Melbourne’s reputation for throwing up more unique bands than Sydney could ever dream of goes from strength to strength on the back of The Pink Tiles. Their second LP is an unabashed mix of girl pop with garage rock and cheap, synth-y sass goodness.
It took the first spin of a promo burn on a road trip to show that The Pink Tiles stood out from the pack. Some proper listens since then have cemented “#1 Fan” as top-shelf pop. The soundtrack to sunny days in a beer garden or on the back porch.
The Pink Tiles kicked off as a bedroom project and grew into the Melbourne pub scene, adding members as they went. There are six members and Ex-Rocket Science guitarist Paul Maybury is one of them. He produced “#1 Fan” at his own studio and it’s drenched in reverb, with its sharp edges left intact.
The Pink Tiles’ music doesn’t lend itself to over-analysis. The key elements are the shared vocals of bassist Mara Williams and guitarist Victoria de Fruita and Leigh Barker’s Casio organ. Jay Williams’ drums keep the tunes anchored.
And they’re good tunes, even if a couple could have done with a little brevity. “Sammy” is the raunchy guitar song. “Expensive Hobby” the abrasive yet cute commentary on pay-for-play. “Time For Love” is the hard-edged soul mover. “Internet” cops the riff from “Pretty Vacant” before falling over the edge into electro-pop. “Weird and Strained” takes that musical theme further.
This is an album that refuses to be pigeonholed. But don’t let that stop you trying. One of the occupants of the car on the road trip mentioned earlier was Chris “Klondike” Masuak (Radio Birdman, Hitmen, Screaming Tribesmen) and here’s his take on “#1 Fan”:
Relentlessly cheerful psycho-pop with cheesy girl group skank, but in a super good way! Lotsa noisy fuzz and playing too loud in your mom's garage mayhem! Team Masuak's new favorite driving music!
Go preview “#1 Fan” at the Bandcamp link below and see if he’s not wrong.
