Twerps

Australian lo-fi revivalists Twerps craft noisy pop and '80s-steeped college rock steeped in a clear Flying Nun/New Zealand sensibility. The Melbourne-formed quartet features guitarist/vocalists Martin Frawley and Julia McFarlane alongside bassist Rick Milovanovic and drummer Patrick O'Neill. Their first release, the Good Advice single, arrived in 2009 and quickly drew attention from noise pop devotees. A self-titled full-length followed in 2011, earning widespread critical praise and attracting an eclectic audience that included actress Jessica Alba. Extensive international touring occupied the subsequent year, capped by the summer 2012 single "Work It Out" on Chapter Music and Underwater Peoples. Further live commitments ensued, among them a 2013 Laneway Festival run, before the group signed with Merge in the U.S. in summer 2014. Concurrently they issued the long-awaited Underlay EP, a self-recorded effort that introduced new drummer Alex MacFarlane of fellow Melbourne band the Stevens, who had joined early that year. He participated in the sessions for the second album, Range Anxiety, jointly released by Merge and Chapter in early 2015.