“Persistence” is an exercise in innuendo. Stu’s lyrics use automotive and mechanical language to (not so subtly) describe making love. The song features a steady drum beat, a wide range of vocal parts from Stu and some easy going guitars.
Ambrose (percussion/Mellotron), Cavs (drums), Cook (guitar/Wurlitzer/bass/synthesizer), Joey (vocals/guitar/synthesizer) and Stu all played on the track. The song also features drumming from Amy Findlay, drummer of Stonefield and Cavs’ wife. This makes her the second guest drummer on a Gizzard album, the other being Monty Hartnett for “Crying” and “Pipe-Dream” on 2014’s Oddments. Footage of her recording can be found in The Making of Omnium Gatherum at 10:41, as well as a Facebook post from April 24th, which states she was forty weeks pregnant when recording. Later in The Making of Omnium Gatherum at 14:20, Stu is seen recording his vocals and dancing to the song in the studio. “Persistence” was mixed and produced by Stu, and recorded by Stu, Cook and Cavs. On February 6th, 2022 the song’s title was teased on the band’s Twitter page with a number of emojis. Putting the first letter of each icon’s name together, you get the word “persistence.” @jnuke83 guessed the answer that same day. The song was released as part of Omnium Gatherum on April 22nd, 2022.
The song debuted on 2022-04-27 at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma, with a total runtime nearly reaching ten minutes in length, with jammier sections throughout. The band continued this trend throughout 2022, with the song making semi-regular appearances. In 2023, however, the song almost completely fell off of setlists, with only one appearance on 2023-03-15.