Image by Luke Henry //
Are Straight Arrows underground?
There’s nothing more sexy than starting off an article with a definition, but before we dive into Sydney garage stalwarts Straight Arrows’ most loved “underground” bands, it’s worth posing the question.
On one hand, Straight Arrows are selling out shows around the country, racking up hundreds of thousands of streams with their DIY-flavoured ear-candy and are countless people’s favourite band. On the other hand, fuck me, they should be EVERYONE’s favourite band. So definitely (and criminally) underrated but also kinda underground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3LIOLvZqk
Their fourth LP Surface World is evidence of why we love them so much. There’s thrashy up-tempo gems that encapsulate the Straight Arrows live experience like ‘Fast Product’ and ‘Car Thief’, washed out tunes full of sunshine like ‘Walkin Thru My Mind’ and more meditative experiments like ‘Shop Window’.
It’s a low-fi collage of sounds with lyrics that the band say are a “reflection of the plane of existence we’re all currently trapped upon,” which juxtapose nicely with the “fun” energy captured in the studio. You can witness said energy live around the country over August and September with the band taking the LP on the road for an east coast tour (dates below, tix here).
We hit frontman Owen Penglis up about the Sydney artists we should be listening to as it’s way more effective than relying on the Spotify algorithm. Check out his words below and be sure to give Surface World a solid rinsing while you do it:
Right this minute, right now! We live in a golden era of Sydney rock music, and it’s exciting to be amongst it. No fancy haircut, over-practiced jerk offs, just homemade HITS! Here’s some of my fave current Sydney bands, and they’ve all had albums out in the last year or so:
RMFC – I’ve been watching Buz and crew from their very early shows and they’ve evolved into such an impressive unit, kicking off the egg-punk shackles of their first album and drifting into fantastic, creative late 70s/80s punk (in its original artistic movement form)-ish ness on last year’s Club Hits album. All home recorded and played by Buz himself too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-tcqf-Zz30
Gee Tee – I was pretty fkn excited when I heard the incredible cassette hum of Gee Tee’s first LP over bandcamp one arvo in 2018. They were originally from the Gold Coast and I tried to figure out a way to get them on a show with us. Come 2024 and head honcho Kel is living in Sydney and I get to bump into him every few weeks at a rock show in a pub. It took me five years to find a copy of that first album ‘cause it kept selling out! The below track is from last year’s Goodnight Neanderthal, and he’s already put out a new album this year that I haven’t had a moment to digest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9oL3uposhw&t=525s
Tee Vee Repairmann – Told ya we’re living in a golden era! Tee Vee Repairmann is the brainchild of Ishka, who’s already churned through at least 5 bands since I met him. And funnily enough I met him when he was stuck doing work experience at high school and he somehow convinced his teacher to let him skip class and come hang out at my studio for a few weeks. Another delightful home recorded effort from his debut LP under the Tee Vee moniker that the Americans are going bananas for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ihXTE4Hxo
Itchy and the Nits – When I moved out of my last house I messaged Bethany from Itchy and the Nits (drummer/singer) and offloaded so much cool 60s crap (Barbarella and Banana Splits merch) and novelty items (fart bombs) to her ‘cause I just knew she loves all that stuff. And she worked at an icecream shop so she’d trade me for icecream. It was a great arrangement! Anyway, I always love playing with these guys; they just finished a massively successful USA tour, Ishka from Tee Vee recorded em, and I got to master their debut cassette. For fans of the Maggots, and the Brentwoods.
