Draft:DARTZ (band)

DARTZ is a New Zealand punk rock band formed in 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. The four-person group received recognition for their 2022 debut album "The Band From Wellington, New Zealand", released via Flying Nun Records.

Biography
DARTZ was formed in January 2019 after vocalist Daniel 'Danz' Vernon secured a support slot for Australian punk band The Chats. Recruiting guitarist Christan 'Crispy' Pianta, bassist Clark Mathews, and drummer Hakopa 'Rollyz' Kuka-Larsen. , he brought the band together to begin writing songs only several weeks ahead of their first live appearance in February 2019.

Following this, DARTZ began regularly releasing music and performing around New Zealand, releasing two EPs and a number of standalone singles such as "1 Outs Captain Cook", "Pray for Prey" , "Toyota Corolla", and "Hoons". In 2021, DARTZ's song "Bathsalts" was shortlisted for the APRA AMCOS Silver Scroll songwriting award.

With the band becoming a regular fixture across New Zealand's student radio stations such as 95bFM and Radio One, DARTZ was awarded "Favourite Group" at the inaugural Student Radio Network awards.

In March 2022, DARTZ released "Dominion Road (Dumpling House)", a cover version of the popular song Dominion Road by The Mutton Birds with many of the lyrics changed to reference the Chinese restaurants that populate the real-life Dominion Road in Balmoral, Auckland. DARTZ's version of the song received praise from The Mutton Birds' songwriter Don McGlashan, with McGlashan calling DARTZ's version "cool, ... blisteringly fast" in an interview.

In September 2022, DARTZ signed to Flying Nun Records and two months later released their first studio album, a 10-track release titled "The Band From Wellington, New Zealand". The album debuted in the Official New Zealand Music Charts, placing first in the Official Top 20 NZ Albums chart and fourth in the Official Top 40 Albums chart for the week of 14 November 2022.

In November 2023, DARTZ announced that their second album "Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One", featuring singles "Earn The Thirst", "Learning To Drive With Dad", and "Paradise", would release on 1 March 2024