Georgia June are a band on the rise, delivering messages that are resonating with their peers - in real time, not in retrospect
"What choice do I have? The decision's been made for me.... no one will understand the pressure," sings Sydney lead singer for pop rockers Georgia June, Georgia June. Yes the band is named after the singer/songwriter who grew up listening to classic 80s records.
"My parents are 80s lovers - haha, I just realised what I said!" laughs June on the way to a gig in Newcastle with fellow bandmates Lewis Mosley, Jack Johnston, Joe Plunkett and James Spittaler.
"I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Prince, and my mum loves people like Pat Benatar, Blondie, The Divinyls and The Angels... I had that playing around the house a lot - and now I still listen to The Divinyls and Blondie all the time."
The influences are clear when listening to Georgia June's aforementioned single Pressure and the releases before that, Cool and Broke. Hooky melodies that are instantly singable, crispy guitars, ensemble like background vocals and sizzling synth lines mixed with ambient reverb solidify the band's sound.
The lyrics, however, are definitely very now. Pressure explores issues facing youth like being told to pursue realistic careers in an ever-changing new world.
June says, “Pressure is about the indecision and doubt that comes with pursuing what you love. I had just decided to go overseas after deferring my university degree and was stressed about disappointing people if things didn’t work out, or if I didn’t amount to the person I wanted to be."
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She was in New York City after landing a mentorship thanks to Billboard Magazine. An exciting achievement, albeit one that June is unsure of as she sings on the track, "I left university, never got my arts degree, now I'm on the Subway, but I think I got the wrong train."
Likewise the band's previous singles Broke and Cool are instantly and viscerally relevant to June and her band's peers as they reflect on fitting in to society's increasingly impossible standards of cool, with lyrics like "I've lost my friends at this party and I don't know anybody."
It is Georgia June's ability to deliver complex feelings and themes in real time as opposed to in retrospect - along with how tight and cool the band are - that have made for a rapid musical rise.
And now, Georgia June are about to embark on their first EP.
"We're excited about the EP because there will be all fresh songs. We're trying to... find which songs suit each other and which songs represent us, so it's just fine tuning the list 'til we are 100 percent sure," says June.
The band are trying the songs out live - performing is something that June loves to do, and that's been the case since she was in preschool.
"I got singing lessons from really young. I was, like, four when I started. And then I did gigs all the time - whether it was talent shows or whatever. I started doing really lame pub gigs where I did covers and played awful guitar and I did bingo nights at place. I just loved it so much.... And then during high school, I did more and more gigs - I started writing and the songs were pretty awful ha."
From there, June enrolled into the University of Sydney to study media, and met the guys who would become Georgia June, the band.
"We all go to the same university - we're at different campuses - but we're all at Sydney. The guys are at the [Conservatorium of Music] and we've fallen in love with performing."
Songwriting, lyric writing, recording - all activities June has grown to do incredibly well, but her affection for live performance is her first and foremost love.
"For me, if we could gig every night I'd be happy. That's my favourite part of the whole thing."
Georgia June's single launch for Pressure is Sat 24 March at Lady Hampshire, Camperdown. Details here. Pressure is out now.
