SHOCK FRIENDLY - "HEAD DOWN THE AVENUE" LP

Centred around themes of obsolescence, isolation and failures, Shock Friendly's debut LP is a tongue in cheek take on the band’s micro-world and deepest desires.

Galvanised by a desire to create a body of work that was more DIY and hands-on than anything they’d worked on before, Shock Friendly embarked on the long and complex journey to self-producing their debut record. After what the band describe as “a few failed first-attempts”, they made a decision to seek daily advice from their long-time mentor and friend Rob Long (Magic Dirt, HTRK). Long was able to guide the band through the process of building, and then recording in, a home studio in Bacchus Marsh, Western Victoria.

Shock Friendly are Daniel Baulch and Jackson Kay (who met whilst fronting previous band Hollow Everdaze) with Ella Jackson (keyboards) & James Baldwin (drums). After playing in other bands for over a decade, this new venture sees Shock Friendly bonding over their mutual interest in “renovating, musical equipment, cats and cooking”, splitting song-writing duties and taking inspiration from The Cure, Neil Young's lawsuit era records, Springsteen and Bowie’s ‘Scary Monsters’ and ‘Lodger’ LPs.

The result is a refreshingly unpretentious, short and sweet 9 track LP of charmingly heavy, electric synth-pop, intimately built by the band from the ground up. Title track ‘Head Down The Avenue’ even includes the local cats Roman & Butty having a very loud, very vocal fight in the background of the recording. Listening back, the band decided to leave it in, as they “love what it brings to the song”.