Shimmery synth-pop laid over powerful pop melodies, Brisbane indie group Action Slacks (Maddy, Levi and Jimmy) have released their first new music of 2020 with the single 'Find A Way'.
The lead track of the group's debut EP due in 2021, 'Find A Way' was recorded between Plutonium Studios with engineer Aidan Hogg (Jaguar Jonze, WAAX, Hatchie), and the band's home studio.Ahead of their Brisbane launch show on Thursday (Woolly Mammoth, 10 December) with Bligh, Ankle Smokers and Da'Vaim, Levi sits down for an informal chat about foot phobias, origami llamas, embarrassing fails in public and cooking us "a mean chicken and mushroom risotto" – yes, please!
Who is Action Slacks... We're Maddy, Jimmy, Levi and 'New Richard', and we all met through a series of unrelated events. We try and play synth-pop.
Our first gig was... The Zoo, May 2019. There's definitely worse venues to play your first show.
We sound like... We try and steal from Sky Ferreira, The 1975, Madonna, INXS, and Fickle Friends, but fail most of the times.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... The band name was born when we needed a title for the folder that had all of our demos, and naturally we never changed it.
In the studio we usually... Create undeniable gold and try to not be hungover.
If we could tour with anyone... Cold Chisel. I'm sure those guys would share their rider.
Social media is... An unavoidable evil, but you gotta love it.
My favourite app at the moment is... Solitaire. It's one of those games you can ignore for ten years, then circle back and play it non-stop for six months.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... I ran out of a bar to catch a bus, but was tripped up on the doormat on the way out. I face planted and my phone exploded.
The bus driver looked down, laughed to himself, closed the door, and drove off. I was left to pick up the pieces of my phone, and pride.
Life on the road can be... Gruelling. Laborious. Intense. That's what I assume it's like anyway. Life on the road seems like a fever dream at the moment.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains... Three unmarked M&Ms and one skittle on ice.
The most scary scenario I've found myself in, was... I crashed my (mate's) motorcycle off-road. It was probably terrifying for everyone else, but I couldn't remember what happened. There was a solid six-hour period where I couldn't retain short-term memories.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band... Teller. He has such a way with words.
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? Tough one. Probably somewhere in northern Europe (Stockholm, Helsinki).
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party... Kevin Rudd, Malcom Turnbull and Rupert Murdoch. Butter knives only for safety.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? A mean chicken and mushroom risotto.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Beer, the cause of and the solution to all of life's problems.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... When Arnold was still competing.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Cleaning someone else's toilet. It's always worse when it's not your own.
Do you have any phobias? People's feet, specifically touching my feet. I genuinely would rather run 300kms through the Sahara Desert than have someone else's toes touch mine.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? A show where people get judged purely on their ability to make origami llamas – I would crush it. Oh and naturally the prize is $1,000,000.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? I have a friend who is deathly afraid of chickens.
I think it would be fun to fill her entire house with tiny speakers that intermittently play quiet chicken clucks, and day by day leave feathers around her house to slowly convince her that she is being haunted by chickens – forcing her to either face her fear or be slowly driven to insanity.
