Frankston’s fab four are like time travellers bringing ‘60s and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll back into the spotlight.
When these four mates’ music gets going, you’re transported back to the beat music era – The Beatles, The Kinks and our own The Easybeats. The Gnomes breathe new life into the tight garage-rock sound with poppy hooks and an energetic presence, filling venues all over Melbourne.
Another thrilling offspring from Frankston’s Singing Bird Studio scene, The Gnomes have existed in some form since late 2022, but until the last year or so, they weren’t always a four-piece, nor rock ‘n’ roll revivalists.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
The Gnomes used to be one: Gnome, a solo bedroom project for lead songwriter Jay Millar to record and release songs. His earliest output resembled Mac DeMarco’s lo-fi rock and Duster’s slowcore more than The Gnomes’ classic rock, but “with or without a band,” Jay says, “the sound would’ve naturally pushed in that direction.” “I was making music like what I was listening to,” he adds.
The other three came into the picture through music; nobody went to school together. “We all met around the same time at like 15 or so, but in different universes,” bassist Olly Katsianis says. “Singing Bird Studio is the real hub where we met each other.”
Jay and Olly were members of Hey Spiro!. Jay met guitarist Ned Capp through mutual friends. Drummer Ethan Robins, who plays in Stimpies, while hammered on a night out, told Jay, “If you need anything, I’ll drum for you.” A couple of days later, Jay asked Ethan to fill in for some gigs, and they never looked back.
“It was like our first rehearsal [with Ethan], and it just sounded different,” Olly recalls. “It sounded bigger.” “We had two drummers before,” Ned mentions. With their line-up finalised, they started taking Gnome more seriously, but Jay still viewed it as a solo endeavour.
The Gnomes’ self-titled debut album was released last November. Jay initially wrote and recorded it in its entirety, but that cut isn’t what we got. “It didn’t sound right,” Jay says. “I was chatting with Olly, and he said, ‘Why don’t we just re-record it with the whole band, so it sounds like how we sound live?’” And so, that’s how Gnome got pluralised for good.
Their bright, swinging riffs with catchy harmonies make for a truly lively performance that’s difficult not to move to. That energy feels natural, but it’s “not out of nowhere,” as Jay explains: “It stems back to the Frankston scene we grew up in. There were so many punk, metal and hardcore bands – even the indie bands always had heaps of energy.” Ethan notes it’s just “how [they] grew up watching people perform.”
They also recognise it’s easier for audiences to enjoy gigs if the band is visibly having fun. “If a band is standing still and looking bored to be there, you’re probably just going to go back to the beer garden and ignore them,” Jay says.
The camaraderie with the bands they play with leads to some friendly competition – Jay describes it as “playing against your mates in school footy.” For those outside of the Frankston scene, they’re “playing with really cool people [they] love and [they’ve] become mates with,” as Olly says. They’re even meeting bands they idolised growing up, who inspired them in the first place: “A lot of them are our fucking mates now, which is this whole other thing,” Ethan says. “You get to realise everyone’s just people.”
The Gnomes are also gigging all the time, alongside big names like Hockey Dad (Ethan managed to play drums for them), Eddy Current Suppression Ring and soon for each of Spiderbait’s anniversary shows this July. It gets intense, but they truthfully don’t know anything else. “What’s the point of not playing all the time?” Ned asks. “We’re putting everything into it, so we may as well.” They’re young and have the energy, so this is the best time to get cracking.
By the time this chat hits the street press, The Gnomes will have finished their first European tour. The band seem perpetually on the up, and their music is taking them to unexpected places, now including overseas. “I think we’re all under the impression of, ‘We don’t believe it until it happens,’” Jay admits. “It’s very weird, but we’re happy to go with it.”
Their rise is so deserved. The Gnomes embody the rock ‘n’ roll spirit as hard workers, and their triumphant homecoming will certainly set their audience ablaze.
The Gnomes are playing The Night Cat on 20 June. Grab tickets here.
