Bitumen sets third album ‘Reality Red’ for 6 November, shares ‘Perffect Dress’ video
Melbourne post-punk band Bitumen announces third album “Reality Red,” out 6 November 2026 on It Records, and shares the video for “Perffect Dress.”
Five years after the industrial post-punk turn of “Cleareye Shining,” Melbourne band Bitumen announces its third album, “Reality Red,” due 6 November 2026 on It Records in digital and limited-edition transparent red vinyl. The album’s first single is “Perffect Dress,” out now with an official video.
“Reality Red” runs 8 tracks: “Scent of Angels,” “Minutes of Pure Joy,” “Perffect Dress,” “Silversound,” “Rites Private,” “Architect of the Overflow,” “Casino Black” and “Racing Leather.” The band is Kate Binning (vocals), Sam Varney, Bryce Maher (bouzouki) and Simon Maisch (backing vocals, recording and production).
Bitumen’s video for ‘Perffect Dress’
“Perffect Dress” was recorded by Maisch at Lily Street Studios in Coburg North, with Andy Huhtanen McEwan of Tongue Dissolver playing drums as a guest. It is the first Bitumen recording to use live drums alongside the band’s usual instrumentation, including Maher’s bouzouki. The video shows the band gathered around an open fire against corrugated metal, with overlapping close-ups of instruments and Binning’s performance. Band photography is credited to Emily Herbert.
About Bitumen
It Records has released all three Bitumen albums to date. The Melbourne band’s self-titled debut came out on 26 July 2016, recorded and mixed by Maisch, Binning, Maher and Varney at Magnet studio in Preston and Coburg; its 10 tracks included a cover of Public Image Ltd’s “Religion.” The 2021 follow-up, “Cleareye Shining,” moved the band further into industrial post-punk territory.
“Reality Red,” due 6 November 2026, is Bitumen’s third album and its first to feature a guest drummer. Binning’s lyrics on the record draw on both invented and real-life characters. “Perffect Dress,” the lead single, is out now with its official video.
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