How many bands have been formed over lively conversations in bars and beer gardens? Certainly some great bands; probably a lot more terrible ones too.
The four members of proto-punk outfit It Thing got together in the beer garden of Hobart’s beloved Brisbane Hotel in 2019, bonding over a shared love of classic punk rock. Two years later, their Syrup LP made them an underground favourite with pockets of punk fans across the world.
More recently, the inevitable pull of Melbourne’s music scene lured the Tasmanian’s from their hometown, but it’s a move that’s increasingly paying off. They’ve since formed close connections with Marthouse Records labelmates, Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice and Gut Health, finding a community of likeminded punks as they work on their music.
Last week, It Thing finally followed Syrup with a new 7″ single, offering fans two visceral tracks.
There’s “Constant State”, which is abrasive and raw, a jittery slice of proto-punk that revels in bruising simplicity; It Thing know that the purest punk music doesn’t need to be complicated.
According to magnetic frontperson Charlotte Gigi, “Constant State” is “about my eternally waxing and waning mental state — just trying to run a balance between feeling some extreme emotion and then feeling stagnant and dead.”
It’s a description that makes a lot of sense once you listen to the track: in the delirious repetition of the titular phrase, you can hear the anguish in Gigi’s voice about their vacillating wellbeing; for anyone who deeply knows that anxiety can be, infuriatingly, exhaustingly, a “constant state,” it becomes a darkly accessible mantra.
The initials of the other track, “P.C.H”, stand for “Professional Computer Hacker”, and it maintains the impressive energy of “Constant State”. “The computer hacker theme comes from the idea of how strange it is that you can be hurt by someone you don’t know,” Gigi explains.
Befitting a band that was born in the Brisbane Hotel, the boisterous and exceedingly loud punk of It Thing really demands to be heard in a ramshackle pub. It Thing have been performing at such places over the past few months, and you can keep an eye on their socials to find out where they play next.
