By Emily Vescio
For a minute there, we were in a straight-up Aussie music drought with one mediocre pop hit drop at a time but it seems, touch wood, that we’re on the up again.
While homegrown babies, 5 Seconds of Summer and Adelaide-rapper-turned-Facebook-chef Allday are growing bigger overseas and moving out of Australia to work with huge writers and producers, there are some endlessly talented Aussies still kicking it at home trying to make it work with what they’ve got down here.
When it comes to Australian artists, my pick of the century is Pinkish Blu, a four-piece band from Adelaide. Their self-proclaimed “alternative sad-pop” genre evolved off the back of making a full alt-punk EP that was never released. They’re only three singles deep into their discography, but there’s yet to be a track that disappoints. Lovely, Capricorn and Superstar are all dreamy synth tracks completed with complex lyrics, beautiful vocals and strong beats.
Lovely was the first track Pinkish Blu released following the genre shift, and was a strong lead that really set them in motion in the Adelaide music scene. The song features heavy 80s influences which are consistent in their later releases. The lyrics are delivered as if its a letter being read to the recipient of the song. The hazy and repetitive chorus builds to an intense instrumental in the middle of the song that cuts back down to another verse following the same spoken tone as the first.
Combining references to Greek Mythology, Astrology and the Bible in the track Capricorn, this song feels like it shouldn’t work at all. The lyrics look like a bit of a wreck on paper but when they all come together and are backed by Pinkish Blu’s unique sound, it works perfectly. Capricorn was featured on Triple J Unearthed which helped give the band the push they needed and opened up many avenues for them, opening for bands such as Trophy Eyes, The Ruebens and WAAX, as well as performing Groovin’ the Moo earlier this year.
Superstar, their most recent release, is such a fresh approach to the world of love songs. It’s not sappy in the slightest but still brings such intense feelings to the forefront. I had this song on repeat for about a week when it first came out, and didn’t tire from listening to it at all. The lyrics in Superstar feel more polished than Pinkish Blu’s first two tracks. I can’t fault this song at all, and I wish I could. Calling something perfect always seems like such a throwaway statement, but personally this song embodies my whole music taste and wraps it up in a green bow.
So many lines from their tracks can be pulled to perfectly caption your next post on Instagram, but there’s so much beneath that which deserves to be acknowledged.
Pinkish Blu make music that make you wish you had a convertible. My car has a sunroof which is close enough to make the dream work. Top down, music up, highway driving at night. It sounds like a teen movie cliche, but if you’ve never tried it – now’s the time.
