If the modern shoe fits, hit the road. Any Young Mechanic got the memo, and they’re running with it.
Hailing from Tarntanya/Adelaide, the Australian alt/indie folk band is currently far from home, completing another lap of the United Kingdom and Europe, one that has included three well-received performances to the music industry at The Great Escape in Brighton, a fundraiser for War Child at London’s Shacklewell Arms, and is now cruising into a batch of summer continental festival dates.
The pan-European jaunt comes in support of the five-piece’s critically lauded debut The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot, which arrived last Friday, June 5, via Warner Records / 23 Recordings, an album that finds its own patch in a fast-paced world of polished pop, rock and hip-hop.
Modern Shoe is a surprise. It’s slacker as you like, with Celtic spirit. Rock, carved with folk instruments. Housing the previously released cuts “Captain And Compass,” “Pretty Strange World,” “My House Divides,” “There’s A New Place On The Market,” and “Snug Barber,” Modern Shoe is a living, breathing collection which couldn’t possibly come from Australia, in 2026.
The members of Any Young Mechanic — Sam Wilson (vocals, guitar), Luka Kilgariff (electric guitar, banjo), Allan McBean (upright bass), Jay Eliot Mee (drums), Thea Martin (violin) — were in fine spirits during a catchup with Billboard, ahead of their June 6 show at We Love Green in Paris.
“We’re all very excited,” explains McBean. “The tour has been going excellently. We love playing shows.”
It shows. Their live shows have routed extensively through Australia and Europe and, last year, saw Any Young Mechanic perform at the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds Festival without having released any music in the market.
Dropping Modern Shoe has created a rush of freedom, and been a particularly neat fit with critics.
The Aussies have enjoyed support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, Radio X, triple j, Double J and FBi Radio, while drawing praise from The Independent, CLASH, Rolling Stone U.K., The Line of Best Fit, DIY, Wonderland, and Atwood Magazine. NME named the group among the standout acts of The Great Escape 2026, Far Out Magazine slipped on Modern Shoe for the top spot on its list of the most anticipated debut albums of the year. Former triple j music director Richard Kingsmill is tipping the band for big things.
“Imagine you’ve been walking around for several years with an enormous burden,” Kilgariff comically explains of their release. “Think of a rucksack that maybe weighs 50 kg. And whilst you have become quite accustomed to carrying around such a weight, and your body has adapted, your legs have become stronger, as a result. Once you finally get to take that rucksack off, you’ll feel like you can fly. You’ll have been weighed down for so long that you’ll feel like you’ll be able to jump. And take off and soar through the skies. That is how it is feeling to release The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot.”
With a spring in their step, Any Young Mechanic will play a raft of festivals in Czechia (Rock For People), Netherlands (Best Kept Secret), Croatia (In Music Festival) and elsewhere in the days ahead. “Hopefully we’ll do more shows in this hemisphere,” Martin explains, “but also some back to Australia and play some festivals later in the year. We do have another bit of music coming out after the album,” they explain cryptically. Those plans are still under wraps, but “but we’re very excited for that.”
Stream The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot below.
