- Brisbane three piece The Goon Sax are flat out one of the greatest bands to ever name themselves after the disgusting bags of wine that have become some kind of a gross rite of passage for Australian youth all over this big red rock of ours. Despite the name, the jaunty, fresh faced trio appear mostly unaffected from the brain dulling effects of too much cheap booze and seem ready, willing and able to have a decent crack at taking over the world; one decrepit reviewer at a time.

After a slew of songs, shows and low blows, the teenage trio have found a fitting home in Melbourne's Chapter Music; a partnership which makes a whole lot of sense. Chapter is one of Australia's biggest independent labels and have released some wonderful records from jangly, broke ass pop pioneers from the likes of Twerps, Dick Diver and The Stevens to name just a few. The Goon Sax look and feel right at home among Chapter's roster of established and up-and-coming Australian musical maestros.

On their debut LP, Up To Anything, The Goon Sax have crafted a record that is equal parts earnest, youthful abandon mixed with golden nuggets of wisdom and self-reflection with a healthy dash of sadness, longing and DIY haircuts. It's a record that conjures a cocktail of mixed feelings about that hazy, confounding period; post school, pre-career that some would argue I'm still neck deep in, some ten alarming years after the fact.

Much like the best jangly Australian pop, the music might not set the world on fire with its technical prowess, but instead is anchored by some seriously killer song writing chops informed by the grit and the mundane profundity that often stems from stumbling through our indifferent modern world: a time and place in which a simple crush on another human being can be the difference between living and simply existing. The Goon Sax create deceptively simple, sweet and heartfelt music that resonates more than most bands equipped with a similar aesthetic.

While I've ingested my fair share of humble, slacker pop in recent years, The Goon Sax might just be the last credible bastion of this style before the wave ultimately breaks and we're left sifting through the ineviatable gutter trash wondering where it all went wrong. Until then, if I'm up to anything, it'll be listening to this goddamn record.

- Jay Edwards.