Monday, April 20, 2026

To Parphrase Jack Nicholson Speaking About Bob Dylan -- These Guys Are a Riot!

Specifically, Australian punk/pop faves The Gnomes, and the titular lead-off track from their forthcoming EP Magic Man.

The walls are plastered with posters of The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and more. It’s not the man-cave of some middle-aged classic rock dude, but the bedroom of 19-year-old Jay Millar, the singer, songwriter and lead guitarist with The Gnomes.

He still lives with his parents in Frankston, a 40-minute drive south of Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay.

My kinda dudes, obviously. I mean, whew -- can I ever relate. Especially that bit about still living with your parents. 😎

In any case, I love their video, for obvious reasons, including all those cool guitars. And you can learn more about the band from this wonderful profile in The Sydney Morning Herald.

BTW, the Gnomesters released a full-length debut album late last year; you can hear the whole thing, in all its fuzzed-out retro 60s glory, over at YouTube HERE.

7 comments:

Rob said...

Next Lemon Twigs ?
That guitar riff drove me crazy and then a "Last Train To Clarksville" lift.
Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal 🥷

steve simels said...

That's what I was thinking -- kinda like the Monkees on speed. 😎

MJConroy said...

Would make a good double bill with Large Mirage. Things are rockin' down under.

Rob said...

Steve it took me about 20 minutes to figure that riff which I swore that I heard - my brains jukebox was spinning - searched the entire Beatles catalog, nope. But then the 15 year old in me kicked in...😉

Guy Incognito said...

I hear it as a little closer to Pleasant Valley Sunday. Good stuff, thanks!

Rob said...

additional video is very good - a whole 'nother style

Anonymous said...

That’s a lot of fun! They borrow and steal what they need and make something fresh. Thanks for the tip.

Another great Aussie band full of Rickenbacker guitars is Even. They’ve been around for 25+ years and are consistently great. Check their recent work out here https://even.bandcamp.com/album/reverse-light-years or try this early track https://youtu.be/upD57kpAJRw?si=Zy4NVpERJq0rDPww

- Paul in DK