On the Guestlist: COAST ARCADE

17 June

There’s something undeniably exciting about watching a band step confidently into their own. For Auckland-based four-piece Coast Arcade, that moment arrives with the release of their self-titled debut album — a collection of songs that captures the band's energy, ambition, and ever-evolving sound. Blending influences that span indie rock, grunge, pop-punk, post-punk, Midwest emo and hard rock, Coast Arcade have built a sonic identity that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly modern.

Made up of vocalist and guitarist Bella Bavin, guitarist Arlo Birss, bassist Leo Spykerman and drummer Thom Boynton, Coast Arcade thrive on the unique creative chemistry that comes from four musicians with vastly different musical backgrounds. The result is a sound that's emotionally charged, effortlessly cohesive, and designed to hit just as hard live as it does through your headphones. Ahead of their Australian return, we sat down with the band to chat about the making of Coast Arcade, their songwriting process, balancing life outside the band, dream collaborations, and why they never want to feel like they've completely figured it all out.

Coast Arcade | Credit: Sakina Indrasumunar (@kindravision)

Your self-titled album, ‘Coast Arcade’ feels rooted in a mix of nostalgia and modern indie rock. What were some of the key sonic inspirations behind it, and were there any artists you found yourselves channeling while making the record?

I don’t think there was ever a band where we said, “We want to sound like this.” We wrote a collection of songs that we loved and eventually realised they belonged together as an album.

The cool thing about Coast Arcade is that we all come from pretty different musical backgrounds. Leo brings a lot of metal and post-punk influences, I bring indie rock, grunge and pop-punk, Arlo has his Midwest emo and alternative influences, and Thom brings the big hard-rock energy. When you throw all of that into a room together, you get Coast Arcade.

This album wasn’t really about chasing a particular sound. It was more a statement of, “We’re here, and this is us.”

A lot of your songs build into these big, almost explosive instrumental moments towards the end (which we love) what draws you to that kind of release, and is that something you consciously write into your songs?

Honestly, we just follow wherever the song wants to go.

When we first started out, we shield away from longer instrumental sections because we worried people might lose interest. But with this album, we really wrote for ourselves. We love those moments where the instruments take over, and the emotions do the talking. They’re some of my favourite parts to play live because we get to stop thinking and just enjoy being a band together on stage. They seem to naturally find their way into our songs, and hopefully, they never stop.

Can you walk us through your songwriting process as a band? Who usually brings the initial ideas, and how do they evolve once everyone’s involved?

Our songwriting process is constantly evolving as we grow as a band.

Usually, Leo and I (Bella) will bring in song starters, riffs or half-finished ideas, and then we’ll flesh them out together in the practice room. Lately, Arlo has been bringing some incredible riffs to the table, and Thom has become much more confident sharing melody and lyrical ideas too.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how important live performance is to us. We’ll often play songs over and over before recording them because we want to know how they feel in a room full of people. At the end of the day, we want songs that hit hard live.

You’re all still pretty young, but your sound already feels sonically locked in and cohesive, how did you figure out your sound so early, and was there a moment where it just clicked as a band?

That’s interesting because I’m not sure we’d say we’ve completely figured it out yet haha!

We’re really proud of where the band is sonically, and it definitely feels like we’ve found something that everyone has contributed to and believes in. But we’re always trying to push ourselves and explore new territory.

I think the day we feel like we’ve fully figured it out is probably the day we stop growing, which I hope never happens. We’re constantly chasing the next thing that excites us creatively.

From City Limits onwards, your covers have had a really distinct visual identity, can you tell us more about the ideas behind them, and who’s been involved in creating that side of the project?

To be completely honest, Baited wasn’t originally meant to be on the album, which is why the artwork doesn’t quite fit the visual identity of the releases that followed. But once we heard it in the context of the album, we knew it had to stay.

For the album artwork, we wanted something fun, playful and memorable. Because this record is such a statement of who Coast Arcade is, we wanted the visuals to reflect the band’s personality while also feeling a little more mature and confident than some of our earlier releases.

We worked with an incredibly talented designer called Olive at Cheesin Designs, who helped bring those ideas to life and turn a bunch of voice notes and thoughts into something real.

Every time you head back to Australia, what’s the one thing you’re most excited for and is there a moment from touring there that’s really stuck with you?

