(Indie Rock, Indie Pop) High-tails - A Slight Hi - 2017, MP3, 320 kbps

Much like the band name anagram that provides its title, High-tails' debut album "A Slight Hi" is a consciously coltish set of shapeshifting guitar-pop, frisky dance-funk and whimsical wordplay. It's the sound of four Wagga-via-Sydney boys having the time of their lives, and you're invited - "A Slight Hi" is a gregarious how-do that'll put a smile on your dial, a wriggle in your hips, and some songs in your heart all at the same time.
The twelve-track record was helmed by producer Chris Colonna, previously of Modular Records hitmakers Bumblebeez, who more recently has been releasing club cuts under a variety of aliases including Magic Pirate and Ccolo. Chris beamed himself in from his Braidwood bunker with a bunch of enthusiasm to track with the High-tails boys at studios on the Central Coast and in Sydney. Oh, and frontman Nick recorded some vocals in his bedroom, too!
On working with the band, Chris says "I really liked the friendship of the guys - there was 'country kids' in them all. For me, after working with a lot of single producers and artists, it was nice to work with an actual band where it was one for all and all for one." High-tails' frontman Nicholas Griffith confirms "Chris was very laidback and enjoyable personality to have in the studio with us. His approach was much more stripped-back, and focused on the feeling of a take rather than what layers could be added later on. This pushed us to make immediate decisions and changes when things weren't working."
For a band whose early triple j hits "Bending Over Backwards" and "Information" were tightly-wound guitar-pop songs, High-tails have got their groove on (and bought a fair few synths in the process, too). Aside from frantic bangers like the LinnDrum machine-led first single "All The Time", the album also boasts some smooth jams ("Bubblegum" and "Shoop Shoop" are as pillowy as their titles suggest, and call to mind the head-nodding vibes of The Whitest Boy Alive and Lifetones), as well as featherlight punk-funk ("Into The Light" and "Stickn Round" owe their shoe-shuffling sensitivities to High-tails' professed love of Orange Juice and Talking Heads). But fear not - "A Slight Hi" still has some soaring guitar jangle in the mix, too ("Friends Forever" and "Cool Wind and Pavement" are nostalgia-laced anthems with heartfelt shades of The Go-Betweens and you guessed it, Pavement).
Getting all these songs in shape was a matter or writing, refining, and living a little. It's a collection of tunes penned as far afield as in a barn on a farm in Bega, in cheap hostels in Europe, and in the case of the saxophone-soaked "Family Holiday", on a vintage synth at Nick's mum's house in Coffs Harbour. There are ruminations on making mates ("Friends Forever"), escaping them ("So Long"), and watching your life pass you by ("Sushi Train").
High-tails have recently hit the road in the lead-up to the album's release, playing slots at Brisbane's BIGSOUND and Sydney's King Street Crawl festivals. In their busy history the band have completed tours with Jamie T (UK), Philadelphia Grand Jury, Northeast Party House, Oh Mercy and others, and played shows from Toowoomba to Moruya, and Wagga to Wangaratta (plus a few points in-between). An AU Review review said of the band's live show "their enthusiasm and energy [is] intoxicating".