After forming sometime in early 2019, Carpet Burn spent the rest of the year busily introducing their brand of peculiar and irreverent DIY pop to Melbourne crowds, blending together moments of jangle and garage pop, mixed in with an eye for absurdity and kooky charm. Now another year on, we’re finally being served our first taste of the band on record with ‘Butterfinger Hands’, that arrives today alongside the announcement that their debut release, a four-track 7” cheekily titled I Can’t Believe It’s Not Carpet Burn, will be dropping on Friday June 18th via Spoilsport Records.

Speaking of introductions to a band, in this case ‘Butterfinger Hands’ is somewhat deceiving. Where a Carpet Burn show is often full of jangling guitars, bright keys and giddy hooks, ‘Butterfinger Hands’ is instantly more sinister, building around an unsettling tangle of organ and guitar chimes that expand over a restless groove. As Kayley Langdon’s unassuming vocals emerge to tackle the troubles of clumsiness, there’s a somewhat disarming effect - but underneath, the track continues to slowly unravel before finally exploding into a wall of noise at the song’s conclusion, drummer Louis McDonald propelling things into a frenzy against spluttering guitars and looming vocals.

Perhaps it’s the auditory equivalent of a song being dropped halfway through, as Kayley shares “‘Butterfinger Hands’ was written after a day of accidentally dropping a lot of stuff. One of the first songs I ever wrote and was done in 20 minutes on my Casiotone that Amada [Monteiro, bass] found for me on Facebook marketplace”. Accompanied by a clip directed by Mike Ridley, that brings Carpet Burn’s uncanny world to life with its surreal visuals and exaggerated performances, it’s a thrilling teaser of the forthcoming release that has us excited to see what’s to come next.