If summer’s slipping from your grasp, it might be time to catch a dose of sun-splashed guitar pop courtesy of Melbourne band Cool Sounds.
The band’s about to launch its debut New Zealand tour, which includes a gig at Queenstown’s Sherwood on Wednesday.
The group’s the brainchild of multi-talented Dainis Lacey, who accepts the many disparate descriptions of their sound could confuse new listeners.
Music writers even struggle to pigeonhole them — their sound’s been dubbed ‘‘mutant-funk pop’’, ‘‘dance-boogie punk’’, ‘‘shape-shifting indie rock’’ and ‘‘jangle pop’’.
One thing it most certainly is, is uplifting.
Lacey : ‘‘I’m kind of the main songwriter and it’s just been evolving and I’m conscious of trying new things and changing genres from album to album.
‘‘It all ends up cohesive, even if one album is country and the next is somewhat disco.’’
While a thoughtful songwriter, Lacey approaches his songs with a light touch.
He also loves to throw in a bit of irony.
All the same, he can’t imagine writing anything incredibly dark.
‘‘I have too positive and optimistic an outlook on life.
‘‘When I was younger I lived in an idyllic surf area in Phillip Island, two hours south of Melbourne.
‘‘I guess that relaxed beach vibe rubbed off on me and my writing.’’
And the songs are catchy — check out Bugobeat, their latest EP which just dropped a week ago.
Lacey says they recorded the songs at a ‘‘beautiful studio’’ in the country in Castlemaine.
‘‘We went through all the demos and tried to recreate these synthetic, computery sounds in an organic way.
‘‘The guy who ran the studio would drop by and thought we were making the strangest music.’’
He runs the group with a fluid lineup — as many as six musicians can share the stage at a time; in Queenstown there’ll be five: Nick Kearton on bass, Kiwi-born Michael Ellis on guitar, Ambrin Hasnain on keyboard, Dylan Young drums and, of course, Lacey on vocals and guitar.
Like many creatives, Lacey drew inspiration from the pandemic restraints.
‘‘When I was writing that last album [Like That] it was during one of the Melbourne lockdowns.
‘‘I’d moved to my old family home in Boxhill, but no one else was living there.
‘‘I was digging through my Dad’s old records, Ian Drury, The Clash and Talking Heads, and then wrote that whole album.’’
Recording new music, Lacey likes to experiment with old drum samples and, as he puts it, ‘‘playing silly keyboards and synthesisers’’.
No wonder he gets likened to American slacker hero Beck and ’80s pop.
He says he’s never before set foot in Aotearoa and is looking forward to traversing the country with his band, and is keen to see all the stunning natural beauty Queenstown’s famous for.
Cool Sounds, Sherwood, Wednesday, March 13, 8pm (R18). Tickets $15, via undertheradar.co.nz
