Melbourne can lay claim to being the indie capitol of Australia with the cardigans and skinny legs jean quotient being significantly above the national average. A band who have slipped under the radar for those outside of Victoria is The Stevens. They have been kicking around since 2011, and self-released their debut EP on CD-R, but the good folk at Chapter Music are reissuing this nugget on vinyl so the rest of us can get on board.
Alex MacFarlane and Travis MacDonald joined forces when they realised that they both share a passion for home recording in the vein of Flying Nun bands and Guided By Voices. The self-titled debut has modest musicianship on display from the get go which is a plus for a band like The Stevens.
All tunes clock in at around the two-minute mark for a band who are heavily on the less-is-more side of the ledger. Songs about loneliness from bookish chaps with a focus on a catchy chorus is a winning formula and Alone and Living Out Of A Bag are great proponents of this trick.
The Stevens are a bunch of young chaps who have a grand head for melody without laying large doses of sugar in the equation. With an album on the way get an early dose of The Stevens to whet your appetite.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
