Sydney based Indie-come-Psychedlic-Pop-Rock duo Salarymen have just released their brilliant new EP Head In the Sand. A bright, vibrant and uplifting collection of tracks, the EP showcases the bands shimmering, synth and guitar lead soundscapes and ever catchy duel vocal lines.
The pairs strikingly stylistic, ever joyous and musically rich sound shines across the 5 tracks, no more than on the lead single 'Summer's Coming', a bright, simplistic yet effortlessly impactful and likeable indie soundscape topped with the pair's intertwining, harmonising and lightly distorted vocal lines.
Listening to the EP, it left us intrigued - what music do Salarymen like? What inspires them musically? Over to the duo to tell us about 5 of their faves:
Crumb – Balloon
From the first minute the synth comes in, you know you’re in for something special. It’s a woozy, hypnotic psych-pop dream! I particularly love the effects on the vocals and when the drum beat changes at 1:50 – it adds a new dimension to the track and makes you just want to stop and dance. Drums are often unadventurous and stock standard, but they’ve been done perfectly here. No surprise as it was co-produced by Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado, another huge influence of ours!
Telenova – Bones
Telenova are an Australian band that everyone should have on their radar, formed by past members of Slum Sociable and Miami Horror. Their debut single Bones is an incredible cinematic masterpiece! The dark, suspenseful verses feed beautifully into the euphoric chorus, and Angeline’s voice is truly shines through here, with no massive effects required to enhance her natural ability. I guarantee you won’t be able to stop singing this song after you’ve heard it.
The Lazy Eyes – Fuzz Jam
The Lazy Eyes are another local band set for world domination over the next few years. They’re a bunch of really talented young guns, making psych rock jams reminiscent of Tame Impala and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The title of this track says it all – we love the breakdown where the drums drop out and it just goes to synth and vocals, then they bring everything back in and dial up the fuzz to 100. Listening to this in a moshpit is a religious experience, where they make the crowd sit down for about 30 seconds and then unleash the madness.
Fig – Smog
The meditative groove of the bass, combined with the spacy synths and fuzzy guitars is super intoxicating. There’s just so many unique sounds in here that you hear something new each time. The vocals are also really emotive and keep building throughout the song, held down the entire time by the bass line. Musicians often feel like they have to stick to the traditional “verse, chorus, verse, chorus” structure but this song is a perfect example of why that’s rubbish.
Royel Otis – Oysters In My Pocket
This is another dreamy guitar-pop track we’ve been pumping lately. It’s just so damn catchy! If you like classic indie tunes from bands like Real Estate and Beach Fossils, you’ll love these guys. The combination of reverb-soaked jangly guitars and carefree vocals just makes you feel like you’re driving out of town into the sunset with the windows down.
Listen to the full new EP Head In the Sand from Salarymen below: