Australia in the ’90s; a decade defined by deep-rooted creativity, party drugs, sex, and an amalgamation of genre-bending music.
The year was 1998, Matchbox 20 were dominating the number one spot on the Australian album charts, alongside the soundtracks for Titanic and Grease. Scrunchies were on every shelf at the supermarket, Yowie Surprise still in full bloom, and Pink Pills by The Mavis’s was dominating the experimental pop music scene down under.
It’s been twenty long years since The Mavis’s dropped Pink Pills, an outsider classic that holds a special place in the hearts of naughty boys and girls everywhere.
If you’re familiar with the likes of the iconic Deadstar and Rebecca’s Empire (both Australian ’90s alumni), you would have most definitely come across a track from Pink Pills, an album that personified their no-rules attitude.
As self-proclaimed rejects, each member of The Mavis’s have described their upbringing as somewhat outcast; not really belonging here nor there, but finding solace in their collective oddities and producing music that was a big ol’ middle finger to the conformist attitudes that were around during that decade.
In a rare interview with Recovery ABC, frontwoman Beki Thomas is seen wearing a beige tracksuit, with people rollerblading behind her, as she talks about seeing Pseudo Echo at a local pub in Ballarat when she was fifteen. There’s a humbling sense of authenticity when you listen to Thomas discuss her adolescence and influences, something that has faded with the dawn of social media and personal branding.
Pink Pills is an ode to a generation of dreamers, exquisitely captured in one of the two singles from the album, Cry. Its sentiment relates to a relationship built on dependability; when you love someone so much but realise you have their heart in your palm. You could hurt them with even the slightest squeeze.
It’s impossible not to mention Naughty Boy when talking about Pink Pills, it’s the track that picks you up by the shoulders and shakes you senseless until you’re as light-headed as one of those wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men (yes, that’s actually what they’re called).
Some would describe it as one of the earlier queer tracks in Australian music, each lyric belted out with a rage-fuelled conviction that’s impossible not to feel an affinity toward.
Naughty Boy feels like Marilyn Manson’s earlier workings such as Personal Jesus and The Beautiful People, anthems that inspire rebellion within all aspects of the production. The clip that goes alongside Naughty Boy is just great – we see quintessential ’90s looks and attitude, with gender bending and super sensual atmospheres, all captured by that paradigmatic fisheye camera lens.
But why are we even talking about The Mavis’s right now? Not that you need an excuse, but they’re bringing Pink Pills back to celebrate twenty years since its initial release.
In early May of this year, you’ll have the chance to turn back time and see Matt Doll, Beki Thomas and Nik Daniel tour together for the first time in fifteen gosh darn years, blasting their biggest tracks from Pink Pills and beyond.
If you’re lucky enough to see The Mavis’s this year, you’ll soon understand why they will go down in the books as one of the most dominant, authoritative and simply influential artists in Australian music history (and that, my friends, is something to talk about).
Pink Pills 20th Anniversary Tour
Fri 4 May – The Grand Hotel Mornington – Mornington, VIC – Tickets
Sat 5 May – The V Room – Noosa, QLD – Tickets
Sun 6 May – Stones Corner Festival – Greenslopes, QLD – Tickets
Wed 9 May – The Gov – Adelaide, SA – Tickets
Thurs 10 May – The Metro Theatre – Sydney, NSW – Tickets
Fri 11 May – Prince Bandroom – St. Kilda, VIC – Tickets
Sat 12 May – Karova Lounge – Ballarat, VIC – Tickets
