The Holidays

The Holidays

Time for a change of scenery? It's time for The Holidays.

The four Sydney uni mates discovered they were all into the same music. "So we decided, 'Why not start a band?'," recalls The Holidays' singer/guitarist Simon Jones. After six months of "mucking around" in the garage "making random noises and playing bad covers", The Holidays got the knack for this songwriting thing, and scored their first gig through a friend - they had five songs ready to go. One gig led to another - but not too many. "We weren't one of those bands that played three gigs every week," says guitarist Will Magnus. "We were pretty picky with our gigs early on."

The idea was - and remains – to avoid the run-of-the-mill. "We made a concerted effort to branch out and do slightly different things so we didn't get pigeonholed," says bassist Alex Kortt. So The Holidays would play in short, sharp stints, then disappear for a month to refine their thing. University quickly fell by the wayside. Will, the only member to complete his course, is now putting his biology degree to good use on the guitar. Alex and Simon, who were studying economics, and drummer Andrew Kerridge, have "deferred", but it's the deferral of men who know they won't be going back.

After only a handful of shows, Sydney's FBI radio latched on to the band, and The Holidays' ball began rolling in a big way. An early song, Telephone, was included on a FBI compilation, which led to airplay on several eagle-eyed US stations, which then led to tastemaking LA station Indie 103.1 slotting the band into regular rotation. Now The Holidays have scored "Artist of the Week" billing in influential US trade publication A&R Worldwide, and labels are sniffing around on both sides of the Atlantic.

Locally, they've toured with internationals like Ben Kweller, Jamie T, The View and The Wombats, played the Laneway Festival across the nation, and had their first single proper, Holiday, added to high rotation by Triple J.

How did they get here? "Things have just somehow fallen into place by some bizarre coincidence," says Simon. "We've been pinching ourselves the whole way: like, how did we end up playing this show with this person?" Luck may have something to do with it, but it's not by chance that The Holidays' debut, self-titled EP is one of the finest slices of upbeat rock you'll clap ears on.

The 5-track The Holidays EP features Holiday: not a theme tune, just a sunny summary of the band's beginnings. Riffs roll like a breeze across the coast, and the vibe is all about living for today. Plus, says Will, "No one will forget the name." Planes: "Come in, step up, let's raise the stakes..." And so it does, presenting a rockier side to The Holidays. A strong example of, as Simon says, the band's knack for delivering "strong rhythms teamed with poppy melodies". The Lovers: "A studio creation" says Simon. Takes a slightly darker detour, but this being The Holidays, it reminds itself to smile. Stick around for the glorious crescendo of squalling guitars. Telephone: "We've played it every gig since our first gig," says Will. Clinically proven to cause jerky dancing and cheesy grins in anything with a pulse, it's already infected US airwaves. The Werewolf You Become: There was an organ in the studio... hence this changeling mix of late-night moods. Hasn't been played live much because, well, have you tried lugging an organ around lately? "Absolutely out of leftfield for us, 'cos it's a gloomy sort of song," says Simon, "but it's probably one of my favourites."

Indeed, gloom isn't a mood found much in The Holidays' camp. "It's optimistic and youthful," says Alex of The Holidays' style. And it's here to remind us of one simple fact: music can be a hell of a lot of fun.

"You don't have to have an axe to grind or any depressed feelings, you just have to really want to do it," says Simon. "The thing that I'd like to achieve most is to make the kind of music that, when you've got a hangover or you're stuck in a traffic jam, it brings a smile to your face, as opposed to something that makes you angry. I just like making music that makes you feel good."

The Holidays. Just what you need.

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