One of the earliest memories I have of immersing myself in the Brisbane music scene was heading along to The Orient Hotel to watch bands. It was 2004-2005. Before then I went to gigs every month, but very rarely to anything that wasn't being played on the radio. When I say the radio, I mean Triple J, and as any old curmudgeon will tell you, "it was much better back then". So gigs were Magic Dirt, Custard, Rocket Science, Not From There, Pollyanna, Youth Group, Bluebottle Kiss, Even, Gota Cola...and so on. Anyway between Rics, the Orient and the beginnings of 610 a little while later, I moved into a different realm.
The first clear memory I have of the Orient included bands like Turnpike, HO2, Shuriken - and Eat Laser Scumbag! They had me at the name straight off the bat; they had me with the colour coordination (think The Wiggles for dropkicks); they had me with their raw, raucous rock that dealt in speed as much as melody. Over the decade I have gotten to know Ash, Nathan, Adam and Xavier fairly well - the guys have spread to be in bands as diverse as Undead Apes, Nova Scotia, Chinese Burns, Eyes Ninety and more, as well as having kids and spreading across the Australasian lands - but the helter skelter, fever-pitched radness of the band has always remained. They always play when the four of them are in the country together, so they haven't really officially gone anywhere - and here is a 10" to remind us what their brand of spontaneous combustion was all about. Chakras Aligned is a bit more considered then their EP Eat Laser Scumbag 1 Earth 0, but it still packs a punch. 'Vampires' and 'Fandango' in particular show a different side to the band that intimate what might have been and could still be. I believe the 10" is sold out, but you can grab it digitally below. Let's petition to get them back in orbit and smashing pubs, thus reminding us all that you aren't ever too old to get loose.
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