by Joe Jamnitzky
I swear, some of the best albums in music never get released in the States. I’m not just talking compilations or things of that nature either, but full fledged, original albums that result in the artist(s) involved to not be known here except to a small few.
Yes Yes Vindictive, by Australian band Operator Please, is a perfect example of this dilemma. Unfortunately, there’s no one thing I can pinpoint that would cause this, which in itself drives me nuts. Could it have been their ages? When the album came out, the oldest member was only 21, while the youngest was 16. Was it their looks? Lead singer, Amandah Wilkinson, definitely defies the normal “female lead singer” stereotype, being a bigger girl (and quite good looking) that sings in a sassy, sweet, girlish voice that sounds as if it belongs in someone elses body.
Perhaps it was all of that, combined with the most important aspect; their sound. This is an album filled with jagged riffs, rushed tempos, choruses that sound like they’re meant to be shouted by crowds…and violins.
Yup, violins. The group’s youngest member, Taylor Henderson, happened to be a violinist. Now, while the sound of violins are no stranger to rock music and such, when brought forward in the mix as a main instrument among songs in the indie-punk/pop/new wave/whatever genre you want to call it, it adds another dimension to things that sounds both odd and amazing all at once.
The pace of the album is another aspect. This is an album that grabs hold and doesn’t even slow down a bit until six songs in. It’s just one song after another flying along at high speed, yet without ever getting boring or monotonous.
Now, despite the lack of release here, some songs have creeped into American shows and movies. The album’s lead off track, “Zero! Zero!”, was used in an episode of the show Chuck, while the album’s most popular single, “Just A Song About Ping Pong”, was used in an episode of CSI:NY, as well as in the independent drama film, The Babysitter’s Club (which is how this writer discovered it).
As far as success goes, they had it on an impressive level. “Just A Song About Ping Pong” reached #12 on the ARIA charts (basically the Australian version of Billboard), as well as winning the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single, and reaching #10 on the UK Indie Chart. It even was featured on the front pages of both Youtube and Myspace. The night they won the ARIA award would also end up being their debut television performance.
They would also make appearances at big name festivals such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury, and would open for bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chief during their tours of Australia.
I have introduced a few of my friends to this band and album, and we’ve all wondered why it never got a release here. Their second album, Gloves (which I will be doing on my next article), seemed especially crafted to break through in the States. Unfortunately, many of us continue to remain in the dark as a result. Hopefully, with this article, at least somebody who has never heard them will give them a chance and realize that this is truly one of the most original, unique sounding bands to have ever existed.
Then again, maybe that’s why they never got released here…because they’re a bit too unique to categorize. But isn’t music better when it can’t be labeled?
