Sydney vegetarian singer-songwriter Jovi Skyler's newest release, 'Asshole', is a noisy, vibrant slice of DIY punk-rock.
An edgy yet lucid coherence underpins 'Asshole'. A driving, crunchy guitar riff openings proceedings, melded to Jovi's fuzzed-out, nasally vocals which add that college grunge feel before a melodic breakdown is crashed-tackled by a wall of boisterous, rowdy punk-rock, the song ebbing and flowing across a psychedelic punk soundscape as Jovi repetitively proclaims in the chorus: "I'm the asshole, I'm the asshole."A self-described lone wolf, 'Asshole' features on Jovi's new EP 'Call It A Day'. "The track 'Asshole' was created on a bad day in my bedroom," shares Jovi. "The creation of art comes directly from the soul.
"'Asshole' is about sticking to your guns and being your true self, regardless of society's opinion or expectations about you."
As is Jovi's style for his DIY music videos, the 'Asshole' treatment features a pastiche of footage from a couple of cult movies from 2006 – 'The Science Of Sleep' and 'Candy'; the latter an undervalued Aussie classic featuring the late Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish.
With the 'Call It A Day' EP released tomorrow (5 April), scenestr is amped to premiere the 'Asshole' music video today. Enjoy.
"'Asshole' might be perfect for a '90s teen movie soundtrack," adds Jovi. "I wanted the music video to reflect that sort of chaos and uncertainty.
"You know the feeling of the whole world is going to explode and that you drank too much coffee. I drink heaps, and I mean heaps of coffee.
"Anyway, I used some of my favourite movies: 'The Science Of Sleep' and 'Candy', which I felt matched the energy and story of the track for the clip. Sprinkled some psychedelia on it, and presto, a new music video."
The recording of 'Call It A Day' (which he describes as "a sort of Nirvana's 'In Utero' meets 'Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols'") also presented Jovi with the opportunity to add another string to his bow.
"I quickly taught myself how to play bass guitar during the two-day EP recording session whilst eating baked beans and drinking champagne.
"I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before the first day of recording the EP, I think that added to the overall edginess of the tracks.
"I used a 12-string guitar for 'Frankenstein' to give it a jangle pop sort of sound. I specifically wanted to achieve that 'Pray For Rain' sound by Taxi To Heaven.
"The vocals for 'Lil Bo Weep' and 'Rumble' were recorded in one take on the first day of recording. I initially wanted to use 'Lil Bo Weep' as the EP's lead single."
