Equal parts sweet and savoury, Sydney femme 4-piece The Buoys are gearing up to release their sophomore EP Split Lip with the release of their moving latest single “Arm Wrestle”.
Said to be “forged in the flames of a failed tinder date”, The Buoys origins are as unconventional as their feminine indie punk sound. Singer Zoe was introduced to drummer Tess after an unsuccessful tinder date with her cousin (she scored there at least), after which they sourced guitarist Anthea from trusty ol’ Gumtree and completed the quartet with bassist Rio. Their debut EP Soft Boy received its fair share of airtime on FBi and Triple J Unearthed earning the girls supporting slots on shows with Aussie legends such as Big White, Pist Idiots, Julia Why?, Georgia June, Breizers, Cakewalk and Tupperware Party.
Six months later and The Buoys have recorded a sophomore EP Split Lip “inspired by a workplace feud and a tonne of bad dates”. The EP is said to explore themes of disappointment, curiosity, uncertainty and self love – or as Zoe described it “a diary dumping ground”. The second single released from the EP, “Arm Wrestle” is an honest and raucous extension of this writing style.
“Arm Wrestle came to be when I had to address the reality of a situation. I had to explore if my thoughts were rational, or if I was making things up in my head and self sabotaging. It details that inner voice argument of, ‘something really bad is going down’ vs ‘don’t be silly, it’s all in your head, you’re crazy’. It’s an exploration of what it’s like to gaslight yourself really, only to find out your gut was right and you weren’t paranoid after all.” – Zoe
With some pretty haunting lyrics throughout, “are you trying to scare me, are you trying to tell me that i’m wrong?…everything’s fine, everything’s fine, maybe it is”, and unrelenting fuzzy lo-fi guitar tones, it is no surprise that “Arm Wrestle” is already getting well deserved plays on Triple J and Fbi. The Buoys might be influenced by anything loud and fast, yet on “Arm Wrestle” they come off cool and croony. It’s the perfect track for fans of badass women and angsty indie punk alike. We can’t wait to see what comes next from this outfit, yeah the girls!
“Arm Wrestle” is available now. Split Lip is set to be released at the end of the year, until then you can catch the girls at one of their upcoming shows, and keep up to date with their progress on Facebook
October 24 – The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
October 25 – The Lansdowne, Sydney
October 28 – Transit Bar, Canberra
November 10 – Psyched As Festival, Sydney
November 11 – Supporting Rackett – Factory Floor, Sydney
