Welcome to The Fresh Squeeze, where every Monday and Friday, BLUNT gets down to the wire with an up-and-coming act we simply can’t get enough of.
In today’s shiny new edition, we get the juice on Perth-based indie troupe Smol Fish, who, despite their name and corresponding humbleness, have a massive future ahead of them. The quartet just dropped their debut EP, Sooky La La, a warming and warbly six-tracker with a magical balance of cruisy, lowkey fuzziness and rich, emotive poignancy. They’re one to pop on en route to beach on a hazy Sunday morning, when you’re starving for something lively and upbeat, but not over-the-top energetic; just something cruisy and fun, that you can sing along with your mates and forget about the world to… Or dive deep into the lyrics and get super emo (our top picks for this: ‘Sad Girl Summer’ and ‘Cry All The Time’).
Who’s in your band, what do they play, and what would be your non-musical superpowers?
On vocals and guitar we have Clancy! Her dream non-musical superpower would be the ability to teleport so she’d never get stuck in traffic. Peak hour sucks. Then on keys and synths we have Josie. She studies chemistry and is super clever – if she were to have any superpower, it would probably be creating mad molecules and chemical compounds that could save the world.
On drums we have Cat. Her dream power would be the ability to swim underwater like a mermaid (or a smol fish). Finally, on bass we have Hannah. If she could choose any superpower, she would like to have the power of invisibility so she could sneak into sold-out gigs when things get back to normal!
When you’re not tearing shit up on your instruments, what do you legends like to get up to?
We all like a bit of craft time when we aren’t caught up with study and work! We also love some good Netflix binging and Uber Eats-ing, and have been known to Uber Eats cups of tea and loaves of bread (much to the disappointments of our families). We also spend a fair bit of time making all our own merch and kinda silly stage decor in Josie’s garage/makeshift art studio. Screen-printing is really fun, especially when we all get involved – it turns into a super nice day. It’s nice to just make stuff! Especially stuff you can wear!
What would your hometown’s landmark be?
Everybody says Perth’s main landmark is the Bell Tower, but it’s so boring that it’s become a bit of a joke here. The new museum is a lot cooler!
What’s the usual first topic of conversation when you take a break at rehearsal?
We all enjoy a bit of silly gossip, talking about our feelings and adding ‘ma’ to the end of words.
What’s your pre-show warm-up routine?
Usually running around frantically trying to multitask, setting up our instruments and stage decorations all whilst having conversations with friends. Clancy loves a good ol’ vocal warmup whilst line-checking.
Tell us about your most memorable show, what made it so special?
Our first ever single launch, for ‘Cry All the Time’, was very memorable. It was probably the first ever moment where we had the whole crowd singing along with us, to the lyric “I wish that I did not cry all the time”. That, along with having fellow friends and muso guests hop onstage with us to sing that outro, got us all feeling pretty emotional and lucky.
What band would you most like to share the stage with and why?
Supporting Frankie Cosmos, if she ever toured around Australia, would be the dream! Their music has soundtracked certain areas of our lives, and they’ve always been an artist we share a love for and bond over.
What’s the most exciting album you’ve listened to recently?
Indigo De Souza’s new album, Any Shape You Take! It’s just so good.
If you could be endorsed by one company, who would it be?
Crocs!
Why are you going to make it to the top over all the other contenders in the musical arena?
We are smol fish (not big). What we lack in size, we make up for in coolness and fun-ness. Although making it to the top has never really been a desired endgame for us, we just hope to continue making music in a way that brings us and others joy. Seeing where that naturally takes us is an exciting prospect in itself!
Sooky La La is out now independently. Check out ‘Like A Lemon’ below, then stream the EP on Apple Music / Spotify / Bandcamp
Connect with Smol Fish on Facebook / Instagram / Triple J Unearthed
