Fine Mess is the international rock ’n’ roll duo of Dustin Dollin and Julia Pierce.
Dollin—celebrated for his Aussie hell-spawn lineage in Baker 3 and Volcom’s Let’s Live
era—brings fearless frontman presence and an unmistakable voice, while Pierce, a staple of the
New York City punk scene, anchors the band with seductive hook-craft and a steadying sonic
compass. As Jack Ladder puts it, “with Julia Pierce, he’s found the ultimate lozenge for his
razor-blade throat.”
They met by accident on New York’s L train; by the end of the night—at a Lydia Lunch
show—Fine Mess was set in motion. Their provocative, literate songwriting fuels a combustible
yet deeply human project that returns to rock ’n’ roll’s roots and early punk’s unpretentious fun:
primal rebellion with a cheeky grin.
Their debut Fine Mess LP was recorded upstate New York at Sound Manor with Oakley Munson
(The Black Lips), capturing the band’s live chemistry with clarity and bite. Standouts like “New
York” (a love letter to the city’s unruly charm) and the brazen, anarchic “Cum On Me” sit
alongside “Tell Me,” which nods to the shambolic swagger of Thunders’ Heartbreakers and the
Stones’ Exile era—loose, lived-in, and built for gang-vocal choruses.
Cat Power dubbed “Fun” her “national anthem,” and Warren Ellis (Nick Cave of The Bad Seeds) called the record “so catchy, so many hooks, and a heart as big as Phar Lap.” Influenced by The Easybeats, The Saints, and Rowland S. Howard—and contemporaries like The Black Lips and Violent Femmes—Occult Magazine describes Fine Mess as “a fresh imagination of chaos and melody.” Their live set has already earned them opening slots for The Lemon Twigs and The Mystery Lights.
Fine Mess rewrites rock ’n’ roll with rebellion, love, and songs that last—punchy hooks that hit
fast and stay with you. Heartfelt but built for the crowd, it feels timeless and of our moment.
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