Council Sport by Big Scout

Small town New Zealand. Not exactly a cultural hot bed. Hillbillies in Hiluxes. We’re holding on to our gumboot culture around here. And why not? Have you heard that covers band at the local vomitorium? Things really start heating up at around 10.30 on a Friday night when the well lubricated yokels fresh in from the vineyards and forestry blocks start singing along to Living On A Prayer and throwing up on each other’s shoes with the kind of fervour usually reserved in these parts for the topless waitress selling tickets to a meat raffle without even the vaguest hint of irony. Big Scout aren’t that band. No, they’re not that band at all. They’re a slow simmer coming to a fast boil, straining against the conservative shackles of provincial living and loving every minute of it while itching to kick down a few new doors and make yer fucking ears bleed with a high energy, high decibel live act you’ll never see coming and that always leaves you wanting more. Pop hooks, a raised middle finger and a sardonic grin. Dripping both love and aggression in equal measure. Is it post punk? Well what the fuck is that anyway? And pigeon holes are for the easily pinned. This is a frenetic unit, always pulsing, ever evolving. Try pigeon hole this.

Insightful lyrics riding nimbly atop a confronting wall of sound that swings wildly between a lighthearted upbeat jaunt and a full frontal attack openly flirting with complete and utter sensory overload. Screeching guitar work that forever teeters on the edge of chaos and abject noise while never quite tipping over that fine line and backed by a driving rhythm section so tight it could cut off your circulation. Or at least leave your head spinning, slack jawed and wondering what the fuck just happened. This isn’t any old backline. These guys are a well oiled machine and they wield their force with laser targeted precision - at once a weapon of mass seduction and the kind of ‘fuck you’ that’s usually followed by a knee to the nuts by a scorned lover. The influences are diverse in this coming together of three starkly different personalities, woven into an abrasive tapestry by practiced musicians with an intimate chemistry that’s says: ‘we’re brothers first and band mates second.’ The love shines through. These guys sure as fuck aren’t what you think you’re gonna to hear coming out of lil ol’ Boomtown but they’re coming for you nonetheless. Get in on the ground floor with their action packed debut album Council Sport coming out on Melted Ice Cream in 2022 - cos you’ll hear 100 missable bands this year but you don’t wanna miss this.

--words by 'Reverend Johnny Heathen'

Jim Tannock
Matthew Hellriegel
Gregg Slatter

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