Melbourne has produced a lot of amazing artists, individuals and creatives alike; each as open-minded and unique as the next, with boredom a rarity and curiosity the norm. It’s a petri-dish for creativity where many great acts emerge and explode, unbound by their genres or what is trending in society.
Funnily enough, that’s also the best way to describe the experts of innovation and all things unique, Sex On Toast. Known for their experimental style, they’re bringing back the rawness of the 80s to all things soul and funk, with a strong focus on improvisation and just not taking life so god damn so seriously.
Their above video 4 U is proof enough. I can smell the cheese from here.
New single 4 U radiates everything that Sex On Toast are about, from the synchronised dance moves right down to the matching turtle necks.
Five seconds into 4 U and it’s impossible not to be reminded of New Kids On The Block or some other cringe-worthy, 80s boy band. It’s a combination of the camera angles, transition effects and scenarios that follow which make 4 U the epitome of the unapologetically decadent decade.
An empty room or city backdrop at night just wouldn’t have the same feel to it if it wasn’t accompanied by some overly-dramatic hand movements, heart-broken facial expressions and random transitions to lead singer Angus Leslie’s face. It’s everything from the cheesy 80s dance moves to the finer details that make 4 U work so well as a spoof.
4 U is everything mentioned above, juxtaposed with a random compilation of clips that have absolutely nothing to do with the music video. Shots of the band singing in the rain, to a woman having a bath in rose petals; and you’ll start to feel like you’re up at 5am watching rage.
If that doesn’t scream erotic romance, than I don’t know what does.
Whatever the motive behind 4 U is, Sex On Toast have succeeded yet again in creating an ironic, humorous take on the past whilst proving that it’s possible for a band to successfully make music without taking it so damn seriously.
