In the opening seconds of Listen Guys, a fuzzy guitar twangs in mono, the promise of another bedroom-produced 60’s rock throwback record. But hark, dear listener! Two counts and a backwards tape-wind and the track reboots - this time in lush stereo, the mix spread like butter over a warm slice of sonic toast. The rest of BIN’s debut continues in much the same fashion: accessing familiar spaces in the world of Oz-guitar-pop while defying the same expectations they so readily embrace. Chucking on this album feels like an invitation to your neighbour’s backyard pool. “Don’t be shy!” it urges warmly, “Do a bomb! Jump in and you’re hit with the nostalgic slap of pure fun as ease and surprise swirl around each other, underneath the dramatically broken surface tension of garage-rock tradition. 

There are a lot of highlights on Listen Guys, with memorable lead guitar work and comfortable songwriting throughout the entire LP, making the relaxed pace of all eight tracks organic and exciting. The opener and first single ‘Paradise’ is lazy, fun and dripping with hooks, the epitome of BIN. Meanwhile ‘Paperback Insomniac’ feels like the soundtrack to an AC/DC-themed puppet show (and my favourite track on the record). The keyboards occupy an indispensable place throughout the entire album, but especially so in the carnival belter ‘Clowns’. The second single ‘Take my Money’ is a fun exercise in call and response with an uncharacteristic jam and melodic lead-guitar twin ending - a motif that glimmers only once more during the final moments of the album in the epic ‘Age Gap’. 

But it’s the vocals that really shine the most consistently and brightly across Listen Guys. From the get-go Lachie Baulch’s thick, desperate pipes demand your attention, firing out a mish-mash of strong gyrating notes amid pubescent voice-cracks and conversational melody-breaks. It’s crunchy peanut-butter for the ears, made even tastier by simple yet sagacious lyrics. BIN sing about almost everything: toxic consumer culture, unhealthy sleeping patterns, friendship, the radio industry, and everything in between.

If you haven’t caught BIN’s jangly, unhinged energy live yet (perhaps when supporting the likes of ORB, The Chats, Pist Idiots or Shannon and the Clams), I guarantee you’ll want every night to be BIN night when the gigs start rolling in again. While we wait though, Listen Guys has come to the rescue, and it’s jangle-punk Australiana at its finest and most original.