2011 August Archive - The Recommender

GUNG HO

We love it when a band arrives and in some intangible manner seems to sum up our detached, sweeping generalisations of the place from which they came. The Beach Boys sounded very Californian, right? The Smiths sounded very Manchester, didn’t they? The Strokes couldn’t appear from anywhere other than New York could they? Well, if you imagine the Eastern Gold Coast of Australia to be all slacker surfers, with a relaxed, sunny disposition, where partying and enjoying life is the common path of choice, then you’re on your way to finding Gung Ho as perfectly suited to their geography as we do.

This new trio call Brisbane home and they’ve just released their debut single, Twin Rays. It will be the initial tune from their planned EP, which we’ve been informed is due out in early 2012. From the three tracks that we’ve heard to date, it’s for before and after the beach-bound parties. Their initial single is as bleached and pretty as Best Coast or Tennis, although not quite as twee. It feels like a surf pop song written by actual surfers, so there’s stacks of relaxed enjoyment, as Michael McAlary sings “Oh you know we ain’t rather be anywhere else“. We assume they’re talking about the beach. This is a surf pop song with the perfect attitude. We also noticed that the echo throughout the tune blurs what is actually an intricate set of guitar plucks.

On the next tune, Weekend Mothers, has the guitars take centre stage, as they turn the style on. If Twin Rays is the stoned morning-after-the-night-before, then this tune is the night before. It’s all spikey flicks of guitar and hand clapped beats. It’s rhythm is that of a party at it’s peak, as the song is delivered over a collapsing drum roll. Gone is the 60s surf imagery and in it’s place are some punked vocal yelps and a raised aggression, as Oliver Dincan takes over the vocals and sings “I can’t stand myself“. Its wound up so tight it can’t sit still, but it brings us an entirely different side to the band that you didn’t see coming having heard the first single.

The other available demo, Vacation, is just as pumped up, in the same hyper way Spain’s Mendetz, or Sweden’s The Hives used to come out of the blocks. More styled vocals appear with Duncan throwing out a sweaty performance with every word that he spits out, as the backing vocals call in response. Once again the guitars dance behind it all and this time the bass enters the room like the big fat bloke taking over the dancefloor without a care in the world.

The band have had useful support slots with the like of The Holidays, Papa vs Pretty, Bleeding Knees Club, Comic Sans and Kids of 88, among others. They’re planning to take the EP’s songs out around the East Coast for a few dates in September, in venues across Brisbane and Sydney (see below). You can definitely expect a party. Only time will tell how the shows will translate when performed on a rainy day in Manchester, but we strongly suggest that anywhere in the world would thoroughly enjoy having a little piece of sunny Brisbane delivered to their doorsteps, right? Right. (MB)

31st Aug – Twin Rays’ Single Launch /w Morning Harvey @ Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane
3rd Sept – Dune Rats /w Gung Ho, Pirates Alive, Country Junk @ Billy’s Beach House, Gold Coast
16th Sept – Dune Rats /w Gung Ho, Ginger Witches @ Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
17th Sept – Dune Rats /w Gung Ho, Millions DJs @ Woodland, Brisbane
24th Sept – Velociraptor /w Gung Ho, Gooch Palms @ Oxford Arts Factory Gallery Bar, Sydney

GUNG HO – TWIN RAYS

GUNG HO – WEEKEND MOTHERS

1 Comment

Published: August 30th, 2011
Author: Mike Bradford
Category: The Recommender
Tags: Best Coast, Gung Ho, Mendetz, Tennis, The Beach Boys, The Hives, The Smiths, The Strokes, Twin Rays, Weekend Mothers

TRANSFER

No Comments

What does it take to make your band a success in the music industry? Good music? A charismatic frontman? Good looks? An obvious single? Well, yes, all of these will help, but the labels are also looking for this element they refer to as ‘traction’, before they indulge in you. This golden factor is harder for musicians to design, and is what the likes of Simon Cowell are ultimately masters of for their artists. Transfer first appeared in 2009, self-recording and self-releasing their debut UK album, Future Selves, but due to a lack of impact first time around they’ve decided to re-group and set about re-launching the album for a second time this September (19th), as if it’s brand new.

Lessons have obviously been learned from the first outing and over the last year they’ve gained plenty of new traction which has lead to them earning signatures with the Cool Green Recordings label. The first bit of useful grip was through a key set of support slots to more established artists. They’ve supported the likes of White Lies and Brandon Flowers over the last few months, which is no surprise as you can hear a similarity, particularly with the latter, which is most evidenced with their excellent tune, Losing Composure. Packed within it is the same romantic indie feel as The Killers whirlwind songs, although Matthew Molarius’ vocals are more akin to the likes of Alexander Ebert.

The second piece of traction has been through the video for the their next UK single, Take Your Medicine, which should see a release on October 3rd, soon after the album. The video is a serious effort – how often do you see over a minute’s worth of film credits at the end of a music video? – deservedly picking up several awards. It was created by Radium / Real FX and directed by Nader Hussaini. They’ve perfectly channelled the weird and wonderful elements of the band, with a batch of sublime, dark animations. You won’t see a more impressive video all year.

Their music is very rich and theatrical, with several influences, giving it a variety of different faces from the pop, indie, psychedelic and rock genres. Like A Funeral is like a missing Simon & Garfunkel ballad, whist White Horse and Sinking Sailing has a set of layered vocals reminiscent of Pink Floyd, which hover over some traditional Black Sabbath-esque rock themes. The tune Wake To Sleep is brave and bold, like a Flaming Lips piece of drama, with added strings and horns. All of these tracks show off their ability to make a big noise whilst sticking to an obvious melody, making theatrical tunes that are grand in design, but accessible to all.

The San Diego quartet take their new album on tour throughout Europe in November, although we may have to wait a little longer before we see a return to the UK. Apparently the live set is equal to their sizeable anthemic sound, so hopefully our wait won’t be too long. Only time will tell if this new label-backed second attempt at a career launch will see them succeed beyond the boundaries of their home city, but with their recent gigs and incredible videos they finally seem to be delivering a more complete package alongside their enjoyable songs. (MB)