The Breakdown
Without doubt, to me, Johnny Hunter is one of the most exciting bands coming out of Australia at the moment and their debut album ‘Want’ is a masterpiece of new wave post punk indie imbued with a punk sensibility. The inherent muscularity of music and imagery is leavened by an erudite sensitivity and an indelible ear for pop melodies that makes this a stunning debut.
Opening title track is a statement of intent: thumping, punky brash and elegant at the same time as singer Nick Hutt assures he can be everything we want. And he and the band delivers on this promise. Hutt says ‘Want’ is:
A spearheaded promise to the self to be the best version one can be. Self assured affirmation acts as a hardened fist to the instrumental whirlwind of the challenges life throws at the self. This is Johnny Hunter incarnate. Stop, look and listen to Johnny Hunter, we will be all that you want. Originally written as a jangling indie track, we stripped it back, experimented with different keys and tuning and turned it into quite the thumping opener you hear now. Using a Moog Sub37. Mostly used this for the sub, or to give extra dimension to a bass guitar part. Though there are moments (in the break of Want notably) where I played parts to support the guitar arpeggio – As it’s largely a guitar-driven track, and the record features a lot of synths, I felt it should have an outing – also we just happened to be using the Moog that day.
It’s a dynamic and rough and tumble start to this glorious album matched by a mesmerising performance video:
‘Endless Days’ maintains the pace with a muscular bass and crystalline guitars and a rousing chorus that is anthemic.
‘The Floor’ is a pulsating, dynamic track that is ebullient, abrasive and enough attitude and radiant star power to mesmerise an entire galaxy.
I interviewed the band a few years ago and they made it clear how seriously they took the aesthetics and the sound of the band:
We always wanted people to remember us. Putting on a show is a part of playing music, music needs theatricality & cabaret. It began when Hutty started to wear eyeliner & lipstick at our first show as Johnny Hunter. Soon the whole band aesthetic began to come together and it’s now become an integral part of our show.
This package is on show in ‘The Floor’ – both the single and the video are dynamic and entertaining. Touching on dark themes, the band says of the song:
The floor is the lowest point. The realisation that the person you’ve become is not the person you wanted to be. When after a lifetime of casting the blame outward, the only place left to look is inward. It’s the accusation of the self and the confession to the self. The acceptance of responsibility. The rude awakening. The brute in the mirror. But above all it’s a release. It’s the clarity to know yourself well enough to see that the only way now is up
The lyrics are visceral and scything:
I am the floor
That you stand upon
I am a lover
Dead and gone
I am the Rat
I am the creep
I am the scum
Dance to the sound of the
Confession song
Sheer brazen showmanship, a sneering posed attitude and songwriting craft of the highest order: a pop song cloaked in a heavy-metal sheen and an arched brow, gothic undertones mixed with carnival extravagance. Johnny Hunter and ‘The Floor’ has it all.
‘Life’ is infused with the same vitality and theatricality we have come to expect from the band: an eighties synth wash, razor sharp bass lines and sky high melodies that are studied and posed. The thunderous tenor vocals from the enigmatic Nick Hutt add a blinding lustre to the whole. This is such an exciting band that continues to push boundaries while tipping a hat to the indie post punk genes that form the spine to their music.
The band is as enigmatic and philosophical as ever in their comments about the track:
To find life is to find happiness, it is the ultimate end and purpose of our existence.
Life is not found in the darkness of the night, nor is it found in selfish ideals. It lies in the balance of the new day and how we approach our imperfections to bring balance to ourselves. The answer to The Floor, an ultimatum proposed to the self, to change or die, to sink or swim. The sun is shining, it’s time for change, appreciate what you have, know who you are and lose yourself in Life. Inspired by the moral dilemma I faced pulling beers for alcoholics to sustain a week to week pay cheque that was almost always whimsically spent on alcohol for myself. These people were dying right in front of my eyes (some did die) and I was joining them.
When Spandau Ballet were good, when Ultravox were at their highest peaks and when the later era goth-infused sounds of Interpol, White Lies and Editors drew their inspiration from Joy Division, all these sources can be faintly detected in the atmosphere when Johnny Hunter plays. And what an untrammeled joy that is.
The beautifully evocative lyrics embellish the intimate sense of yearning and melancholia that threads its way through the track:
If I don’t find life
I’ll be sinking like
A stone
Swimming with the dead
I’ll be killing you softly
Exquisite.
