Brisbane Shoegaze Risers Fragile Animals Shine On New EP Dead Stop

Brisbane shoegaze outfit Fragile Animals have announced their forthcoming six-track EP, Dead Stop - an atmospheric, emotionally resonant and impactful collection that captures the emotional fallout, uncertainty, and hard-won resilience that followed a landmark period for the band.

Produced by Elliot Heinrich, Dead Stop was written in the wake of Fragile Animals’ breakthrough 2025 EP Tourist and their first-ever UK and European tour. The ambitious 14-date run took the band across Germany, Poland, Ireland, England, and Scotland, delivering sold-out headline shows and festival appearances while cementing their growing international reputation. Yet behind the momentum and success, the experience left its mark.

The songs that make up Dead Stop emerged during the comedown from that whirlwind chapter, reflecting on the emotional cost of pursuing creative ambitions and the fragile determination required to keep moving forward when the adrenaline fades.

“I think this record means something slightly different to each of us, but there’s also a commonality there that relates to us all making the commitment to take another step forward,” vocalist and songwriter Victoria Jenkins explains.

“Personally, I actually find it hard to articulate what this record is about and what it means to me. I think that’s because, truthfully, it was written in a profound state of confusion and the tangled mess of feelings that it carries are just as confusing now as they were then.”

Jenkins recalls how the writing process began almost immediately after the band wrapped touring duties for Tourist.

“We’d just lived a dream. I’d never loved doing anything so much or felt more like my true self. At the same time I’d never felt so frayed or fragile,” she says. “The risks and sacrifices it took to make that record and tour happen really shook me, and it wasn’t until it was all over and we were sitting in a hotel in Manchester trying to write a new record that I kind of fell apart.”

The singer vividly remembers breaking down near Manchester’s John Rylands Library during that period, describing a strange emotional duality where moments of panic and vulnerability coexisted with an overwhelming sense of pride and optimism.

“The weird part is that when I wasn’t waking up in a panic or crying in public I felt insanely happy,” Jenkins says. “I was really proud of what we’d just pulled off as an independent band and I loved the music we were writing. I felt like if we could just keep ourselves moving, and cross our fingers hard enough to prevent the world falling apart around us, we might actually get everything we wanted. If I’m honest, I’ve spent the last year trying to keep my terror in a box so that I can keep moving. That’s what this record is for me.”

Over recent years, Fragile Animals have steadily expanded their audience beyond Australia, earning support from Radio X, Triple J and Total Rock while securing placements across influential music publications and major Spotify playlists including New Music Friday and Fresh Finds. Their songwriting has also been recognised by the APRA AMCOS Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition, the Queensland Music Awards, and the International Songwriting Competition.

Known for crafting immersive soundscapes that blur the lines between shoegaze, dream-pop and alternative rock, Fragile Animals have drawn comparisons to genre heavyweights while continuing to establish a voice that feels distinctly contemporary. Their growing live reputation has seen them share stages with Australian favourites Violent Soho, The Presets and DZ Deathrays, alongside appearances at major festivals throughout Australia and Europe.

With Dead Stop, the band turn inward, documenting the uncertainty that can follow success while refusing to lose sight of the road ahead. It’s a record born from exhaustion, ambition and perseverance - a snapshot of a band navigating the complicated space between achievement and the next leap forward.

Following the EP’s release, Fragile Animals will return to the road for an extensive UK and European tour throughout June and July 2026, including appearances at Farewell Youth Festival and Drop The Knife Festival, continuing a trajectory that shows no signs of slowing down.

See tour dates and listen below:

UK/EU Tour Schedule

19 June - Farewell Youth Festival - Dresden, Germany

20 June - Fluxbau - Berlin, Germany

25 June - Sanderhaus - Kassel, Germany

26 June - JZ Kamp - Bielefield, Germany

27 June - ANB Nord - Dusseldorf, Germany

28 June - Musicon The Hague - Rotterdam, Netherlands

01 July - Le Pub - Newport, Wales

02 July - Sin É - Dublin, Ireland

03 July - Roisin Dubh - Galway, Ireland

04 July - Ulster Sports Club - Belfast, Northern Ireland

05 July - Hug and Pint - Glasgow, Scotland

06 July - Sneaky Pete’s - Edinburgh, Scotland

07 July - Gullivers - Manchester, England

08 July - Shakespeares - Sheffield, England

09 July - Folklore - London, England

10 July - Supersonic - Paris, France

11 July - Drop The Knife Festival - Solingen, Germany