Let’s face it, the current world is in rather a fetid state. We can choose to let it overwhelm us and watch the dank waters rise over our heads, or seek escape and consolation, and even resist. And like some sort of rainbow bridge across the dark miasma, Gold Coast (Yugambeh/Kombumerri)-based six-piece Selve, appear with their album ‘Breaking Into Heaven’ – stunningly their debut – which makes you think there’s a degree of hope amongst all the darkness, offered, as always, by the Arts. And while the joyous luminescent rays of this album cast light into the darkness, that doesn’t relegate it into frippery and frothy buoyancy, for deep in its DNA is the very strong thread of resistance and resilience born from the band’s proudly indigenous members.
Recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studio, it is an album filled with passion that sparkles with intensity from the opening notes.
It’s not that often you get an overwhelming lightning bolt of pleasure from hearing something so astounding for the first time, and from the opening bars of ‘Breaking Into Heaven’ you know you are in the presence of something very, very special.
Kicking off with a crescendo of sound, proud Jabirr Jabirr man Loki Liddle’s sardonic abrasive delivery kicks in with a kung-fu strike to the head. It is like a blowtorch lighting the fuse for a rocket blast as the track bursts into an exhilarating motorik pulse. A cathartic throbbing pulse on the way has the effect of the application of a defibrillator to the heart without an off switch.
Liddle’s delivery has a delicious sneering quality to it, a curled upper lip, a raised eyebrow and a thousand-yard stare as he spits out the lyrics:
Breaking into heaven is your birthright Sonny Jim
Do you think I’d waste space and time thinking about sin?
Breaking into heaven is your birthright Sonny Jim
The pearly gates won’t open baby kick that fucker in
Liddle says the song is about:
…breaking in and subverting the centres of power that have been used to author our fates en masse, stealing the pen back from the stealer and sprawling a First Nations story and future across the heavens above
Indeed the entire delivery is filled with a sense of redemptive anger: a turbo charged declaration of resilience and empowerment. The accompanying video directed by Liddle and Joshua Tate, is as visceral and cathartic as the track: a spoken word declaration followed by swirling coordinated movements, a paramilitary dance of resistance and pride and the band in a whirling dervish of a performance.
The video was inspired by films like Asteroid City and 2001: A Space Odyssey, shot in one continuous drone shot at the Scenic Rim Aerodrome in Kooralbyn that sees Blakfullas breaking into heaven via propeller plane, and features First Nations dance company Karul Projects and a powerful opening monologue by Kamilaroi activist and artist Uncle Richard Bell.
‘Rapture’ sets off with a fuzzy wall of throbbing sound and Liddle’s breathless sardonic tones, semi-rapped and a celestial chorus. The stabbing synth riffs sets the atmosphere on fire and the general tone is of some sort of revival church of worship replete with chanting and hypnosis.
With a fuzzy bass throbbing underneath like a vein providing blood flow, ‘Strange Romance’ is funky and assured, brim full of swagger and attitude, delivered with an arched eyebrow, hand on hip and a glint of something wicked and licentious in the eye. Try not to tap those feet: the delivery is infectious and likely to generate a St Vitus’ dance syndrome in the most indolent person.
Liddle eloquently explains the themes and influences of the track::
‘Strange Romance’ is an interstellar voyage that takes the animal within on a trip to outer space. We wanted to showcase the depth and dimension that comes from the great legacy of First Nations dance. Inspired by our time flying around the world in the creation of this album, from Broome to France, London to Berlin and back, we strove to really just make a super badass EDM rock banger that communicated the electrifying experiencing that we were having, with the goal of spreading that feeling like wildfire. Dance has been at the heart of our communities since time immemorial, so it seemed only natural to wed the song to it, and hand this one largely over to the incredible Karul Projects – who we were lucky enough to work with again – to conjure the spine tingling magic that the song called for, and take it 10 levels further. It’s of course tied to the SCU – with our astronaut character running through cane fields, cutting between a dark void and green fields to mirror the strange magic of the song. As to how exactly it all fits in, you’ll just have to wait to see the other videos! In the meantime, we hope you catch the Strange Romance bug.
The lyrics capture this louche, slightly surreal aura:
Smoking cigarettes in heaven
With the answer on my lips
Then I pinned you to the wall
With an apocalyptic kiss
Well I woke up in a coffin
On an interstellar ship
You know I made it through the rapture
Cause I gotta scratch that itch
The track is accompanied by an evocative video that continues themes from the first two singles.
