Sydney’s much-loved indie outfit Youth Group have unveiled their brand-new single Saturday Dad, the second track lifted from their forthcoming sixth studio album Big Whoop, set for release on 31 October 2025 via Impressed Recordings in collaboration with Cassell Records. To coincide with the release, the band will embark on a national tour running from 31 October to 8 November, marking another milestone in a remarkable 25-year journey.
Frontman Toby Martin describes Saturday Dad as “a microdrama about modern parenting, undercut by a sweet, swinging shuffle.” The track was co-written with long-time guitarist Cameron Emerson-Elliott, and Martin says it was born out of late-night writing sessions at Emerson-Elliott’s kitchen table. The new single follows The Joke, released earlier this year, and continues to showcase Youth Group’s signature blend of warmth, wit and wistful melody – qualities that made them one of the defining Australian indie bands of the 2000s.
“Cam had this riff, melody and chorus,” Martin explains. “I added the verse lyrics, and suddenly it became this bittersweet story about the everyday complications of family life.”
Big Whoop captures Youth Group’s classic jangly guitars and introspective lyricism, while exploring fresh ground with a more rhythm-driven, dance-rock energy. Early listeners have called it their strongest work since their ARIA-winning era, when the band’s cover of Alphaville’s Forever Young went to number one and became the first Australian track to top the newly created ARIA Digital Singles Chart in 2006.
That hit, initially recorded for the soundtrack of The O.C., propelled Youth Group from Sydney’s inner-west to international recognition. It earned them the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single and took them on tour across the globe alongside Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, Kings of Leon and Interpol.
Formed in the late 1990s in Newtown, Youth Group grew out of Sydney’s vibrant indie scene. The founding lineup included Toby Martin, Danny Lee Allen, Andy Cassell, and Paul Murphy, with Emerson-Elliott and bassist Patrick Matthews (ex-The Vines) joining in 2004. Their early albums, Urban & Eastern (2000) and Skeleton Jar (2004), built a cult following both locally and in the US, after punk label Epitaph Records took the unexpected step of signing the band despite their melodic, melancholic sound.
By the time Casino Twilight Dogs arrived in 2006, Youth Group had cemented their place among Australia’s most respected alternative acts. Their music evoked comparisons to Teenage Fanclub, Pavement and Death Cab for Cutie, while maintaining a uniquely Australian poetic sensibility thanks to Martin’s lyrical storytelling – perhaps inherited from his grandfather, poet David Martin.
After a decade-long break, the band re-emerged with Australian Halloween in 2019 and have since found a renewed creative spark. Big Whoop represents both a return to form and a leap forward, full of the melodic melancholy and sharp songwriting that made Youth Group a mainstay of Australian music.
Youth Group – 2025 Australian Tour Dates
FRI 31 OCT – Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney
Special Guests: The S-ft F-cus, 78 Saab, Lisa Caruso
SAT 01 NOV – Valley Loft, Brisbane
Special Guests: The S-ft F-cus, Greg Brady and The Anchors
FRI 07 NOV – Milk Bar, Perth
Special Guests: The S-ft F-cus, Jae Laffer (The Panics)
SAT 08 NOV – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Special Guests: The S-ft F-cus, Hannah Cameron
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