Catalysts of Sydney post-punk, Johnny Hunter have released their first new music in two years, Frustration – available now via Hell Beach/Onelove Records.
Produced by Jesse F Keeler (MSTRKRFT, Death From Above 1979), Frustration blends the dark synth-led melodies of 80s post-punk with the technicolour hooks of 00s indie-rock to form a searing critique of late-stage Capitalism. The band pulls reference from modern technology, the pop-culture zeitgeist and philosophy to spin a cautionary tale against losing individuality and connection at our world’s expense.
Frontman Nick Hutt shared on the single: “Frustration is a call to overcome my utter distaste at the state of a world in which no one truly believes in anything except what they consume in order to be perceived. Both the left and right believe in nothing and use the consumer as a means to profit while they simultaneously get fucked. Every generation has had the idea of “Hell” so to speak. Dante had the vast wood, and Eliot had the millions of dead soldiers walking around in London. I see our hell as being stuck in the middle of millions of apartments where all that we have is the stagnant light of consumer mediums that bleed us dry over and over again for the rest of time. Now watch me be a plastic man hiding in despair in a porno.”
Brimming with bravado, the band’s sound has evolved since 2022, after Nick and drummer Gerry Thompson lived in Ibiza for three months – abandoning all social media, and learning valuable lessons in synth sound-creation from some of Europe’s best electronic producers, including US-export DJ/Producer, Dakota Fisher who would go on to join the band.
This new iteration of the group – now a five-piece, with Dakota Fisher (bass) joining Xander Burgess (guitar), Mason Lewtas (guitar), Gerry Thompson (drums) and Nicholas Hutt (vocals) – herald a new era with a move to the UK. They farewelled Sydney with three sold out shows at Low 302 in late April, and are enroute to Brighton for The Great Escape in mid-May.
Rising from the ashes of Sydney’s nightlife in 2018, Johnny Hunter have amassed a rapid cult following for their glamour and dynamism on the live stage – echoing their admired predecessors David Bowie, Joy Division and The Cure. Jack White personally invited the band to support his group The Saboteurs (known outside of Australia as The Raconteurs) at their Sydney show in 2019, and their rousing live performance-style found an instant fan in leading UK international booking agent, Steve Zapp (Biffy Clyro, The Editors), who signed the band on-the-spot after seeing them play at Bigsound 2023 in Brisbane. Johnny Hunter were awarded Best On Ground live act at Bigsound by Double J, have supported Psychedelic Furs on their Australian tour and appeared on festival stages including Yours & Owls, Bad Friday and more.
The band’s 2022 debut album, ‘Want’, produced by Jack Moffit (The Preatures) received widespread press adoration including from NME Australia, Courier Mail, The Guardian, Life Without Andy, plus airplay from Triple J, Unearthed and across community radio. Across 10 tracks, soaring hooks and tales of personal growth and tribulations crystalise an album of new-wave genius.
Furiously honest and captivatingly mysterious, release your Frustration with Johnny Hunter now.
With thanks to Thinking Loud
