Track x Track: Sixth Avenue - readmymind.

Image credit: Luke Moore

Sixth Avenue have been a band to watch for a few years now, first hitting radars in late 2020 with the release of their debut EP, So Temperamental. Since then, the Boorloo/Perth-based alt/indie-rock four-piece have been hard at work, honing their live shows and busy in the studio, with the result their recently released sophomore EP, readmymind.

Across eight tracks, the band explore everything from hook-filled, anthemic indie rock to emo-influenced cuts and even elements from shoegaze, resulting in an addictive, compelling and all together rocking collection of music.

To get to know readmymind. in depth, Sixth Avenue frontman Joel Bellesini took us through it track by track - have a listen and get to know below!

Doubt It

The most obvious first (proper) song to the record(there’s an intro track but that hasn’t got lyrics so hard to find much to say about that one)–‘Doubt It’ is an homage to the nostalgia we have for the early 2000s which painted the backdrop to each of our childhoods. In the news of their return on the road, the track is also certainly your answer to the frequent kisschasy comparisons we have found ourselves on the receiving end of in our time,or rather the ‘you guys sound like that one band that did it better 10 years ago’. Either way we're not complaining–and have played it enough such that we are unbelievably keen to get it out; it’s burning a hole in our pockets.

Bleach

The most recent aspect of this track which stands out is that it’s apparently the favourite of our producer’s / band dad ‘Matt Templeman’ (or simply Temp, for short) who was the man behind the production of the most part of the record and a word of wisdom in many respects.He was also really the reason the tune made it off the ground–despite the fact that we exude the track with such confidence for it to seem inherently obvious, it was really one of those that was almost scrapped in its early days. Thank god it stuck it out, was a real lesson for us to continue following through with an idea until it really becomes something.

Lost

Lost was the first track which really caught some attention by radio stations and people within the industry listening alike,and really cemented us in our own identities a little bit. It certainly put us on our toes as wever much wrote beyond our own abilities on this one,but that’s where the good things happen (I think). Plus that final chorus still feels huge!

Satellite

A full classic amongst the guys this one, we often joke that we can play it at live shows no matter how inebriated we may get beforehand. It’s really the point where we can breathe in the set,and has been a crowd favourite for quite some time which is nice as. Props for Tristan Sturmer (Sumo Sound Studios)who happened to be on the tools for this one,and for pushing us to a point with this one where we can still be proud of it despite it being the oldest on the EP.

Either Way

Okay, now this one is the most personal and likely the hardest one for me to talk about on the record, which is going to make me sound a bit like a broken record as we hit the tail end of the EP which can only be described as an auditory mirage of my heart and soul but got damn! this one was a hard one to get right. There was a lot of biting the bullet and just saying what I happened to be feeling at the time (there’s really not much between that and the final track)–‘you always said you’d stick around another year or two, but fate had other plans’ is a confrontation with the loss of a cornerstone of a person I had loved within my family. Sonically, it also gives the feel of all those shoegaze classics (MBV, slowdive, Gauze),which having the room for that on the EP was such a blessing to say the least – and a tip of the hat to that world of incredible artists which we all adore.

23

Following with the theme of being heart-on-sleeve, ‘23’ is the furthest lyrical push into that direction I’ve ever gone,delving into the details of an internal smoothie-bowl of self-doubt, overwhelming external fulfilment and imposter syndrome I was experiencing at the time. ‘I told myself I’d have the life I want to live by 25, but that's not showing up’ does hurt to sing sometimes, despite the seemingly universal relatability of that sentiment and its illegitimacy as I’m not even 25 yet (I’m a fraud, I know). It’s also interesting that even though this track was a conscious step in into us writing what was a so-called indie record, it still feels very us and unfiltered, which is always nice and helps the track convey quite well.

SIGH

The final song on the EP, full name:‘Sometimes I Get High, And Think About You’,we really weren’t going to have anything short of such a sonic and cerebral cataclysm to round off the record. Big tune for us this one, it's all about us dropping the curtain and not being ashamed to be our most selves in front of a microphone. It’s always such a treat when we catch people singing the words to this one at our live shows, which were at one point only ever heard by 4 dudes in our North Perth garage. Massively large props to the genius James Kilian,who’s creative prowess continues to drive us further in our ambitions and helped forge the music video to this track to life!

          - Joel Bellesini, Sixth Avenue, May 2023

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