Pop Mutations & Freakender present:
screensaver
+ Special Guests
Saturday 17th August
The Old Hairdresser's
18+
Advance tickets available at citizenticket.com/events/pop-mutations
screensaver balance frenetic energy with unsettling tonalities to create rhythmic gloom that rides the new wave to the synth-punk.
Spending three years in an incubatory state, the band began as a trans Pacific collaboration between Christopher Stephenson (Spray Paint/Exek) and Krystal Maynard (Bad Vision/ex Polo) in 2016. By 2019 Christopher had long since relocated to Melbourne and the current line up now consists of James Beck (Personal Touch/ex Rat Columns) on drums, Dorian Vary (Soundtrack Music) on bass and Jonnine Nokes (Horse Pills) on second synth.
The band has released two full length albums: Expressions of Interest (2021) and Decent Shapes (2023). The latter came out as a split release on Poison City Records (AUS) and Upset the Rhythm (UK) and extended on the bands blend of synth driven post-punk replete with elements of krautrock, dance-punk, new wave and electronica established on their debut. The first single The Guilt found itself in the AMRAP Independent Music Charts top 10 during its first few weeks of release and received praise on Rolling Stone (AUS), Post Trash (USA), Raven Sings the Blues (USA) and PBS FM (AUS). The album has received excellent reviews on NME, KEXP, Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll and Brooklyn Vegan to name a few.
“You can hear the rocking yearning of peak SLEATER-KINNEY, the blunt thunk of early ’80s disco punk, coldwave’s synth-licked gloom (or the modern update of BELGRADO), and high-rolling BANSHEES goth rock. Often some of all of those are happening at once, which is in itself a niche of sorts, but a bigger factor in all this is that SCREENSAVER are really adept songwriters” - Noel Gardner, Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll.
The band followed up the release with a successful national Australian Tour and special live to air performance at Triple R Radio.
In 2021 the band delivered their 10-track debut album Expressions of Interest on Upset the Rhythm (UK) and Heavy Machinery (AU) to positive international response. Establishing a sound on the album that ranged from electronic driven krautrock, to post-punk full of tribal toms and dirge-y synths to death-disco style tracks with touches of EDM. See praise for the record on Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll (USA), KEXP(USA), Post Trash(USA), Blunt Magazine(AU), Clash (UK). The album was also a regular feature on Henry Rollin’s KCRW Santa Monica radio show.
Just 6 months after the release of their debut album the band returned with a double A-side 7-inch single on Upset the Rhythm, Clean Current/Repeats. Clean Current is a burst of high-energy: nervy guitars and groovy bass underpinned with kraut-rock drums and cosmic synth noise. Repeats is the flip-side of the coin, a moody post-punk stomper, led by gritty saw tooth synth, chorus-soaked guitar, textural percussion and soaring vocals. The 7-inch received glowing write ups on Raven Sings the Blues Austin Townhall, Brooklyn Vegan, Trouble Juice and White Light//White Heat and even got a spin by Iggy Pop on his BBC 6 radio show. The 7-inch has long been sold out.
Off the back of these two releases, screensaver embarked on a 12-date tour of the USA in September 2022, playing Gonerfest 19 and making their way across the Midwest, South and East Coast, their high energy shows resulting in merch sold out well before the tour ended.
The band is now primed to finally get to Europe and the UK for the first time in August 2024.