Premiere: The Finalists – ‘Ignore All The Hate (On Your Telephone)’

We are proud to premiere the debut single ‘Ignore All The Hate (On Your Telephone’ from yet another talented bunch of Sydney musicians, The Finalists.

Sydney is fertile ground indeed at the moment for a particular style of extraordinarily talented inner city bands of, shall we say, a more mature vintage. Whether it be bands with historic and time-tested form coming back for another swing such as Even As We Speak, more recent arrivals (Key Out, The Wednesday Night, Golden Fang, The Nature Strip, Buddy Glass, Marveline and Warmer to name but a few) or debutantes (The Electorate), there is no doubt that the streets of Marrickville and the esteemed venues of Gasolene Pony, Lazybones and Petersham Bowling Club are crowded with inordinate talent. And The Finalists can proudly take their place amongst their contemporaries.

‘Ignore All The Hate (On Your Telephone)’ enters with a gentle acoustic strum that jangles its way through the track. There is a subtle hint of alt.country with the plucking echoing solo and a gently melancholic air throughout. The indefinable, delightfully unique Australian tone lends both expression and veracity. The vocals are earnest, delicate and raw, lending a low-fi laid-back shimmer to the song:

This a lovely track infused with melody and a positive force. Singer Mark Tobin says of the song:

It can be a bruising experience for someone in the sights of a social media hit squad, that ruthlessly cuts down those who don’t conform to their perceived correct set of values and beliefs.

Some enjoy antagonising this mob and can cope with the resultant social media pile-on, but for others it can mess with their mind so much they decide to stay silent in the future. This song is about how to avoid the negative effects on your frame of mind if you find yourself at the centre of an awful online onslaught. If you have something important to say you should never pull your punches out of fear of a backlash.

The single is out on 22 September 2020 through Half a Cow Records who seem to have hoovered up a high percentage of indie talent in Australia at the moment. No wonder they’ve been around for thirty years.

The Finalists consist of heavy-weights of Sydney’s inner city indie music – scene singer/guitarist and songwriter Mark Tobin (Scarlet, Panic Syndrome, The Black Halo), guitarist Robert Young (The Wednesday Night, Semi Lemon Kola), bassist Chris Familton (Charlie Horse, Thorazine Shuffle) and drummer Matt Brown (Charlie Horse). With this form, there is a lot more to look forward to.