Sydney friends Gus Hunt and Henry Gosling make up garage rock outfit Unity Floors, which is set to release its debut album at the end of the month.
After forming in 2010, the duo’s first EP Women’s Golf was released the following year and quickly garnered Unity Floors acclaim and a strong following. This saw the group land support slots for the likes of Lou Barlow and Sonny and the Sunsets, and also resulted in them being signed to the highly respected Sydney indie label Popfrenzy.
Titled Exotic Goldfish Blues, Unity Floors’ LP continues in the same laid-back garage rock style that typified Women’s Golf. Employing only guitar, vocals and drums, Hunt and Gosling are able to build a wholly engaging, gritty and strangely moving rock sound.
While their somewhat retro sound is at times reminiscent of acts like Jay Reatard and even a stripped back version of Lou Barlow’s own Dinosaur Jr, Unity Floors remain refreshingly unique and also present an unquestionably Australian aesthetic.
Lead single ‘Nice Fit’ is an upbeat, scratchy pop effort, while second track ‘Day Release’ offers a typically fuzzed out guitar chord progression backed by tightly restrained drums, allowing Hunt’s emotive vocals to take a front seat.
Towards the end of the album, standout track ‘Want it All’ utilises dual guitar parts, heavy cymbal use and a pained vocal line to deliver a powerful two and a half minute gem.
A fantastic release from a promising band.
Exotic Goldfish Blues is out November 29 on Popfrenzy Records. Stream the record ahead of its release below.