New Zealand’s entire population is about the size of Sydney or Melbourne, so when you arrive in those cities, you can almost smell the opportunity in the air. It’s exciting. We also love Australian crowds. They’ve always been incredibly welcoming and engaged, and we’ve had some amazing shows over there already. And I’d be lying if I said food wasn’t part of it too. Sydney’s ramen spots- shout-out Nichi Getsu Do ramen and Melbourne's Good Measure mt blancs have become pretty important parts of the tour.

At one point you were all juggling very different things outside the band whether it was your studies, jobs, or teaching guitar (and maybe still are). How have you managed balancing ‘real life’ with building Coast Arcade, and has that changed now?

I think we’re still figuring it out as we go. We all have jobs outside the band, and some of us work more hours than others. I work part-time so I can dedicate the rest of my time to running Coast Arcade, because we’re completely independent and self-managed.

The goal is obviously to get to a point where the band can sustainably support itself and everyone involved, but for now, we’re still balancing work and music.

What keeps us going is seeing progress. Every release, every show and every opportunity reminds us that we’re moving in the right direction, and that makes the work day go a little quicker.

Bella, being the only woman in the band, what’s your experience been like navigating that dynamic and how have the others helped shape a space that feels collaborative and comfortable? And be honest, who in the band has the worst habits in the studio or on tour?

Coast Arcade was started by me when I was 17, so I’ve never really struggled to have my voice heard within the band. Communication has always been really important to us, and I’ve never felt out of place in the rehearsal room. Sure, every now and then you’ll notice the occasional comment online or something at a show, but it’s never been something I’ve spent much time thinking about. The guys would be the first people to stand up for me if they ever needed to, and I feel really lucky to be surrounded by people who care about each other as much as they do.

As for bad habits - spend two weeks in a van with anybody, and you’ll find a few, including me. But honestly, we’re pretty lucky. We get along incredibly well, and I don’t really have anything negative to say about any of the boys.

If you had to describe each member of Coast Arcade as a character (or even just in one word), what would everyone be?

Leo - Leo is 10000000% Velma from Scooby Do.

Arlo - Arlo is easily the meme of the pitbull with the side-smirk or Squidward from SpongeBob

Thom - Michelangelo from Ninja Turtles. Pure energy, always up for a laugh and somehow never runs out of steam.

Bella - Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda. Constantly trying to keep everyone organised while causing half the chaos.

Give us your Side Stage Selects, a list of songs you all are obsessed with right now, and what’s a song you’ll never get sick of?

This is probably the only thing we’ll genuinely argue about as a band. Choosing songs for playlists is somehow harder than writing them.

We’ve been rinsing the new Basement record lately after listening to it on the flight to Australia. We’ve also been loving the recent releases from Violet Grohl, plus “Hanging Out To Dry” by Florence Road.

A couple of our mates have also put out songs we’ve been loving: “Hush” by Ivy and “Good Person” by Dillon Jo.

Looking ahead, what’s next for Coast Arcade? Are there any goals or directions you’re excited to explore as a band?

Right now, we’re focused on being ourselves and enjoying the ride. We’ve spent the last six months writing a huge amount of music, and we’re already putting together plans for what comes next. We’re heading back to Australia at the end of July to tour with Silversun Pickups, and we’re working on more headline shows across New Zealand and Australia. It’s an exciting time. It genuinely feels like the possibilities are endless right now. As long as we’re making music together, we’ll be happy.

Dream collaboration, no rules! Who’s on your list and what would that track sound like?

Paramore is probably the easiest answer. Sonically, it just feels like it would make sense.

Deftones would be incredible - no explanation needed.

Olivia Rodrigo would be a really fun one too. Imagine her songwriting over a wall of fuzzy guitars and a much grungier instrumental in the middle? Perfection!

Then you’ve got dream bands like Foo Fighters and The Smashing Pumpkins.

And personally, I’d love to work with Ruby Fields one day. I’ve been a fan for years.

We could keep answering this question all day.

With a debut album under their belt, a growing catalogue of anthems made for packed rooms, and plenty more music already in the works, Coast Arcade are showing no signs of slowing down. As they continue to carve out their place across New Zealand and Australia, one thing remains clear: they're a band driven by genuine friendship, creative curiosity, and a love for making music together.

Keep scrolling for a look behind the scenes of their Brisbane stop, featuring our photo gallery from the show alongside exclusive disposable camera diary snapshots captured by the band on the road.