When Maul Ibrahim, Adam Adenan and Ildo Hasman booked studio time in 2019, they just wanted to play their favorite alternative rock songs to blow off steam after working all day at their capital city jobs, having long traded in the Bandung and Jakarta indie scene life of their twenties for corporate careers and domesticity. But just when the nascent trio thought they were out, they pulled themselves back in by coming up with original riffs and song ideas—and thus Perunggu was born.

The band’s 2019 debut single Menyala and its accompanying EP Pendar established their signature sound, laying Maul’s guitar riffs, soaring vocals and candidly cathartic lyrics atop Adam and Ildo’s bass-and-drums foundation and backing harmonies. The band’s full-length debut album Memorandum followed as the world was emerging from the pandemic, with Perunggu juggling their day jobs while performing to increasingly larger audiences singing along to their anthems of fatherhood (PastikanRiuhAkhiriMalammu), loss (Kalibata, 2012) and spirituality (33x). Their sophomore effort Dalam Dinamika possesses Perunggu’s strengths while showcasing the band’s expanded sonic palette, going both harder in songs like Abu and softer in tracks like Berhasil, tackling topics such as grief and the ills of social media. With the singles Tapi and Pikiran Yang Matang already proving to be firm live favorites and the band’s gig schedule getting heavier, it looks like it’s time for Perunggu to finally give up their day jobs.