Tag Archives: reviews

CHEAP-SKATE.

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What is there to do on a boring Sunday evening but write about one of the most exciting bands from Australia- CHEAP-SKATE! I genuinely thought I’d written about them before, but turns out I’ve ignored the list on my phone of bands I want to write about for some time now, so I’ve deleted it. My notes app is a questionable place and the list of bands I had jotted down was probably the only coherent thing I had on there.

I’m very late with this, and this is a band I should have written about years ago it seems but, I do not like order or being organised. I don’t like it when it’s forced upon me, and it makes me want to do the opposite of what I’m told. Basically, I don’t like being told what to do. Even if I’m the one telling myself what to do. I’ve gone off track- sorry! By years ago, I mean in 2022 which is still pretty recent, right? Anyway, CHEAP-SKATE started in 2022 and over the past few years they’ve become a solid name in the Australian Garage Rock scene, and rightfully so.

What our boy Blaike Murphy has created as CHEAP-SKATE is something really beautiful. It makes you want to drink lukewarm beer in the sun and attempt to skate down the promenade. I cannot skate but I LOVE skateboarding as much as I love football, pizza, and music. Oh, and my cat. CHEAP-SKATE make the kind of music I wish I could; if I was in a band, I’d either want it to sound like this or The Jesus And Mary Chain. I remember listening to CHEAP-SKATE towards the end of 2022/start of 2023, and I remember getting this eternal summer feeling from the music. It felt like even on the coldest of December days, the sun was on my back when I was listening to them. That feeling hasn’t gone at all, and I know CHEAP-SKATE is Blaike’s side project, but I just hope he never stops making music as CHEAP-SKATE.

With a handful of singles and EPs already out there, there’s no denying just how bloody great CHEAP-SKATES is. I wish I could tell you their best songs or where to start, but I can’t. You just have to go in head first from the start and work your way to present day (or to a few weeks ago.) One of the last releases was SUN, which came out at the start of December if I remember correctly, and it’s made up of 5 songs and it doesn’t even hit the 15 minute mark. So, if you’ve got a really bad attention span- then it’s the record for you. CHEAP-SKATE are the band for you. There’s this divine sun-kissed sound going on, and it’s the fuzzy guitar, it’s the intense drums and blissed-out vocals that make CHEAP-SKATE the band that they are. However, there was a nice surprise drop 2 days ago and new EP GROM came out. It may only be 3 songs, but those 3 songs totally rip. They were written and recorded in a few hours, and if this is what CHEAP-SKATE can do in a few hours, then there’s no telling how great what comes next will be.

CHEAP-SKATE make the kind of music for those of us who are alone a fair amount of the time- stick our headphones on and go about our day with our favourite sounds in our ears. By no means is it a bad thing, if anything it brings a lot of inner peace and you know what? You, me, whoever- we deserve it. There’s no better feeling than being at peace with yourself, and listening to music that makes you feel good, you know? No better feeling. CHEAP-SKATE for me are just another band that I’d sell my kidneys to see live. You can just tell that the energy is right, and the show would be unreal. If I ever won the lottery (have to play it first, I know!) there’s a bunch of bands I’d be bringing over for tours, and CHEAP-SKATE would be high on my list.

I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is about the band that I love so much, but I think it’s the feeling I get from listening to them. Everything just feels alright, and given how cruel the world is- we all need that band in our corner. It all started in 2022 with the song I Don’t Wanna and now we’ve got to the GROM mini-EP; everything in between shows us why CHEAP-SKATE are such a great band, and one worth telling any and everyone about. I love that listening to the band makes you feel like you’re hanging out with someone who REALLY gets you. That’s a rare feeling- to find it in music and in a person, and Blaike does it in such a way that isn’t overwhelming, and the songs are delicate when they need to be and I think that’s part of why the band own a piece of my heart. I feel like I’m hanging out with my best mate when I listen to CHEAP-SKATE, and it’s such a pure feeling to gain from listening to music. We don’t get it enough, and I think that’s why bands like CHEAP-SKATE need to be treasured and appreciated. There’s a strong lo-fi DIY sound to the music, and its Surf-Punk at its finest (if we’re needing labels) and hand on heart, this band feel like home.

If you love bands like SKEGSS, WAVVES, Hockey Dad, Goblin Mode…all the good stuff! Then you’re going to fall in love with CHEAP-SKATE. I can’t wait to hear more from the band this year because the sheer joy they bring is just heavenly!

DIIV: Frog In Boiling Water.

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Everyone has a band that just eases their brain a bit. I’ve got a handful; some are really loud, and some have this sound that I cannot describe- but I know it makes life a little easier. DIIV fall into the latter. They have this sound that just levels everything out, and nothing can get in to disrupt that.

Their new record takes its name from a novel by Daniel Quinn and is a record that has a lot of conscious thought poured into it. You can really feel and sense every element of care that has gone into this record. No part of it’s been rushed, and that’s how you need to listen to it. Make time for YOU and just play this record. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this record in the past week, but I can tell you that blasting it through headphones is the best way to really soak up this record. DIIV make music that makes the world a bit more tender, and we all know how brutally heavy everything is. When you play this record, everything feels lighter, and I get that every time I listen to them- it doesn’t matter what record; they just give you this reassurance.

The lead single, Brown Paper Bag is divine. It just feels like you are about to fall into the best sleep of your life. I could easily have the best sleep of my life listening to DIIV- they just give you this general ease once you listen to them and even though some of what they sing about is heavy, there is a lightness that makes it all okay. From Oshin to Frog in Boiling Water, DIIV have again proved themselves to be a band that just know exactly what they are doing. Sure, they have a certain sound, but it has grown so much. I remember hearing them for the first time in either 2011 or 2012, and it felt like the world stopped. I still get that feeling now when I listen to them. I can only liken listening to DIIV as that very light feeling of falling in love properly- there’s no weight, there’s no expectations- it just happens. A sense of freedom in your mind and heart.

For me, DIIV have never made a bad record and if they have- I refuse to acknowledge if they have of course! Songs like Somber the Drums and In Amber just show how incredible the band are, and you close the record with Fender on the Freeway>! Who gave them permission to make such a killer record! Come on now! It’s one of those records that fit perfectly, and of course some may call Deceiver as their best work so far- but when you listen to their records in order, you will see (well, hear) and how every record fits perfectly. Frog in Boling Water sounds perfect right after Deceiver. I just love this band, but you knew that.

To even attempt to pick a favourite song after a week of almost religiously playing it- I’m going between Everyone Out and Little Birds. I think Little Birds is my favourite lyrically and vocally, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time listening to Soul-net and it may be one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard this year. I can’t choose. The record is produced by Chris Coady, and if you’ve listened to anything Chris has touched- you will know it is out of this world. Which is why Frog in Boiling Water is DIIV at their best again.  You can really hear that DIIV are a band that will just keep going and going; but still with something to say. Some keep going and should perhaps either quit or take a break for a while, but DIIV are not that band. They are a band that just clearly get better with every record.

Frog in Boiling Water shows such growth in the band, and it also shows that they are absolutely nowhere near done. DIIV are band that always make you excited with what they’re about to do next, and they’ve been doing this for well over 10 years now- that’s going nowhere. Just like my love for them.