Greatest Hits will be dropping a seriously groovy EP on September 25th. Volume One consists of 6 tracks, including ‘Phil, slow it down’ and ‘Growler, a little bit of everyone’, both of which are already circling on triple j for anyone eager to get a taste of their neo-psych, sunshine pop sound.
This QLD based band is made up of a collective of global musicians, all headed up by artist and musician Ryan Cooper. Cooper also plays the role of primary writer and producer, joining forces with producer/mixer Sean Cook (Bombay Bicycle Club, MGMT, Best Coast) to dish out a collection of sun-drenched tunes that will have you vibing all the way along the festival road-trip (In our dreams).
‘Growler, a little bit of everyone’ is the ideal opening tune, teasing samples from the wide range of genres the Greatest Hits sound encapsulates. This is a real hand-shake track, a bit of a ‘tell me one fun fact about yourself’ kinda situation that helps you get to know the band. You have choruses bathed in rock and roll, with open drums and sliding power chords, juxtaposed with classically psychedelic verses, 70’s style sitar plucking and all. By the end of this tune, you feel ready for the little bits of everything Greatest Hits is about to offer you.
‘Lemon Joe, we’re laying low’ is one very cheeky second track - deceptive with its paired back intro before ripping the rug out from under you with a loaded guitar riff thats stuck in your head all day. You find you are drawn in by the tiny nuances of each track, this one with marimba-esque droplets and subtle synth swells sitting right at the back of the mix. Also, you have to say that the tambourine playing in ‘Lemon Joe’ is nothing short of hard hitting, rhythmic perfection.
Moving through to two songs that provide the ideal soundtrack for a salty drive back from the beach; ‘Mortals’ and ‘One Afternoon, soon’. Both have wavy guitar and laid-back vocals, ‘Mortals’ being slightly groovy, if not almost disco-esque while ‘One Afternoon, soon’ a major progression painting pictures of seemingly endless summer days.
Everything kicks back up a notch with ‘Phil, slow it down’, where Phil is most certainly not slowing anything down. Rhythmic vocals hit heavy on individual beats, shadowed by bass and drum stabs. The chorus is a colourful explosion of both live and electronic instrumentation with an incessant guitar patter driving the tempo, a subtle push and pull between both that balances nostalgic 70’s sampling with Greatest Hits uniquely nuanced sound.
‘Trying’ rounds out this epic EP. The bass and guitar are doing WORK in this track, giving big Chick Corea, fusion vibes with their co-ordinated riffs coming out of each chorus. Each verse features Cooper’s punchy vocals that dictate the ebbs and flows of the tune, building to the ultimate hard-hitting, drum filled outro that has you hitting the play button to do it all over again.
Volume One has something for everyone and really is full of...great hits. There is a lot to unpack in this EP, the musos out there will no doubt enjoy divulging the curly chord progressions while the rest of us revel in the windows down, sunscreeny light-heartedness of the sarcastic lyrics and familiar 70’s grooves.
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