We’re hardly a third of the way into 2020 but already we’ve had to deal with at least three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, so it goes without saying that we’re willing to grab onto anything that’s fun with a white-knuckled intensity and never let go, dammit.
Today, such a thing has fallen into our laps in the form of SoSo’s shimmering debut single, ‘The Henry Lawson Jive’. The ditty manages to effortlessly cram a hefty dose of Easycore fun into its 3-odd-minute run time, providing a much needed sense of carefree bliss and plenty of shout-along hooks to boot. The kind you’ll sing-along to with friends while socialising in a breezy park on a Sunday afternoon…once we’re allowed to socialise outside again.
For a band taking their first steps into this game, Sydney’s SoSo have demonstrated a master handle on their sound indicating there’s plenty more to come from the group once ‘The Henry Lawson Jive’ has had its time to sink in.
SoSo gave Blunt a list of required reading before you hit spin for the first time to get the most bang out of this bop…
1. Their working relationship with Stevie Knight is a direct result of them winning a local talent show which they were actually ineligible for…
Our previous band won the 2016 ‘Bring it on!’ festival run by Fairfield City Council, which landed us five days recording with Mr. Stevie Knight at Electric Sun Studios. Yeah cool – except for the fact that we were in our early 20’s and were way over the combined age limit. In our defence, no one ever asked any questions – even when five blokes with facial hair rocked up and completely outshone (not something to be proud of) the other bands made up of high school kids. Yeah whatever, studio time at Electric Sun ain’t cheap.
2. The song title is a homage to a street in the guy’s hometown.
The Henry Lawson Drive (HLD) is a street that runs straight through our hometowns of Panania, East Hills, and Milperra. These suburbs are in the heart of Western Sydney and are full of teenagers that are just as likely to go on to study at uni, as they are to develop a drug addiction and spend their weekends migrating between Centrelink and the brickies laptop at East Hills Hotel. This sort of atmosphere really gave you the best of both worlds. We spent many a night stumbling along the HLD, having literally weaponised ourselves for mischief through severe intoxication.
3. SoSo found their bassist on Tinder.
Yes, that’s right, Rhys and Anthea met on Tinder. The other guys met through Ashley Madison.
4. The lads supplied little Joshy from OK Hotel with his first ever cold brew.
Back when we were recording with our old band at Main Street Studios in Wollongong, a chipper 16-year-old lad called Josh was doing work experience at the studio. After striking up a friendship which lasts to this day (Joshy does the production for the offensively average videos we make), we celebrated as a band with some beers. Not wanting to leave the young whipper snapper out, we offered Joshy a beer. Unknowingly, this was his first time. In hindsight, we wish we were gentler.
5. They played a warmup gig at home – the 80’s backyard bonanza.
We decided to have a little tune up backyard gig in November 2019 and made it 80’s themed. We’ve decided these will be a yearly event. The picture speaks for itself…
Ok, now you’re ready to listen…
