by an Australian tour designed around both established markets and smaller centres.
SELVE, fronted by Jabirr Jabirr singer Loki Liddle, will support The Rubens on every announced date except those in Western Australia.
The Rubens Group Therapy Tour
Presented by triple j
Fri 16 Oct, Sydney, NSW, City Recital Hall
Fri 23 Oct, Adelaide, SA, The Gov
Sat 24 Oct, Mt Gambier, SA, The Globe Hotel
Thu 29 Oct, Coolum, QLD, Black Flag Brewing
Fri 30 Oct, Brisbane, QLD, The Tivoli
Sat 31 Oct, D’Aguilar, QLD, D’Ag Pub
Thu 5 Nov, Castlemaine, VIC, Theatre Royal
Fri 6 Nov, Melbourne, VIC, Forum
Sat 7 Nov, Barwon Heads, VIC, Barwon Heads Hotel
Fri 20 Nov, Hobart, TAS, Odeon Theatre
Sat 21 Nov, Forth, TAS, Forth Pub
Thu 3 Dec, Fremantle, WA, Freo Social
Fri 4 Dec, Margaret River, WA, The River
Sat 12 Dec, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Romano’s
SELVE supports all shows except WA.
Ticket Details
Ticket information is available via The Rubens’ official website: http://www.therubensmusic.com/
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