BENJAMIN GOLBY

New Rules

While he’s best known for his work with local indie pop outfits New Rules For Boats and Split Seconds, harmonica-wielding, synth-exploring folk musician Benjamin Golby is stepping out on his own with his recently released sophomore solo record A Progress.
“I don’t think that I can claim to be particularly productive,” begins Benjamin Golby, a statement local music fans might find hard to believe. Both as a core member of two of the state’s most loved indie pop outfits – the sadly disbanded New Rules For Boats and promising new(ish) act Split Seconds – and through his work as a sound engineer, Golby has become one of the WA scene’s most recognisable faces.

FRIGHTENERS

Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, how would you describe your band’s sound?
In the past we’ve been described as moody indie rock and I think that’s a fair comment. When we started our sound had a dance/punk vibe to it but as we’ve matured as song writers our music has changed and opened up; we’ve become more melody-driven. Isaac (Smith, Guitarist and Synth) played a huge role in how melodic we have become though we’ve tried to keep a fraction of up-tempo beats in our current repertoire. For this EP we drew inspiration from a wide range of genres, from shoegaze to pop music each member’s individual music influences have shaped the writing of these songs.

GRIM FANDANGO

Rough Diamonds

Grim Fandango are keeping the spirit of pop-punk alive with their primal raunch‘n’roll. JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD caught up with vocalist Tom Ware ahead of their launch shows for new 7”/Digital EP, In The Rough, on Friday, February 3, at The Rosemount Hotel and Saturday, February 4, at The Prince Of Wales in Bunbury.

THE BIG PINK

Future This
4AD/Remote Control

Looking for that perfect album to blast down the beach roads this summer? The Big Pink have you covered.
Featuring powerfully neon-lit summer anthems that revel in surging synths and hooks that sink deep, Future This is reminiscent of the fun slices of electro-pop that have propelled MGMT, Passion Pit and Foster The People to headlining festival slots.
The crazily catchy Stay Gold, in particular, is the kind of well produced jam that stands up to the best of their influences, a fist pumping bass line anchoring frontman Robbie Furze’s waifish falsetto awash in day-glo electronics. It’s the kind of forward-thinking pop song that many an indie band would die for; Future This, thankfully, has about four or so more to spare.
Aside from trying-too-hard-to-be-a-rock-band in Lose Your Mind, The Big Pink show a remarkable skill in sticking to what they know, be it typical dance-rock sing-a-longs like Jump Music or slightly off-kilter but still pleasantly palatable synth-pop numbers like Hit The Ground (Superman).
However, for all the immediacy inherent in Future This, it’s hard to imagine listening to this album in a different time and place (say, next winter) and still having that instant connection. For better or for worse, Future This is a product of the here and now, but who can be mad at The Big Pink for seizing it for all its worth?