Sydney’s Johnny Hunter are quite a delight – drawing as they do on a long and creditable line of goth-tinged post punk music stretching from Joy Division through to Editors and Interpol. And they do this without resorting to simple cliches or sounding like a mere facsimile of their influences.
Their new single, ‘Hollow Man’, is a theatrical glam stomp event in itself: poised and posed, arch and knowing, fun yet so very studied.
Johnny Hunter vocalist Nick Hutt has that Bowie-esque theatricality – a baritone voice that quivers with feelings and emotions in a immersive tone. Of the themes of the song, he says:
‘Hollow Man’ is a commentary on the moral hypocrisy we face as natural born hedonists. As virtue is put aside in the name of personal gratification, to aid our egos we become the same in our quest for acceptance and in doing so, lose who we truly are – eventually becoming hollow men.
This has all the hallmarks of decently cathartic and utterly satisfying rock’n’roll. Drama, a little cabaret and a thumping rhythm under striking guitars are all perfectly blended:
‘Hollow Man’ is available here and will be on Johnny Hunter’s EP ‘Early Trauma’ due out in August.
Johnny Hunter are:
Nick Hutt
Nick Cerone
Xander Burgess
Gerry Thompson
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