Australian trio The Goon Sax will be releasing their third LP Mirror II on Matador Records on Friday, July 9.
The trio are known for singer Louis Forster’s intimate lyrical content, charming indie pop sensibilities and a healthy dose of youthful abandonment. The Goon Sax’s sound is centered on the relationship of core members Forster (guitar), Riley Jones (drums) and James Harrison (bass) as they navigate being in the public eye since their 2016 debut, Up to Anything.
In the past three years, the trio have continued maturing since their early days, trading their songwriting technique from its original minimalistic post-punk aesthetic for dramatic shades of melody.
Channeling all their ideas while sharing a house together, the band created quite a potent chemistry of brooding harmonies, a shimmering wave of synths and Forster’s vivid lyrics. The result is Mirror II, an album built upon the emptiness that becomes more present as you age and the loss inhibitions of love.
Below, The Goon Sax’s Riley Jones shares how meditation, Siddartha, The Shaggs and a anime helped them through the pandemic.
Siddartha by Herman Hesse
My friend lent me this book about Siddartha’s spiritual journey and it ended up having a tremendous impact on my year. Siddartha is trying to find a higher state of being. All he can do is think, fast and wait. It’s about retreating to a stillness and a sanctuary inside yourself where you can just be. For me, being forced to slow down and stay still so much last year meant rediscovering this space.
Meditation
Despite the Sharknado car crash that was 2020, it was also the year I started meditating. I remember being in lockdown and telling my psychologist that I drove myself crazy for a few days. He told me that I needed to meditate like a yogi in a cave… they stay there for years and years and never go crazy.
Reformer Pilates
Everyday.
Anime
If I hadn’t watched every episode of the following anime series in this order, I’m sure that last year would still be going.
Dr. Slump
Mob Psycho 100
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Yamato Nadeshiko (The Wallflower)
Dragon Ball Z
Penguin Drum
Yawara: A Fashionable Judo Girl
Shaggs’ Own Thing by The Shaggs
I listened to this album during 2020 when I needed to indulge in my feelings. Everything else in this list so far helped to distract me from feelings of uncertainty and stuckness. I found that occasionally I needed to let myself feel these frustrations.
This Shaggs album helped me romanticise my situation and look at everything around me with a rosey, nostalgic tint. This second album seems to be widely overlooked compared to their iconic Philosophy of the World. Maybe it’s because they got better at playing in time? Anyway, it’s the songs about longing that I periodically got lost in. “My Cutie” and their cover of The Carpenters’ “Yesterday Once More.”
Playing Music
As well as playing drums in The Goon Sax last year, I also played in two other bands in 2020. One was Angel Dust with Tim Green and Yvette Ofa Agapow and the other Ghostbird with Skye McNicol. Whenever I play with those guys I feel like there’s not enough time in the world. It’s so important to find people who inspire you — that’s how I cope — pandemic or no pandemic.