The video for the track was filmed in the Moth Club in Hackney, London and directed by SIMON & SillaTape, it deals with the horrors of dependence where an alcoholic bartender service versions of his older self. It is haunting and visceral, poignant and intelligent. The directors said:
There’s a real understanding between us and the band about how to bring their vision to life. We’ve blended frustration and freedom throughout the music video – pairing the despondency of a sorrowful boozer with the possibilities of the world and, by extension, LIFE itself.
The band says:
The concept for the ‘Life’ video was borne out of Nick’s (Hutty’s) lived experience and we wanted to recreate that. We discussed where and how we still might be able to breathe some life into this concept, all the while thinking of where the perfect setting might be – even if that meant it being across international waters. Very soon after, the suggestion of London was made and that was that.
We couldn’t think of a better location stylistically and atmospherically. The treatment and narrative idea we developed for the clip was nearly identical to the one Patrick and Simon put forward after we first approached them. What has resulted is a film clip that dives deep into the heart of what ‘Life’ is all about: a bleak world drenched in a hopeless atmosphere
‘Life’ is infused with the same vitality and theatricality we have come to expect from the band: an eighties synth wash, razor sharp bass lines and sky high melodies that are studied and posed. The thunderous tenor vocals from the enigmatic Nick Hutt add a blinding lustre to the whole. This is such an exciting band that continues to push boundaries while tipping a hat to the indie post punk genes that form the spine to their music.
The band is as enigmatic and philosophical as ever in their comments about the track:
To find life is to find happiness, it is the ultimate end and purpose of our existence.
The band says of the themes to ‘Life’:
Life is not found in the darkness of the night, nor is it found in selfish ideals. It lies in the balance of the new day and how we approach our imperfections to bring balance to ourselves. The answer to The Floor, an ultimatum proposed to the self, to change or die, to sink or swim. The sun is shining, it’s time for change, appreciate what you have, know who you are and lose yourself in Life.
Inspired by the moral dilemma I faced pulling beers for alcoholics to sustain a week to week pay cheque that was almost always whimsically spent on alcohol for myself. These people were dying right in front of my eyes (some did die) and I was joining them.
The video is a powerful depiction of this horror:
Hopelessly romantic, ‘Dreams’ gently applies the brakes to Johnny Hunter’s frenetic pace and is a paean to a sense of time and place and the ever changing face of Sydney. Enigmatic frontman Nick Hutt says:
The Sydney I grew up in is a very different Sydney to the one we live in today. Iconic buildings have been knocked down for skyrise apartments and famous music venues destroyed by political legislation. One day you are walking down the street in the sunshine, and the next you’re confined to the four walls of your own bedroom. Johnny Hunter started playing live music during the death of live music in Sydney – wallowing in self pity and declaring the current state of affairs to be insurmountable would result in this band not existing. The same goes for experiencing any modern day hardships – we can’t dwell upon them, we need to run with them in order to progress.
Crystalline shimmering guitars etch the horizon above a muscular rhythm section, and Hutt’s vocals are passionate and urgent with a rousing epic chorus. This is a statuesque and cinematic track; a veritable stadium anthem filled with passion, melancholy and drama.
‘Cry Like A Man’, shows that in 2022, the band is back with a blast and purring on their continued ascendancy. The single is no posturing shallow showpiece nor an empty vessel parading its finery. With their trademark gothic tinges, a heavy and thunderous spine and Nick Hutt’s deep and vibrant vocals, Johnny Hunter deal with serious issues. Hutt says the track was the result of a 6 hour brainstorm… as I manically yelled lyrics, and says:
I had been placed in the unfortunate position of witnessing someone shrink into very selfish and abusive behaviour. It had been my first encounter with such an event and it shook me to my core.
‘Cry Like A Man’ calls upon the embracism of vulnerability. Men often abuse their masculinity to shield their vulnerability, in doing so they jeopardise the balance of the two dualities, they lose their sense of humanity and sense of self, to satisfy the self-aggrandizing fallacy that the world belongs to them.
Visceral shards of guitar frame Hutt’s rumbling voice – the archetypal Las Vegas showman tremble in the sonorous vocals, imbued with anger and emotion in skyscaping choruses. And melody? You can count on Johnny Hunter to provide a bittersweet pop sensibility deep in the heart of anything they write. This is utterly tremendous.
‘Want’ is a triumph and such a joy to listen to. Dramatic, theatrical and full of attitude and swagger yet threaded with a divine poetry and an intelligent sensitivity, full of internal tensions that combine to create something quite special.
You can download and stream here or through the link below:
Johnny Hunter will be embarking on a nationwide Australian tour – details below and tickets available here.
Feature Photograph: Tom Wilkinson
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