Continuing their ascendant 2024, buzz-worthy post-punk outfit HighSchool today unveil “She Took You To Narnia”, the final single to be previewed ahead of the release of their forthcoming second EP, Accelerator.
Out April 19, Accelerator excitingly builds on the sound of their debut (Forever at Last) and should assert HighSchool’s arrival from being one of indie’s best-kept secrets to far bigger things.
Following previous EP singles “August 19″ and “Doesn’t Matter”, “She Took You To Narnia” once again proves HighSchool’s skill for crafting sumptuous, emotionally poignant post-punk soundscapes that invite the listener to get lost in.
Beneath swirling, hypnagogic layers of twinkling riffs, hazily-rendered guitar chords, glitching electronics and a propulsive, melodic bass line, the track ruminates on the ironic turn of age: always desiring what is just out of reach – to grow older when you’re young and a return to childhood once you’re there.
Of the process behind the new single, the band share: “A subtle influence for ‘She Took You To Narnia’ is ‘Mirror’s Image’ by The Horrors.
We especially love the way it turns from being a four-to-the-floor electronic track to a more guitar-based band sound in the opening minute. We attempted to replicate this in our own way here.”
The forthcoming release of Accelerator caps a prolific period for the band, having returned to Australia earlier this year for a pair of headline homecoming shows, followed by a sold-out, three-date Japanese run, a slew of official SXSW Austin 2024 appearances, headline shows in Los Angeles and New York City respectively, and national USA tours supporting both Provoker and zzzahara.
Now approaching full circle, the band celebrate the release of their second EP and return to Europe and UK with a continent-spanning tour; full dates and details can be found below.
On the follow-up to their cult-classic 2021 debut EP Forever At Last, the band deliver five tracks of emotionally charged, elliptical songwriting that conjures the tangible aura of their post-punk forebears as filtered through a lens of contemporary lo-fi bedroom pop.
Having spent the intervening years patiently polishing their sound across Melbourne and their adopted home of London, Accelerator poses as a seamless continuation of their debut EP’s arc. It finds HighSchool continuing to hone their combination of low-slung instrumentation and propulsive rhythm sections with hook-replete pop nous and evocative layers of spectral, saturnine atmosphere.
Listen to “She Took You To Narnia” HERE
Made up of Rory Trobbiani and Luke Scott, HighSchool create intoxicating music, whose debut 2021 EP Forever At Last is a lo-fi gem of the genre.
Championed by the likes of NME, The FADER, CLASH, DIY, PAPER, Rolling Stone AU, The Line of Best Fit and So Young.
From Melbourne and relocating to London in 2022, HighSchool joined the likes of Wet Leg, CHVRCHES and NewDad on tour before playing a summer of UK festivals including All Points East, End of the Road, The Great Escape, Manchester Pysch Festival, Sea Change, Standon Calling and Visions. The autumn brought their first headline shows, both in the UK and across Europe, promoting not only their EP but also their anthemic track ‘Only a Dream’, released as a limited 7” on Dan Carey’s ever-great Speedy Wunderground label.
They ended the year touring back in Australia with Sam Fender, before playing their first headline hometown show at The Corner Hotel.
With Rory’s sister Lilli Trobbiani staying back to complete her studies, they returned to London to work on their second EP, basing themselves out of a practice space in Peckham.
Bridging the gap to their second EP was ‘Colt’, their most dancefloor-friendly track yet which had brilliant spla<a href="1s of electro and Italo-disco added to their new wave mix. It also had a great accompanying video, shot in Rome with a vainglorious Rory mingling among the sights and bemused tourists.
They announced their signing to [PIAS] Australia with the release of single ‘August 19’ late last year and continued the escapism theme of previous single ‘Colt’ with a clip shot in Benidorm, the popular Spanish tourist destination known for its sandy beaches and trashy nightlife.
Following a fish-out-of-water protagonist on the bustling neon-lit streets, it showed the disparity between expectation and reality – a concept that runs throughout their second EP, Accelerator.