These guys ooze raw energy and effortless cool.
While The Beach Boys may be the most well-known surf band around, there’s plenty of other bands keeping surf rock alive to this very day in its various forms – including the likes of The Growlers, Ocean Alley, Hockey Dad, The Sunnyboys, and The Babe Rainbow.
While they all blend numerous influences, adding in psychedelic, pop and even punk, all of them have energy and will keep you humming the whole day.
If you’re a fan of just that alongside infectious melody lines, one more you need to know about is Bellarine-based four-piece The Crimson Jets.
Creating a memorable blend of pop, surf, and alternative rock, The Crimson Jets have been earning their stripes in the local music scene for the past few years, forming together at high school in 2017. The energetic rockers have since made 2020 their year dropping two singles, marking their first official releases.
“Well we started at the end of our last year of high school back in 2017 when we should have been studying for exams,” the band, made up of James Nicholls, Jackson Binks, Yau Yoong Chong and Nathan Taylor, reveal.
“In the first year, we worked on many songs before going anywhere near a recording studio. In early 2019 we thought we were ready and we ended up recording a few songs but plans changed and that project fell through,” they add.
“Since that time, we picked up Jacko [guitarist] and he has elevated this band immensely, I mean his solo in the last chorus of ‘Interested’ is just insane!”
While written back in 2018, ‘Interested’ is the newest of their releases and sees the band meld their sun-drenched surf rock, grunge and nascent pop influences. The endearing, raspy vocals, chubby bass and intricate guitar melodies make for an incredibly simmering, emphatic journey.
“We had the lyrics already written, but over the last two and a half years we worked on it throughout that time to make it what it is today,” they say. “We took on the feedback from fans to change up ‘Interested’ because it lacked a bit of punch, so we took some time to give it that oomph it was missing.
“We recorded the song back in February/March and our engineer worked on it for a few weeks during lockdown. When iso round two came along, Nath and Jimmy both mixed and mastered it ready for an August release!”
With nods to early Silverchair, the track is almost five minutes of this tight musicianship and that 90’s grunge sound we all know and love.
With a knack for evolving and reshaping their sound, ‘Interested’ follows on from their previous release ‘Heed My Words’. Boasting overall musical prowess, this searing slow burner is championed by booming percussion, a depth of lyrical maturity and buttery, honest vocals that sit somewhere between soothing and anxious.
“’Heed My Words’ was working progress up until its release. Jimmy worked hard on this song with the help of his songwriting teacher Alex Gow (Oh Mercy),” they explain.
“We were so excited as it was our first single release. We received a lot of unexpected love from all over the place, so we are grateful to all those guys!”
Oozing raw energy and effortless cool, ‘Heed My Words’ lures you in right from the get-go.
While the two tracks couldn’t be more different, their influences are clear with Ocean Alley-esque vocals and melodies from the band’s leader Jimmy, blended with the likes of Led Zepplin, Powderfinger, Kaleo and Jet bringing an overall diverse bag of sounds. With a collection of influences like that, we’re pretty keen to see what else these lads can do.
“We have a few songs ready for us to start mixing and mastering. Who knows, we might pop out one or two before the years end!”
With the surf coast as their backyard and a penchant for live gigs, a return to the live stage is imminent for The Crimson Jets. Until then, spinning these singles on repeat should do just fine.
Follow the band on Facebook and Instagram and check out their music below.
