One listen to The Oogars debut single and it's clear the rising Australian quartet are aligned with each member’s creative vision.
It's mesmerising to watch a young band start to hit their stride, and The Oogars are re-defining what noise means within the context of surf rock with their debut single ‘Scream’.
The Gold Coast rockers are excited to unleash an accompanying music video to 'Scream', which is an ode to embracing the moments that matter and forgetting everything else.
“The song is about being young and not wasting your time on things or people that don’t deserve it, and just having fun and not taking things so serious,” guitarist and vocalist Tanisha Cook says.
The Oogars blend of dreamy harmonies and psychedelic, surf-rock melodies is gradually building a prominent support base since forming in March last year. Oozing confidence and charm, the quartet – comprised of Tanisha, Gemma (guitar/ vocals), Emily (bass/ vocals), and Daniella (drums) – draw influence from The Smiths and Talking Heads.
The band met each other organically and with their inner desires to make music, they decided to get together to create a band. “I bumped into Emily at The Northern in Byron Bay,” Gemma says.
“We were watching a gig. I was doing some solo music at the time and I was saying how I wanted to be in a band, and she said ‘no way I play the bass, I’m trying to find a band too’; and then Tanisha discussed with Emily the idea.
“So then us three ended up in a garage awkwardly standing with pots and pans, and then Daniella came in later because Tanisha said she’d do the drums, but Daniella didn’t actually know how to play,” Gemma says with a laugh. “But now we’re all best mates; it’s like a little family, it’s really good.”
The artwork for the 'Scream' single was an inside job. “Our bassist Emily is an amazing artist, so she created it; it’s pretty much a concoction of who we are, what we believe, and what we all think in visual form.”
Boasting an energetic live show as well as charismatic personalities, The Oogars have clocked up impressive support slots with the likes of Donny Benet and New York band BOYTOY, despite never releasing an official recording until now.
In late 2018, the band suffered a setback when Tanisha fractured her neck a week before their tour supporting with Lime Cordiale and first festival appearance at Jungle Love (SE QLD).
“I got a call from Tanisha, and she said 'can I get a lift to the chiro, I’ve just jumped into the water at Kingscliff and hit my head on the sandbank'; after x-rays revealed she had fractured her neck, that put music on hold for a few months.
“But she recovered so quickly. She had this mindset that she could do anything – she was told she'd be in a neck brace for three or four months but ended up only using it for four weeks.
“Health comes first, no matter if that’s mental or physical; gigs will come and go, but health is number one.”
