May, 2016 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 47SOUNDS LIKE:Daydreaming jangle-pop
steepedinthreeguitarsandnostalgia
FORFANSOF:Future Islands, the Psyche-
delic Furs, Models
WHYYOUSHOULDPAYATTENTION:Syd-
neyfive-pieceBigWhitewereallbutun-
knowninAustraliawhenarepresentative
from American taste-makers Burger Re-
cords saw them play to “about five people”
inBondibeforeputtingouttheirdebut
albumontapelastyear.Nowit’sgettinga
proper Aussie release, propelled by itchy,
quasi-New Wave anthems full of oddball
colour and such universal totems of lost
youth as summer school, skate parks and
beaches. The band recently raised funds
for a second trip to South by Southwest
with a house show that drew over 400
people and much lockouts-themed media
coverage.
THEY SAY:“It was kind of just luck,” says
singer Cody Munro Moore of the Burger
deal and their subsequent U.S.
debut ping-ponging between
Burger parties. Big White co-
alescedalmostasmuchbyac-
cident, when the members got
bored while holidaying in Ber-
lin and cut their debut single “I
Can’t Tell” in a Kreuzberg stu-
dio. They decided to chip away
atanalbumoverthenextyear,
resulting in the VHS-warped
throwback pop ofTeenage
Dreams. “We’ve always loved post-punk
and a lot of New Wave stuff from the
Eighties,” says Moore, though he’s quick
to point out: “We weren’t around then.
We weren’t alive!” As for the album title,which echoes that of recent Beach House
a nd K a t y Pe r r y L Ps , he l a ug h s a g a i n: “ We
didn’t even realise. We were a bit out of
touch.” After their current SXSW stint,
Big White are planning an
Australian launch tour that
focuses on warehouses and
other venues where “every-
one can drink all they want,
stay up all night [and] meet
new people”. The repeated
success of their house par-
ties proves that there’s a need
for it. “They’re not just likes
on Facebook,” says Moore.
“These are actually people
that want to see live music.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF: Swoon along to the
Future Islands-esque “Whatever Hap-
pens in the Night” and the guitar-stacked
earworm “Dinosaur City”. DOUG WALLENBIG WHITE
We’ve always
loved post-
punk and a lot
of New Wave
stuf from the
Eighties.”