FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Set Sail – ‘Girls on Bicycles’

Sydney indie pop quartet Set Sail have dropped another single from their forthcoming EP Good Vibes. ‘Girls on Bicycles’ sees the band build on their decidedly more electronic, synth-heavy direction than previous EPs. If this track is anything to go by, Set Sail will definitely be conjuring what vibes Jinja Safari haven’t already milked into oblivion.

Look – musically, I think this is a great track, crafted to inspire torrents of sunshine-laden happy good-time chill thoughts. Power to the boys for not just pressing CTRL+C on the bright as hell guitar pop on their first two EPs. I just take issue with any male songwriter who channels the ‘girls just wanna have fun’ vibe. Not even on a political level; I just think it makes the song sound cheap.

As always, vocalist Brandon Hoogenboom’s honeyed drawl is a highlight, and melodically this song is right – that opening harmonised chorus, the funk-laden guitar riff, and is that a flute I hear? Hopefully. But I fear the boys may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater – their first EP had such beautiful acoustic guitar builds, with arrangements that really supported the pop songwriting (see ‘the Warm Up‘). Comparatively, this track has pushed the accepted levels of vapidity in pop songs over the line.

Regardless, ‘Girls on Bicycles’ is 2000% guaranteed to be a hit with their fan base, so kudos should be dealt on that front. I foresee a swathe of savvy bike shop owners engineering a ‘Beach Babe Starter Kit: Buy 1 pastel coloured fixie, receive matching floral headpiece’ deal when the EP drops. Whatever you make of this track, Set Sail are flexing every fibre of their well-trained pop muscle and the new EP will probably be nothing less than a rose-tinted excursion.

Good Vibes is out in July.

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