On the cover of Shock Friendly’s debut album Head Down The Avenue, a fist is thrust in the face of a man, his nose profusely bleeding. Given the current fashion in music, one would be forgiven for expecting the sounds on the record to be decidedly post-punk of the most abrasive kind to match that aggressive album cover.

Shock Friendly likes to surprise though: Head Down The Avenue is a collection of self-aware and playful synth-pop, a tongue-in-cheek look at the world; looking again at that album cover, the man almost seems to be laughing at being punched.

Daniel Baulch and Jackson Kay were previously in the band Hollow Everdaze before forming their new outfit with Ella Jackson (keyboards) and James Baldwin (drums). With able assistance from Rob Long (Magic Dirt, HTRK), who helped them record the album in a newly-built home studio in the backwater of Bacchus Marsh, their debut is now just a few months away, scheduled for release on July 9th. It’s latest single is ‘Burst The Bubble’, a sleazy and sneering track, cocksure without being excessive.

The band said that they took inspiration from David Bowie’s Lodger album and the connection is evident. Part of his Berlin Trilogy, when the enclosed enclave of West Berlin housed some of the most carefree - both sonically, stylistically and sexually - experimentation in the world (there’s an excellent documentary on that period, B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin), Shock Friendly’s icy synths and gothic and new wave flourishes mirror the sounds of that time and place just as the 1980’s arrived.

Head Down The Avenue is very much a collaborative effort, the songwriting being shared as they discuss themes of obsolescence and isolation, apt subject matters given the COVID-induced lockdowns of 2020. It’s a raw and unvarnished record (local cats undergoing a vocal fight are included in the background of one song) but the sound is also crisp and sleek.

We caught up with Daniel and Jackson to find out more about their origins, their sound, and the upcoming album.

TJ: Where did the album (and track) name come from?

Daniel: The song had formed in my mind whilst driving back to our hometown from the city one day. I found myself being amazed by the beauty and scenery and had a sense of appreciation rush over me.

Jackson: That seemed like a solid and more fitting concept to make it the title track of the record.

Tell me about the album’s distinctive cover. Is it one of you being punched and who’s doing the punching? Was that taken after a rough day of recording?

Daniel: The photo came about from a happy accident during a photoshoot where we were being directed and organised to do a number of different things. Just the standard photoshoot of you know, like striking poses and acting vain! Then it was suggested that I should have fake blood coming from my nose so I answered with ‘sure, why not’. Next thing we know Jackson is feeling cheeky feeding me with a soft one-two.

We didn’t think much of it at the time and waited to see the outcome. After a delay due to the photographer having his laptop stolen, he managed to find a backup hard drive. We had mostly forgotten what had been taken that day but to our surprise found that photo to have a certain tongue-in-cheek charm about it .

You’ve said that the themes of this album are obsolescence and isolation. The latter makes sense post-COVID but take me further into the idea of obsolescence - is this referring to the environment? Technology? Post-punk bands?

Jackson: Good question because as musicians I’d say we feel less relevant than ever. We’re guitar enthusiasts and we’re not really young musicians anymore. A lot of great people we have met over the years have walked away from making music, not to mention most of our recording and music equipment is discontinued. I think that contributes a certain level of anxiety to the way we go about things.

You both met in previous band Hollow Everdaze. How does the sound and ideas differ between the two outfits?

Jackson: In the last four years of the band Myles Anderson (violin) was a huge part in the creative process but due to his other commitments he couldn’t commit to the schedule at the time. So any further Shock Friendly is solely a collaboration between Daniel and myself.

How much of a help was Rob Long with the whole album process?

Jackson: Rob mixed the record and consulted us on how wrong we were doing things as we were tracking the record. We fixed a lot of problems together and we can’t thank him enough. Hopefully we can work together again in the near future!

Where do you see yourself fitting in Melbourne’s music scene? Your sound is very reminiscent of the dark synth and post-punk that you’d expect more from Berlin in the 80’s.

Jackson: You think so? At the time of recording we were very much into a lot of records that were recorded around 1979 like Bowie’s Scary Monsters or Neil Young’s Trans, not to mention Landing on Water lol.

When did you record the video for ‘Burst The Bubble’ and where was it filmed?

Jackson: Back in March. We filmed it at our house in Bacchus Marsh which we are currently restoring. We needed another location for the video so we went for a look and found an abandoned abattoir which had really cool light, space and colours. We found it to be the perfect fit.