Streetlights’ latest release Rita is an indie rock number with the signature Streetlights’ lively, jangly guitars that will get you dancing around the topic of unrequited love!
Emerging from suburban Western Australia, Streetlights is a homegrown group built on the foundations of a few schoolmates playing covers in their rock band after school and on the weekends. With an instant connection with each other, a strong bond developed and continued to shine throughout their performances and writing sessions. During their time together they have grown and bloomed into exceptional musicians, spilling an array of new sounds that are inspired by bands past and present.
Streetlights is banded together by brothers John and Pearse Topliss, cousins Ethan Gosatti and Anthony Menegola, and Brad Watson (who has basically become like family over the years through association). Popping off in High school, John, Pearse and Anthony held down the fort with the piano, guitar and drums in the school band where they engaged in an unhealthy amount of ’90s grunge covers. John eventually made his way into the band when Anthony invited him to sing and play on a couple of songs in their school band’s “farewell” gig. The original bass player left, and their pal Brad stepped up and filled in short notice for a gig. The band all came together after that.
Keeping busy outside the band, they’ve all got intricate commitments and goals that they are pursing. John is studying to be a high school teacher at university, Pearse has just finished Year 12 and is going into Engineering, Ethan is studying a double degree in business and psychology, Brad finished his degree and is a full-time sound engineer and Anthony is a parts manager at a Ford Dealership.
With a struggle to put their fingers on the type of style their music is, they’ve had other people throw all kinds of labels at them with an emphasis on surf punk, indie pop rock, classic rock, post-punk. They usually just tell people to “have a listen and let us know what you think” or they revert to the broad umbrella of Indie Rock. They love playing and writing tracks with a memorable guitar line and a chorus that anyone can sing along to!
They’re a broad church at Streetlights when it comes to influences, with some common ground with bands that heavily influence their songwriting. Bands like The Strokes, Something For Kate, Crowded House, U2, Queens of the Stone Age, have all played a part in shaping their sound in some way. They’re also appreciative and proud of the amazing bands that have come from their own backyard in Perth. Bands they’ve seen play live and have left a park of them such as Eskimo Joe, Old Mervs, Pond, Spacey Jane, South Summit, Stella Donnelly and many, many more.
Rita is a document of desperation as Streetlights’ pine after unrequired love in a churring energetic fusion of sound. The lush vocal expression of John bends through a strong, assertive cadence as the backdrop of sound resounds into gritty, punchy strikes of the percussive and electric energy. With pastel elements of glitchy synth swirls, a healthy dose of yearning turns into a straight up banger that you could easily lose yourself in. The track was produced, mixed and mastered by Sam Ford at Tone City Studios (Nectar, Siobhan Cotchin, Dice).
Check out this banger below!
