Sometimes you have to cut the cord and do things a little different. If something is becoming stagnant, amputate it, let it grow back, stronger and smarter. That’s what your dad would say. PLANET rose from the ashes of Callithump, who had been kicking around Sydney for a few years before deciding to hit the brakes and call it a day at the beginning of 2015. It’s much the same band, but in many ways, an entirely different beast. More refined and completely lucid with determination, the band made their debut under their new moniker back in July, and there’s no reason they should be slowing down any time soon.
Rising from the ashes of past projects with lucid determination comes PLANET, a Sydney five-piece making ridiculously catchy pop music splattered with spacey guitars and Stones Roses grooves.
The five-piece make pop music streaked with 80s crystal sheen, a tinge of brit-pop and space-rock guitars. Comprised of old mates Matty (also from Little Bastard), Tom, Lachie, Harry PLANET have been making music for years together in one way or another, with Gabe joining on bass in the last few months. This, however, feels like their most focused incarnation yet.
“At the beginning of the year we decided to stop playing shows and knuckle down to record a whole heap of fresh tunes in the studio at home,” Matty says. “We kept a few of the tracks [from Callithump] and polished them but we are mainly exploring new sounds, and we have a lot more breathing room now with a fifth member.”
The band have full creative control over their art, producing and recording their tunes in the front room of Took’s place in Newtown. Disaster Caster is the band’s debut single, a ridiculously catchy, melody-driven piece of pop that has been twisted and warped into something with an ocean of depth. It demands to be listened to multiple times, with hooks popping up in random places before receding once again. They stick in your head until you go back and listen, only to find a another one pop up somewhere else. It’s a consuming listen, sanguine in a nostalgic sort of way.
Disaster Caster sounds like a song from a band that is fully formed. There are no uncertainties in there, nothing is tongue in cheek or shy. It’s honest and it’s got balls. “We had spent the last three or so years getting tight as live band,” says Matty. “The line-up changed a couple of times during that period, so we wanted to start from scratch and showcase our newly refined sound. I guess it’s a way for us to keep our heads straight on plans for the future.”
There is the nasal drawl of Oasis in there but the track feels a little more 80s than 90s, with groove overriding power and modulated twang reining over big, overdriven guitars. “For me, I don’t really have an influence as such but I listen to a hell of a lot of Stone Roses and Kurt Vile,” notes Matty. “We are all pretty much into the same kind of music but everyone has their own unique bands/influences that they listen to, which means that we’re all bringing something different to the table, which is mad and it keeps things interesting.”
Matty has said they boys are planning on heading on the road in the near future. With a few years practice behind them and an armada of tunes set to fire our way in the future, PLANET are set to do some pretty cool shit.
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