Australian noisy punk & metal band Totally Unicorn make their NZ debut appearance this February.
Known for their genre-bending tunes and hilariously empathic live show, the Sydney via Wollongong four-piece are in town as part of the Camp A Low Hum revival. Between sets at the revered festival's double weekender, the band are playing a limited number of shows in the North Island, starting with Auckland's Whammy Bar, supported by Dick Move and Carthage.
More about the band:
A purge is generally followed by a binge. That’s why the third album from Sydney’s Totally Unicorn is a gluttonous feast of black humour, animalistic energy and the promise of glitter-bomb good times.
Since forming in Wollongong in 2010, they’ve shared trenches with Cancer Bats, Dillinger Escape Plan and Frenzal Rhomb, and toured Japan; always evolving. First, there was the chaotic mathcore of their 2016 debut, 'Dream Life'; and then, the relatively subdued 'Sorry' with its pared-back arrangements and unfathomable tunings. But teaming up with producer Lachlan Mitchell (The Hard-Ons, The Jezabels) at Parliament Studios in Leichhardt, they’ve concocted something a whole lot more textured and considered.
Take album opener ‘Yeah, Coach’, which comes yahooing through the gates with the aggro intensity of Black Flag and the party stamina of Animal House. It’s a direct hit to the moshpit, perfect for the kind of live show that might see Gardner standing on the bar in just his underwear, smashing a hi-hat stolen from drummer Adam Myers, necessitating the other band members to take over mic duties.
High Spirits//Low Life is born into a world diminished by lockdowns and distancing, which makes its relatability all the more vital. At its most poignant it’s a primal scream of frustration. But bring those emotional wounds to the always-celebratory live shows and they’ll be bandaged in tinsel and streamers.
