Auckland-based four piece group Openside have made their 2018 debut with the release of their empowering new single and stunning companion video ‘No Going Back’, with the video premiering on Alternative Press.

The single signals a further refinement of sound for Openside. Drawing on influences from epic 80s and 90s power ballads, the band wanted to create something that felt both mournful and triumphant – reflecting on closing one chapter of your life and being ready to open another.

Written at Golden Age Studios in Auckland with producer Josh Fountain (MAALA, Leisure, Thomston) and songwriter Dave Baxter (Avalanche City), vocalist Possum Plows drew inspiration for the song from a recent phone conversation with an ex. “I was staring at the ceiling in my bedroom when my ex's name flashed up on my phone screen,” says Possum. “I felt like I’d been living in limbo for the six months since we separated, trying to muddle my way through understanding if our future was going to be together or apart. After hanging up the phone I realised it was well and truly over and within a matter of hours started writing what would become ‘No Going Back’.

The video, directed by Shae Sterling (Stan Walker, Jamie McDell, Brooke Fraser) is a nod to suburban teen films like Donnie Darko and Heathers, and features the deer mask from Goodnight Nurse’s KEEP ME ON YOUR SIDE album art, which was a big influence for all the band members in the days of their pop-punk youth.

The new single follows on from Openside’s breakthrough single ‘I Feel Nothing’ in 2017, a track that shot to number one on the New Zealand Viral 50 Spotify chart upon release, with its video seeing over 80,000 views on YouTube. Openside have proved their talent and abilities as amazing performers over the past few years, headlining their own shows and opening for everyone from Twenty One Pilots to All Time Low, Fall Out Boy and Ellie Goulding.