When one enters Hijinx Studios, an abandoned printer factory-turned creative hub just off Parramatta Road, the buzz of tattoo guns from upstairs becomes ambient noise, and the smell of spray paint and weed invades your senses. Up at Night’s single Run — their debut single following a series of demos — is a certified classic, a perfect melting pot of rock, indie, punk and bossa nova. The move from strictly live performance at inner west institutions such as the Duke of Enmore and the Lansdowne, to production of a single along with an upcoming album was seemingly swift for the Up at Night crew.
Up at Night consists of the drumming powerhouse Sammy, Spencer shredding on lead guitar, Griffin, the canadian expat creating masterful bass lines, and Max the lead man and rhythm guitarist fronting the crew. Speaking to Max on one of two Facebook Marketplace ‘outdoor couches’ on his back verandah accompanied by some cups of tea unveiled what powered Run, and what is next to come in Up at Night’s upcoming album.
What does Run sound like? On first listen, its chaos and franticness is the perfect representation of the environment in which it is recorded, reflecting the madness of unrequited love. The track begins with a bossa nova style intro — then a deafening, pleading scream throws the listener into the throes of yearning for a love which just isn’t there. The pre-chorus, sung by Max, “go stick your tongue down something simpler” is a strike straight to the heart of the listener, followed by a snare-less drum beat by Sammy. Up At Night place the ingredients of hardstyle into a different musical recipe — and it tastes just right. Each kick of the drums pushes the pain of unrequited love further down the listener’s throat, like a Mitski song hiding behind a Strokes’ costume.
“First and foremost we are a live band,” Max noted when discussing the production of the single, “so we did a lot of stuff live off the floor.” Max taps into Gang of Four’s Jon King’s punky loudness throughout the single, even emulating ‘Damaged Goods’ panning of vocals from left to right in the production of the track. That live feeling makes itself present throughout the whole track; sitting at home and listening to the single, I’m almost transported back to the sticky floor of the Duke — feeling an apparition of VB being spilled over my left shoulder. The grungy, almost Julian Casablancas style vocals move from ear to ear like it would if you were standing centre of stage at the Lansdowne and thrashing your head around to the music. On the surface, Run is an indie, rock and roll classic — but listen more closely and you’ll be surprised to find a DIY punk song stuck within the throes of young love, passion and coming-of-age.
Stating that Up at Night is a live band is an understatement, the band has been performing live for over a year — with no debut single until now — so I asked, why make us wait?
Max responded: “[We had been performing live] and I didn’t know where to go from there… I felt a bit lost. And then, [his friends] were just like, why aren’t you recording these songs and releasing them? I was like, damn, why aren’t we doing that?”
Max took a sip of his English Breakfast tea and told me the name of the debut album, for the first time ever: The Table Is Set. Recording came naturally to Up at Night, recording their debut album The Table Is Set in just two weeks — set to be released on June 1. Reflecting the album art taken by Rosie Robertson, the album is set to be baroque, brutal, bloody and banging. Up at Night seems to have nailed their presence in the Sydney scene as well as their style as a band, all with just one single out and an album on the way.
Up At Night’s Run is a testament to what young musicians can do with some Marketplace instruments and a DIY recording studio on Parramatta Road — I think that’s a pretty good starting point.
