Scared of Sharks became Australia’s equivalent to Half Man Half Biscuit with their trippy tongue-in-cheek electro post-punk track, Last Train to Wyong. Charged with cultural humour, brashy tones and psychonautic grooves, the single invites you to live vicariously through the incident that inspired the single, which also happens to encapsulate the infamously zany energy of the outfit which is currently priming the airwaves for the release of their debut EP, Double Happiness.
After drummer Tim Shady got too cooked at a rave in Sydney, lost all his belongings, hopped on a train and headed in the wrong direction home, Scared of Sharks seized the opportunity to orchestrate an anecdotal earworm. Maybe we can’t all say we’ve been there, but we can all agree that the loveable rogues of which the powerhouse comprises have a knack for storytelling with more humour than you are likely to see if you head to any open mic comedy show.
The ingenious reframing of that iconic ‘Democracy Manifest’ quote into “What’s the charge, riding a train, a lovely New South Wales train?’ is the highlight of the track that ensures even in this throwaway culture, Shares of Sharks are here to thrive and endure.
Last Train to Wyong will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp, from December 8th.
Review by Amelia Vandergast