Whose Party didn’t even exist when Ivy applied for The Brightside’s Battle of the Bands. She didn’t have a band name, or even a band, and only managed to assemble members in time for the heat after a few Facebook posts. “I taught them about 10 songs in a couple of months,” she says. “We didn’t even have a name, so we performed as ‘Ivy.’” They won their heat anyway, and somehow that shaky debut turned out to be the start of something solid.
Now they’re releasing amazing singles recorded in Ivy's bedroom that still sound big enough to fill up a festival stage. Their latest, Cutting the Vines, is what happens when DIY is done properly. “My dad’s a musician and music teacher,” she explained. “He gave me my first acoustic and electric guitars, along with a lot of the gear we use for rehearsing and recording. He’s mixed and produced our recent singles and always gives feedback and guidance. I wouldn’t be doing this without him (and Mum).”
Recording at home gave Whose Party time to tweak every detail, but Ivy admits that’s a double-edged sword. “It made it way too easy to overthink and overwork things,” she says. “We’ve definitely learned from that going into the next release.”
Their latest release "Cutting the Vines" started as an acoustic track back in 2025. The whole band has reshaped it into something massive compared to the stripped-back original.
There’s a line in the chorus, “although I asked you to, I don’t want you to listen,” that Ivy says came straight out of frustration. “I put so much pressure on myself, and sometimes it builds to the point where I just want to pack it in,” she explains. “Artists are probably meant to love sharing their work, but that doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m asking people to listen to our music, but a lot of the time I don’t actually want anyone to hear it. That contradiction can spiral into self-doubt.”
That contrast runs deep across the track. The title, Cutting the Vines, comes from imagining a life where she steps off the merry-go-round of promotion and marketing. The freedom in stopping and not trying so hard. “It’s such a recurring feeling, it naturally shapes the way I write,” she says.
Whose Party live performances could sit comfortably on a lineup with The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins or Veruca Salt, and Local Sounds picked up on their music for that exact reason.
The band is releasing music at a breakneck speed with four releases in the last 12 months. Ivy admits it’s intense trying to meet tight deadlines, but it works for now because they’re still early in the game. “We’ve got momentum driving us, but it’s also been stressful at times. Setting tight deadlines can lead to self-doubt, and it all piles up,” she says. “I’ve been trying to focus more on what I actually love, which is writing and creating.”
There’s no grand master plan for the rest of 2026. They’re going to focus on what comes naturally, writing, experimenting with their sound, and building their ever growing following. “We’ve built a small presence already,” Ivy says, “but we’re hoping to spend less time on admin and more time actually creating together.” It’s working. You can keep up to date on Whose Party via streaming platforms and all the usual socials, but honestly, just start with Cutting the Vines and go from there.
Stream "Cutting The Vines" now on Local Sounds https://localsounds.com.au/song/whose-party/cutting-the-vines
SoundVerge Editorial
Independent music journalism
