The Brag

Straight Arrows
Cheese Plates, Drugs And Penis Porno
By Nathan Jolly

It’s Thanksgiving, but that means nothing to you or me. I only mention it because Owen Penglis, frontman of Sydney’s Straight Arrows, is touring America right now, drumming for the perpetually adored/hated Circle Pit – and Thanksgiving means he gets a rare day off from playing and can focus on other things. Like interviews about Straight Arrows’ debut album – or, you know, a drug bust. A few days earlier, Circle Pit’s van was searched by drug dogs in Idaho. “We pretty much got pulled over for some bullshit reason – our ‘windows were tinted too dark for Idaho’ – basically so they could search us. They brought a drug dog out and sniffed around, but the guys had already swallowed the stuff so we were cool…” He relents: “Uhhhh, I mean, all that stuff allegedly happened.”

After a series of 7-inches endeared them to the ever-fickle indie set, Straight Arrows have finally recorded a full-length album and slid nicely into the family of Rice Is Nice Records (Richard In Your Mind, Seja, SPOD). They’ve dragged their sound up to a commercially-tolerable “medium fidelity” and coupled Penglis’ obvious songwriting and arrangement skills with the band’s seemingly vast knowledge of musical history, to create an extremely impressive debut album. It’s Happening is understated, assured and contains an overabundance of hooks and frantic ideas, like every great debut should. Even the manner of its release suits the sound of Straight Arrows down to the ground. “Jules ([Julia Wilson; Rice is Nice label manager] and I have got a 7-inch label called Juvenile together, so it was no big deal at all. She’s doing the CD, and we’re doing the LP on Juvenile. Super easy, and makes total sense.”

For all the Straight Arrows’ infamy as a scrappy, bratty group (most of this being the run-off from Circle Pit’s reputation; Circle Pit’s Angela Bermuda plays in Straight Arrows, too), a lot of their decisions are based on what makes ‘total sense’. Their live birth was conducted and honed in the upstairs area of the now-defunct gay bar Newtown Hotel, a notoriously under-policed venue. “Our friend went there and asked if she could [put on a gig] upstairs, which was usually where some serious partying would occur; we’re talking booths and cages and heaps of penis porno,” Penglis explains. “They told her she had to be gay to get the room and she responded, ‘I’m gay, I love muff’. So it started. There were no hassles whatsoever – you could do anything up there. People would bring their own bongs.”

Times have changed; rent was jacked up after the owner died and now the building stands empty. Meanwhile, Straight Arrows have graduated from 7-inch to album; from 4-track cassette to ‘real’ tape. It’s this sonic upgrade that Penglis credits for their newfound clarity, as opposed to a deliberate stylistic shift. Another instrumental element in the new sound is the production of SPOD (Brent Griffin). An inspired choice – which in actuality was mostly inspired by proximity and, again, logic. “It was pretty logical; he lived around the corner when we started off and I knew he’d be happy to help me fuck with it,” Penglis explains. “We both got pretty nuts about putting weird echo on stuff.” The echo-laden production adds a possibly unintentional ‘60s feel to the record, an aesthetic topped off by the psychotropic nature of the cover art. Again, this isn’t quite as it seems… “That’s just a recreation of a weird ‘60s cheese plate I found one time.”

Just over a week after its release, the album has already received a flood of positive attention. According to Penglis though, the band’s growing success won’t affect the other musical projects Straight Arrows’ members belong to. In fact you get the feeling that as soon as a project is completed, his mind is already on other things. “We’ve got time for everything,” he enthuses.  “Right now I’m playing drums for Circle Pit in America – then we get back and tour the Straight Arrows record, then Pee Wee will put out a 7-inch and I’ll record Angie’s other band Southern Comfort. And Al [Grigg] is demoing stuff as well. What else is there to do?”

What: It’s Happening is out now on Rice Is Nice / Juvenile
Where: GOODGOD Small Club
When: Thursday December 9