Co-directed by Liddle and Tate, it was shot on Bundjalung Country that further expands the band’s SCU (Selve Cinematic Universe) as an unanswered non-linear drama surrounding Liddle’s space-suited-up astronaut character introduced via videos for ‘Breaking Into Heaven‘ and ‘Loki Horror Picture Show‘. All drawn from Liddle’s forthcoming poetry book Damn Good Television (due 2026) which continues to unfold, seeing him sprint through the green cane fields while reality bends and shifts into a realm where dance is everything.
The clip is made “120% deadlier” by showcasing the power of First Nations dance via the work of Karul Projects – who also appeared in the ‘Breaking Into Heaven‘ clip and the immersive visuals at Selve’s exclusive live album preview last week, which featured the band playing the album in full alongside the 33-piece Australian Session Orchestra at BLEACH* Festival – and is stylistically inspired by 00s visuals from The Presets, The Prodigy & Chemical Brothers.
The opening chiming guitars of ‘Butterfly’ lead into a yearning romantic ballad with some fruity language that highlights Liddle’s sense of humour. Far more restrained this is a classic pop song that has the glamour and pose of bands like ABC or Roxy Music. It takes us to ‘Leading Man’ which continues a motif that runs through the album centred around entertainment and showmanship with a soaring chorus.
It comes with a clip starring Indigenous Australian actress/model Charlee Fraser (Mad Max: Furiosa, Anyone But You). It is, Liddle says, undoubtedly the coolest song on the record, and the most badass tune to celebrate the momentous release of Breaking Into Heaven.
Charlee Fraser says of her connection to the video and the song’s story:
When the opportunity to be part of ‘Leading Man Lost’ came up, it felt less like a decision and more like a calling. The story was instantly familiar to me. Reading the concept for the first time felt like someone had distilled a part of my life into a narrative. The shoot itself was profound—it wasn’t just a performance, it was an embodiment. I got to live out a version of myself, to walk through a story that felt deeply familiar. And what’s most beautiful is the ending—that return to self, to truth. That’s been my journey, over and over again. I don’t think we ever fully lose ourselves, but sometimes we forget. And projects like this remind us. They ground us. Being part of Leading Man Lost felt entirely meant to be. It was serendipitous, powerful, and healing in its own way. I’m just incredibly grateful that our paths crossed, and that I got to tell this story—not just as an actor, but as someone who’s lived it.
The humorously titled track ‘Loki Horror Picture Show’ reveals another side to the band: an ability to inject funky day-glo humour into their music in a track that bubbles and pops with a gay abandon: it is carefree, funky and uninhibitedly joyous: glam-infested hyper pop you need shades on from its luminescent glow.
Liddle’s vocal are louche and filled with an insolent incousiance and the delivery make you gyrate wildly with a chorus that soars like a free wheeling albatross. The self-referential title makes passing references to rock and pop icons – Charlie XCX and Lou Reed – and the band’s recording experience in Abbey Road Studios, and mixes an element of pride with the feeling of imposter syndrome as Liddle repeats ‘I’m alright’ in a tone that suggests perhaps he isn’t. It’s absolutely brilliant stuff – funky and funny delivered with an arched brow and a sardonic smile:
Well I feel like Lou Reed
Smoking a big cigarette
I’m here in Madison Square Garden
With my own fighter jet
Chatting like a brat
To Charli xcx
Bout why the global revolution
Hasn’t happened yet
And if the song wasn’t enough to put a spring in the step, the accompanying video, directed again by Liddle and Tate, adds fuel to the fire. Set in some sort of post life threatening event, it ups the glam ante with its hilarious game show take and enhances the sense of imposter syndrome felt by the protagonist. Liddle says of the video:
The ‘Loki Horror Picture Show’ music video is an exploration of identity, mental health and the dangers of getting lost in the sauce when chasing your dreams. This version of myself in a dying delusion of grandeur is a hyperbolic representation of the parts of ourselves we are willing to sacrifice and compromise in order to pursue a vision of success. We wanted to underpin the spectacle with a little bit of darkness to make clear that we’re not glorifying it, but investigating its absurdity. The device of the gunshot came from this place – to contrast the lightness of the song and create a sense of unease – however it was important for me to have the gunshot be off-camera, stylised and implied rather than shown in great detail, as depictions of gun violence are something that I know require great sensitivity.”
