Split release pairing Sydney’s 1-800 MIKEY and GEE TEE. 1-800 MIKEY is a project from Michael Barker, who also plays in GEE TEE. His tracks are lo-fi, innocent, and achingly whimsical, similar to fellow Sydneysiders TEE VEE REPAIRMANN and Portland’s CHEERY CHEEKS. GEE TEE has been referred to as the Australian SPITS, but on their track, they slow it down with a tune that sounds beautifully crafted like NOBUNNY covering DANIEL JOHNSTON in a bedroom on a four-track.
A (mostly) one-man show from Australia, this isn’t the kind of thing you always see in punk rock. That said, the dude is talented, and this is extremely melodic and catchy fuzz-pop. The vocals take a little bit of a backseat to the instruments, which at first kind of bugged me. But I adapted relatively quickly and grew to understand that it wasn’t unintentional. Uptempo and poppy, this does remind me of some of the Subway Organization label bands from the UK in the late ’80s. Really top-notch stuff here. Of the ten cuts, nearly half are under two minutes, and none are over three. That’s a detail that always catches my eye (in a good way).
If you’re a fan of all the varieties of punk that are barely punk and mainly pop, my dude 1-800-MIKEY has you covered! On this, his debut album Sydney-based recording artist Michael Barker is kicking out thirteen jams reminiscent of the lo-fi garage pop of early HUNX AND HIS PUNKS, JAY REATARD at his CHRIS KNOX-iest, or the punk-pop/pop-punk-stradling tunes of the MARKED MEN. But this project does not seem interested in replicating those acts’ kitsch, irony, or cool. Instead, MIKEY—decked out in some ill-fitting jeans and a bucket hat, clutching an oversized plush bear—is bringing unadulterated earnestness to the table. And, yeah, on paper that sounds even less punk, but it works. The songwriting is up to snuff, and he manages to keep the twee-ness to a tasteful minimum—even when a squiggly-ass keyboard rears its ugly head, it never overstays its welcome! I don’t know that this record is going to flip anybody’s wig, but it’s certainly a pleasant way to while away twenty minutes.
