Born out of friendship, bowling, sci-fi movie marathons and literal brotherhood, Australia’s The Pinheads formed out of what is now colloquially known as the Leisure Coast, spread out among the northern suburbs of the Illawarra and Wollongong region. They quickly established themselves as one of the area’s must-see live bands; no mic stand was left unturned, no face left unmelted, no speaker stack was left unclimbed. Fans don’t leave Pinheads shows with fond memories – they leave with battle scars and folklore tales to last the ages.
The Pinheads reside within a stylistic purgatory – too weird for punk shows, too free-form for garage rock, too genre-defiant for rock & roll, persevering on their own path, which may make pit-stops at any given corner of the musical spectrum should it suit their collective mood. The sound of The Pinheads is a mosaic of their collective tastes – built on the foundations of their heroes, a work of art in its own right.
Their new LP, Is This Real, marks a reunion of sorts for the band, after several members took a short sabbatical from The Pinheads, to go explore other musical projects – among them Tropical Strength, Luke Spook and Shining Bird. Reconvening in their home studio, known as The Shed, the septet set out to once again push out into previously-untouched Pinheads territory.
When The Pinheads started out, their modus operandi revolved around two straight, simple rules: Never play it safe; and always make it fun. This remains as true now of their recorded material and their live shows as it did when they began in 2015.
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of sharing the garage-y ripper “No Time,” from Is This Real, which drops via Farmer & The Owl on May 24. We assure you it is…REAL real!
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