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Last Dinosaurs is an Australian
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia who formed in 2007. The band consists of Sean Caskey and Lachlan Caskey, both of whom are lead vocalists and guitarists, and bassist Michael Sloane. The Caskey brothers are of Japanese descent. The band's debut 2010 EP, '' Back From The Dead'' and subsequent 2012 debut studio album, '' In A Million Years,'' received critical praise from Australian media critics, including
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
. The band is currently signed to
independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...
Dew Process Dew Process is an Australian independent record label, based in Brisbane, Queensland, founded and owned by Australian music industry figure Paul Piticco. Operational The label operates in two primary areas: traditional development of Australi ...
in Australia and
Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of the Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...
in the UK. Internationally, Last Dinosaurs distributes through
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
. On 28 August 2015, Last Dinosaurs released their second album, '' Wellness''. On 5 October 2018, the band released their third album, ''
Yumeno Garden ''Yumeno Garden'' is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band, Last Dinosaurs. The album was released on October 5, 2018, through Dew Process. ''Yumeno Garden'' debuted at number 26 in the Australian ARIA Charts The ARIA Char ...
''. On 4 November 2022, they released their fourth album, ''From Mexico With Love.'' On 21 May 2024, they released their fifth album, ''KYORYU.''


History


Formation: 2007–2009

In 2007, Sean Caskey and former drummer Dan Koyama met during high school, starting a band called "The Cairos" that would later become Last Dinosaurs. Soon afterwards, Sean's younger brother, Lachlan Caskey, joined the band as lead guitarist. Sam Gethin-Jones also joined as their bassist. The band is named after the song "Last Dinosaur" by the Japanese rock band, The Pillows.


''Back From The Dead:'' 2009–2010

After launching their debut extended-play in 2010, the band found success after posting their demo to the
Triple J Unearthed Triple J Unearthed is an Australian digital radio station and online music discovery platform. It is a sister station of Triple J, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Unearthed began in 1995 as a regional talent competition open to ...
project. Not long after, they were interviewed by radio DJ
Zan Rowe Susanna "Zan" Rowe is an Australian radio and television presenter. Rowe is regular presenter on Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC digital radio station Double J (radio), Double J and host of the podcast and television series Take 5. Row ...
. The hit track "Honolulu" from '' Back from the Dead'' was placed on high rotation on national broadcaster
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
, giving the band significant traction. They were invited to play at music festivals including
Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
, the Laneway Festival, the
Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve and January period. The festival hosts contem ...
and Southbound, and supported bands such as
Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...
,
Matt & Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American Indie rock#Indie electronic, indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The ...
, Lost Valentinos and
Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...
.


''In A Million Years:'' 2011–2012

In early 2011, the band announced that they planned to record their debut album after their "Back from the Dead" tour in mid-2010. In June 2011, the band started a
Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...
blog narrating their recording process for the album with producer Jean-Paul Fung at BJB Studios in Sydney, Australia. The album '' In A Million Years'' was released on 2 March 2012. The album made an Australian Top 10 Debut, ranking eighth on the Australian Albums Chart and number 2 on the digital album charts. The band completed a sold-out national tour in Australia, going on to tour in the UK and Europe. They later released the album in the UK in September 2012.


''Wellness'': 2013–2015

On 23 July 2013, Sam Gethin-Jones announced that he was leaving the band in order to pursue a different musical sound and personal pathway. Beginning with their South African tour in September 2013, Michael Sloane toured with Last Dinosaurs, substituting as bass player and providing backing vocals. Sloane had previously worked with the band as a bassist and music video director for "Zoom," "Time and Place," and "Andy." On 28 January 2014, Last Dinosaurs officially announced that Michael had returned as a full-time bassist. On 1 May 2015, Last Dinosaurs released "Evie," the first single from their upcoming second album ''Wellness''. "Evie" was premiered by
Linda Marigliano Linda Marigliano (born Carmelinda Marigliano; 27 September 1984) is an Australians, Australian television and radio presenter, podcaster, musician and disc jockey, DJ, best known for her work on FBi Radio and Triple J. She also played bass guit ...
on Triple J's "Good Nights" program on 30 April 2015. The second single, "Apollo," was also premiered by Marigliano on Triple J's Good Nights program on 15 July 2015, along with the announcement of Last Dinosaurs' second album, ''Wellness''. Recording occurred at The Grove Studios near
Gosford, New South Wales Gosford is a Waterfront (area), waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic v ...
. ''Wellness'' was released internationally on 26 August 2015. The album featured all new songs except "Zero" and "Stream," which the band debuted live while touring in 2013. ''Wellness'' debuted at number 18 in the Australian
ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
. The ''Wellness'' tour was completed from 15 September 2015 to 18 October 2015. In 2016, they completed the "Miracle Methods" tour, which was exclusive to Australia.


