‘It’s us’: The Heart Shaped Aces on their upcoming EP and artistic evolution.

The Heart Shaped Aces, a dynamic indie-rock duo of close friends Charlie and Oscar, have taken over the Punters Club in Fitzroy. Completing a month-long residency consisting of four total performances across each Monday, each show features a rotating list of impressive talented performers.

The duo met in high school, although Oscar recounts them not “being that close” during their time spent there. The friendship took off afterwards after Charlie had heard about Oscar’s songwriting from friends, beginning as artists that collaborated on individual projects before evolving into the current partnership.

“It was really good.” Oscar said. “There was a moment where we’d finished this sort of solo project together and I was leaving his garage, and [Charlie’s] got this roller door that rolls down. And he was stood on the inside and I was stood on the outside, and there was a moment of like, ‘what next?’. And neither of us really had the answer, and we’d parked working with each other for almost a year. And then it just felt right to come back together. To start the Heart Shaped Aces.”

“This band has been just like the perfect kind of partnership and the perfect union,” Charlie added. “Compared to being in a band of four, for instance…we’ve both been in other bands and stuff, and still are [Oscar is also in the band ‘Flavour’]. It’s very different in terms of just making things happen.”

The process of creating music in a partnership isn’t always a smooth process, but the pair agreed they had their set roles that they were comfortable in. Oscar handles the visuals for the band, crediting Charlie as the “predominant songwriter”. While they’re each interested in multiple aspects of the creative process, focusing on their particular specialty allows them to hone their craft and individually approach songs with an equal intensity.

“He sort of hears it and I see it, I think one of [Charlie’s] friends described it like that.” Oscar said.

The duo released their first single ‘Devotion’ in August 2023, a grungy single the band described as their “take on rock ‘n roll”. Their latest release, ‘Gasoline’, was released this February, a gentler song with a far lighter tempo that illustrates the direction in which the band seems to be taking their music.

“It needed a teething period to basically work out what we were sonically,” Charlie said, outlining how their music has evolved since they first began the Heart Shaped Aces. “And now, I feel like I’m completely on the same page as him, musically.”

“Devotion felt like it was a good start,” Oscar added. “We wanted it to be really confident, and I think that that song still stands up.”

The band’s first self-titled EP was released in May 2024, featuring 6 songs. The tracklist includes ‘Wonder Lust’, which Charlie laughs at as he labels it a “stinker” when questioned about their first EP. While he describes it as “embarrassing”, Charlie acknowledges the initial EP was a natural part of the creative process that led the duo to the “more comfortable” and “secure” position they find themselves in now.

As the duo have come into their own creatively, they confirm that the inspirations and influences that they started with have now shifted. In 2024, the pair originally listed artists such as Lana Del Rey, the 1975, and the Last Shadow Puppets as influences.

“We still love those artists, those contemporaries are still really relevant in a lot of things we do,” Oscar said. “I mean, it’s natural, you’re influenced by broad ideas when you come together, and then as you get more in tune with each other, the circle closes… It’s almost like two different worlds, completely two different bands, but I think that transgression has to happen. There’s a lot of really really good bands around, even immediately, that are inspiring to us.”

When prompted on any specific Melbourne bands that acted as inspiration to them, Charlie chimed in with ‘Radio Free Alice’, a band whose music he loves and has seen live “a few times”.

“They really sum up what experiencing the best part of that wave of sound that’s all in that world, post-punk. There’s heaps of that going on.” Charlie said.

Oscar nods in agreement as Charlie speaks, before chiming in with his own take on drawing inspiration from the local music scene. “There’s a definite sort of confidence to what they’ve got going on, and their sort of conviction that we’re really into. It’s a cool identity. They’re probably one of the main ones from Melbourne, but there’s plenty of others once you open the can of worms… From a completely different scene, there’s a band called ‘Intermood’, and the way that they sort of manage everything and just really take care of visuals, but also the live show is really inspiring as well.”

The duo recently released the title track of their new EP, ‘Dancing in Decay’, celebrating the launch with a sold out show at the Grace Darling Hotel.

“It’s us,” Charlie said, describing the upcoming EP. “The songs are much more mature–not to say that they’re more complicated, not at all–but like, I think that they’re just more sure of themselves. The whole sound’s consistent, and we handled the production and all aspects of that in house, so naturally you’re gonna get a cohesive kind of sound, and I think we’re really happy with the way it came together.”

“And it makes sense for what feels like is gonna come next as well.” Oscar adds. “It felt like in a lot of ways that the songwriting, even around the time that we were putting out the EP, was well different to what the EP was. Whereas this feels like we’re moving toward something that makes sense.”

“And we’re comfortable sitting in it as well.” Charlie said.

The future looks promising for the indie-rock duo as they discuss plans of announcing an Australian tour in late July or August, mentioning possible shows in cities including Sydney and Adelaide. Keep an eye out for their upcoming gigs via their instagram at @heartshapedaces.

20.04.2025