‘Interstellar Nihilist’ is the new single from Naarm/Melbourne indie band Okay Dane and it reveals a cool and enigmatic burst of thundering pop that is cathartic and joyous. A detectable and delicious strain of melancholia threads though a track that is anthemic and nuanced, with a chorus that flexes its pop muscles with a quiet/loud ethic and a double tracked guitar solo that is cinematic and bold. A snaky bass is ambulant and winding underneath the sonic storm.
Guitarist and vocalist Jake Kougioumtzis says of the track:
The song uses the imagery of an astronaut abandoned in space as a metaphor to represent loneliness and existential dread in the digital age, where we are more accessible with our communication but far less connected in any in person sense. I started working on the demo and it had a very science fiction quality to it with some of the sounds I was finding, so that inspired the lyrics.
He adds:
I started the song accidentally when I was messing around with a pitch shifting guitar pedal. I was just playing around and the guitar part from the verse just jumped out and I immediately heard something in it. There is some DNA from influences like Ball Park Music, Pixies and even Elliot Smith.
This is stirring material. If reference points are needed, I immediately think of the stadium sounds of Pixies, Feeder or Smashing Pumpkins, a gothic touch of The Horrors leavened with a more antipodean blush (Eskimo Joe or You Am I). Ultimately, it is exciting pulse quickening pop with bite and intelligence.
‘Interstellar Nihilist’ is out today and available to download and stream through the link above and via all the usual places.
Okay Dane will officially launch ‘Interstellar Nihilist’ on Friday, 19 January at Bad Decisions with support from Oh Daisy!, Stepdad Advice and After School Care. Tickets here.
Feature Photograph: Georgia Smith
