SET-TOP BOX: TV Guide Test | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- There exists a murky, decrepit space in Australian music for a breed of punk that can only be described as pure filth. Characterised by shouted, barely discernible vocals, fuzzy guitars meeting shrill budget keys, and garage production values, it sounds sort of like the 240 pixel club of the Australian music scene. None of this is bad at all, though, because it’s within this vacuum that some of the most unique and interesting Australian punk music exists in bands like GEE TEE, Draggs and Alien Nosejob. In this realm, you also find a curious act in Sydney’s SET-TOP BOX, who have combined two pre-existing cassettes that helped them establish their garage sci-fi aesthetic to produce their first full length project, TV Guide Test. Further feeding into this sci-fi gimmick, there’s virtually no information available regarding the project’s origins or its members.

The phrase “UFO punk” has been attributed to some of the aforementioned bands, and that certainly rings true when it comes to SET-TOP BOX. The album kicks off with wavering synths, and an intriguing and vivid concept on the track Alien Game, which details a game show run by -and seemingly for the enjoyment of- extra-terrestrials. After some station surfing, we end up on Channel 69, a sleazy track centred around fierce, angular guitars. The track Terrorvision pays homage to the '80's sci-fi movie of the same title, and Industrial Estate is a slimy synth-driven jam that also sounds like its straight out of a cheesy '80's sci-fi movie. Tunes Company Time and Worker are, meanwhile, way too fun for the familiar, cynical, capitalist dystopia themes they address.

The cut Debt & Equity is a highlight with memorably harrowing synths and guitar riffs, while lyrically and vocally, the singer is gradually driven insane by all things finance. The track Pressure, almost entirely comprised of bare, minimalist synth line and gloriously bizarre vocal effects, trudges along at a toe-tapping speed. Those vocal effects turn muddy on the track Data Lost… as the band really pushes their synthesizers to their limits.

There’s nothing innately special about any of the tracks on this album, nor is there much to separate SET-TOP BOX from any of the aforementioned so-called “UFO punk” bands, but as the sum of its parts, this album is certainly a memorable and worthwhile listen.

Like bands such as U-Bahn and R.M.F.C, the egg punks that make up SET-TOP BOX are unashamedly leveraging Devo’s influence and adding further legitimacy to the idea of Devocore being a new contemporary music trend. This album feels like lobotomised graveyard morning channel surfing, but in the best way possible. The band is huffing nostalgia, but also living in the future and it sounds just as dystopian as we could ever imagine. Defective, corrupted television sets, humans becoming tools for the entertainment of aliens, call centres remaining as understaffed as the Department of Human Services is today, the future is a scary place, but at least the music sounds cool.

- Jack Jones.
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