Whatever ‘it’ is, The Terrys have had it from the start. I’ve managed these five ‘drop kicks and no hopers’ (shoutout to our Reddit fans) since 2020. Right from the beginning, like a drug we should never have touched, the band consumed our entire lives; this much has stayed the same. The Terrys formed during a time that was pretty intense for most people. There was a lot of pain that was completely foreign and we were stuck at home with our thoughts. Lukas, Finchy, Salvo, Cam & Trent however, have never been people to overthink much. They can generally make light of almost any situation, including using Government financial assistance during a global pandemic to buy their first ever instruments, write their first songs, play their first shows, and 12 months later be publicly voted into Australia’s most acclaimed song competition, triple j’s Hottest 100.
Whether they realise it or not, The Terrys have always been built on escapism. The band members’ five personalities are constantly pushing each other - often too far - in the name of chasing innocent and childish fun. This priority above anything else has shone through from the beginning, and like moths to a flame, Australia’s youth latched onto The Terrys as an escape from a world that was far too bleak. At the risk of sounding clichéd, The Terrys aren’t just a band, but rather a way of life. Just ask one of the at least 300 people (myself being one of them) that have their infamous flower logo tattooed on their body, a constant reminder that life is what you make of it.
Skate Pop is The Terrys’ sophomore album. Weirdly though, at least for me, it feels like their debut. Following ‘Our Paradise’, everything started moving very quickly for The Terrys. In an effort not to lose this momentum, and also the fact that it was the band’s first time recording and releasing an album, further coupled with external pressure pigeonholing the band into “your new favourite surf band” their debut (True Colour), honestly speaking, had left us all feeling a bit disheartened.
Skate Pop is a vengeance of sorts. The band put more thought and emotion into this record than anything they’ve ever done. This time round there was less external pressure. They got back to how it was in the beginning, being completely independent and letting the band be the band. The buzz also wasn’t at its usual volume, shows weren’t selling out, the band came together and deep down knew they had to make something special. For the fans, sure, but also for themselves, this was their chance to do it their way, and with a little more knowledge under their belts than the first time.
With almost every lyric written off the cuff while in the studio, whatever pent up emotion, stifled sadness or suppressed memory was buried inside the band’s collective minds during this recording process was free to rise to the surface. “When you don’t have a 9-5 and you just sit with your thoughts, some weird shit can go through your mind,” Finchy says. “But with all the songs where it starts off weird, they always come to a point of being OK.... for me, it’s about finding comfort in the discomfort.”
“This album is like a checkpoint of where we’re at and how we’re doing, but it’s not just about us and our experience.” ,” adds Lukas. “It’s up for interpretation. We want them [ our listeners] to know that we're their friends when they're listening to it. We’ve been there too.”
All songs considered, Skate Pop is the result of a band following their creative urges with sheer exuberance, humble curiosity and complete belief in their own instincts. The initial singles, ‘Silent Disco’ and ‘No Bad Days’ have been taking the band to untravelled waters, withshows once again selling out not just at home, but across the world. Just wait until they get to hear the rest of this record.
The Terrys’ true north has always been this: stay positive, take it one day at a time and look towards the horizon with a smile and ideally a beer in hand. And while Skate Pop certainly serves up classic happy-go-lucky Terrys imagery and storytelling, it’s willingness to dive deeper into the group’s own discomfort, sadness and uncertainty of early-twenties life whilst still coming out with a smile is what makes this album truly endearing. It’s what makes The Terrys, and what makes me so proud and grateful to be a part of this family.
Long live The Terrys.
