Photos:
HEXDEBT – Kurt Eckardt
Bench Press – Rick Clifford
Recorded by James Eyre Walker
Mixed by Branko Cosic
Recorded at The Bearded Lady, West End, 26 July 2019
Starting off in 2016, Bench Press have impressed with their no nonsense approach to music. It’s a sound that feels raw as the vocals are aggressive and down the barrel but the musicality is extremely well structured. It makes you think that they have really thought about the melodies and how they want that to influence the overall nature of their music. The band formed in 2016 and are comprised of Morgan Griffiths on guitars, Lewis Waite on bass, drummer Jordan Hicks and vocals by Jack Stavrakis. They released their self titled debut album in 2017 which was 10 tracks that were no frills and true to their post punk nature. They followed it up in 2019 with their second effort Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future which saw the band really focus more on structure and embrace melodies in a different way reminiscent of acts like Devo. They saw their own development as their first album being easily categorised as post punk but now they are more like really loud pop music and I am all for it. It’s music that you can get that primal energy from and just as easily dance around to and it makes for one hell of a good time.
Recorded by Nell Forster & James Fearn-Wannan
Mixed by James Fearn-Wannan
Recorded at The Bearded Lady, West End, 20 July 2019
HEXDEBT are a band that are just gut-punching-ly good. They are comprised of great musicians who together blend a sound that is inescapable to get involved in and feel their energy. Releasing their first EP in 2017 called Bitch Rising, they have played consistently around Melbourne and have toured around the country, bringing that fire to audiences who revel in it. The band consist of Agnes Whalan on vocals and guitar, Isobel D’cruz Barnes on bass and backing vocals, Aife Larkin on guitar and Lucy Fry on drums. As a vocalist, Agnes’ vocals can hit you like venom as the two guitarists feed off each other like a cobra fighting a mongoose. All the while the rhythm section has incredibly intricate basslines that always keep you moving along with crashing and fervent drumming. Their debut album Rule of Four, released in 2019, sees HEXDEBT take their sound to the next level and land a new benchmark on what is a very exciting journey.
Airing details: Originally via Zed Digital, 7-8pm, Sunday 4 August, 2019
Show host: Jack McDonnell
Show production and engineering: Scott Mercer