''Yumeno Garden:'' 2018–2019

On 20 February 2018, Last Dinosaurs released their first new single, "Dominos," and two corresponding music videos. "Eleven," the second single, was released on 4 July 2018. Soon after, a music video for "Eleven" was uploaded on 30 July 2018. On 5 October 2018, the band's self-produced third album, ''
Yumeno Garden ''Yumeno Garden'' is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band, Last Dinosaurs. The album was released on October 5, 2018, through Dew Process. ''Yumeno Garden'' debuted at number 26 in the Australian ARIA Charts The ARIA Char ...
'', was released. During an interview that took place after the album's release, it was clarified that Dan Koyama was no longer a part of the band. On 24 April 2019, Last Dinosaurs announced a European tour, playing them in late November. Shortly after completing their first US tour in the spring, they announced they would return to more US cities in October/November 2019.


Standalone Singles: 2019-2020

On 30 September 2019, Last Dinosaurs released a new single titled "FMU" before beginning their US/EU tour, premiering it on Triple J's "Good Nights" show with Ebony Boadu. It has been spoken of several times in interviews that the meaning of the song's lyrics relates to the tense relationship between
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. On 17 April 2020, the band released another single titled "Flying," which was initially a demo from Lachlan's
SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
. The song is a departure from their usual indie rock sound, gearing more towards
house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
and
nu-disco Nu-disco is a 21st-century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in the late 1970s disco, synthesizer-heavy 1980s European dance music styles, and early 1990s electronic dance music. The genre was popular in the early 2000s, and exp ...
.


''From Mexico With Love:'' 2022

On 11 February 2022, the band released their first single for the LP, "Collect Call." They proceeded to release, in the succeeding months, five more singles including "Look Back" on 25 March, "CDMX" on 5 May, "The Hating" on 23 June, "Auto-Sabotage" on 4 August, and "Put Up With The Weather!" on 15 September. ''From Mexico With Love'' released in full on 4 November 2022. The album was written by Lachlan Caskey in Mexico where he was quarantined during
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. He cited the country as being a site of inspiration. The band and James Agnus co-produced the LP once Lachlan returned to Australia, where he was recorded as the album's lead vocalist.


''KYORYU:'' 2023-2024

On 10 November 2023, they released the EP ''RYU'', containing the singles "Afterlife" (released 1 September 2023), and "Walking on Ice" (released 6 October 2023). On 11 January 2024, "N.P.D" and its music video was released as the first single for the companion EP, ''KYO''. The second single and music video, "Keys To Your Civic" was released on 23 February 2024. ''KYO'' released on the 5th of April 2024, and the complete LP project of ''KYORYU'' was released 21 May 2024. There were published companion manga releases for each half of the album. ''KYORYU'' has been characterized by both Caskeys as being a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
focused in a dystopian future with AI satellites and outer space exploration. The EP titles, ''RYU'' and ''KYO'', are shortened versions of their Japanese middle names: "Ryusuke" for Sean, and "Kyohei" for Lachlan. When their names are placed together, ''KYORYU'' translates to
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
in Japanese, which Lachlan stated in an interview was just "a coincidence."


Members

Current * Sean Caskey – lead and backup vocals, rhythm and lead guitar (2007–Present) * Lachlan Caskey – lead and backup vocals, rhythm and lead guitar (2007–Present) * Michael Sloane – bass (2007, 2013–Present) Touring * Alistar Richardson – drums (2019) * Finn Polbodetto – drums (2022) * Jasper Gundersen – drums (2023) Former * Sam Gethin-Jones – bass (2007–2013) * Dan Koyama – drums (2007–2018)


Discography


Studio Albums


Extended Plays


Singles


Awards and nominations


APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...
(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982. ! , - ,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, "Zoom" (Sean Caskey / Lachlan Caskey / Samuel Gethin-Jones / Dan Koyama) , Song of the Year , , , -


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Dinosaurs Australian indie rock groups Australian power pop groups Australian synth-pop groups Australian dance-punk musical groups Fiction Records artists Dew Process artists Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Brisbane Australian people of Japanese descent