The slamming synth riffs that carry ‘Natural Born Killa’ signals another visceral delivery as Liddle proudly declares his strong ancestral links, a chanting explosive delivery. ‘Willem Dafoe’ treads lightly on the brakes in a dreamy paean to the cinematic universe with numerous movie references (adding to the cinematic themes that run throughout the album) and a James Bond guitar riff. It’s all about obsession and pretence delivered in a sweeping track that has all the bombast and drama of a movie soundtrack.
‘Reflections in the Water’ is a dreamy liquid interlude with swirling piano – almost serving as a moment to draw your breath after all the theatricality and drama with its chorus of voices soft and reflective. It fittingly precedes ‘Catch My Breath’ that coasts on delicate acoustic guitars, bringing to the fore Liddle’s yearning voice and layered backing vocals: a soft gospel style delight.
‘Friday Night’ – a sweet and gentle paean to the exquisite feelings of love. It’s a whole different side to this band – a track that is ethereal and floating, coasting on a yearning emotional wave with subtlety and a melodic delicacy. The band says it is:
…undeniably the sweetest and most lush song on the record
Liddle explains:
‘Friday Night’ is song coming from a sad time that transformed into something beautiful and redemptive – a Cadillac by the river, Bonnie and Clyde romance. It was the hardest song to get across the line. We couldn’t find a chorus and were in the studio for 2-3 hours ad-libbing shit, we were about to give up hope – then I found it: ‘If nothing matters / then why do you matter to me’ – and we knew that was it, a skin of our teeth kind of moment! We hope you feel washed by its gentle waves of healing, redemption and real love
The lyrics reveal the sweet nostaglia:
Lost in the world
For a sacrifice
Call me in the morning
From the other side
She grabbed my face and said
If nothing matters
Then why do you
Matter to me?
Liddle’s vocals are yearning, expressive, coasting on a swell of strings and a lush bed of sound, illuminated by harmonies that create heavenly layers. Utterly divine and celestial music. The track is boosted by a twin screen video directed by Liddle and Joshua Tate:
‘Forever’ continues the reflective pace of the second half of the album: a six minute ballad filled with delicate piano and yearning vocals with Liddle delivering the archetypal Las Vegas lounge singer torch lit perfomance with an anthemic finale. Final track ‘Mabu Walu’ is another reflective track that proudly recounts the journey of Liddle, nodding proudly to his background as a Jabba Jabba man with a universal plan.
‘Breaking into Heaven’ is a triumph: an album of two stunning halves – funky, filthy and angry in the first half, soft reflective and dreamy in the second: a mixture of steadfast resolve and defiance mixed in with a passionate acknowledge of roots and the past that have created the present. And throughout there is a brilliant theatricality and showmanship that is creative and expressive.
Selve are proving themselves to be titans of intelligent dance music: delivering epic anthemic songs that thrill with a message: this is clearly one of the albums of the year.
‘Breaking Into Heaven’ is out now and can be downloaded and streamed here.
Catch the band live – see below.
Tickets available here
*most album tour dates free entry
Fri 12 Sep – Strange Days Vintage – Gold Coast, Yugambeh Country QLD*
Fri 26 Sep – Princess Theatre – Meanjin/Brisbane, Turrbal & Jagera Country QLD*^
Sat 27 Sep – Gloucester Country Club – Gloucester, Guringai Watoo & Kabook Country NSW
Thu 2 Oct – The Lass O’Gowrie Hotel – Mulubinba/Newcastle, Awabakal & Worimi Country NSW
Sat 4 Oct – Vic On The Park – Eora/Sydney, Gadigal Country NSW
Fri 10 Oct – Felons Barrel Hall – Meanjin/Brisbane, Turrbal & Jagera Country QLD^^
Sat 11 Oct – Mo’s Desert Clubhouse 6th Birthday – Gold Coast, Yugambeh Country QLD*^^^
Mon 13-Sun 19 Oct – SXSW Sydney – Eora/Sydney, Gadigal Country NSW*
Fri 7 Nov – Lulie Tavern – Naarm/Melbourne, Wurundjeri Country VIC
Fri 14 Nov – Elsewhere – Gold Coast, Yugambeh Country QLD
Sun 28 Dec-Thu 1 Jan – Lost Paradise, Darkinjung Country/Glenworth Valley NSW *
* non album tour date
^ with Winston Surfshirt
^^ with J.B Paterson
^^^ with The Delta Riggs
Feature Photograph: Josh Tate
Related
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