Ipods, knitting, Sum 41... it's all here!
Imagine New Zealand punk kids with spiky hair. You’re imagining Sum 41, right? Well, Steriogram are the new contenders to the Australasian punk rock crown with lyrics spat out at break neck speed and award nominations already under their belts.
‘Walkie Talkie Man’ is a spiky, funky tune with lashings of attitude provided by singer Tyson Kennedy’s in your face lyrical barrage and groove added in by guitarists Brad Carter and Tim Youngston. . Unfortunately when they lyrics do become clear, they’re remarkably unendearing, “he’s fat and he don’t run too fast/ but he’s faster than me.” In small doses ‘Walkie Talkie Man’ is fun and catchy, although whether a whole album of similar tunes is at all tolerable will remain unproven until the release of their debut album ‘Schmack’. Still, if you’re up for some crazy ska dancing, this is the song to try it to.
This debut single from Steriogram has already attracted a lot of attention with its ‘yarnful’ video bringing knitting back into fashion and being nominated for 3 awards at the MTV VMAs. The tune itself has also been featured on a prolific iPod advert and after being shunned by the radio stations of their home country, is now being praised by a global audience. I guess I must be a very mundane teenager because the novel attraction didn’t last more than a few seconds before the repetitive nature of the tune started to grate on my nerves.