Olivia’s World is the Brisbane-based project led by Alice Rezende. Specializing in DIY indie pop that combines twee naivete and punk fuzz, their sound would feel at home on the early 90s K Records roster. And this is no coincidence. Rezende formed the band during a two-year stint in Vancouver, where her search for a drummer led to the recruitment of twee-pop legend Rose Melberg. Joe Saxby on bass rounded out the trio, which went on to record the debut Olivia’s World EP, a self-titled cassette on Lost Sound Tapes, released in 2019.
Returning to Australia, Rezende and Saxby recruited Tina Agic (guitar & vocals) and Ben Napier (drums) to create the second Olivia’s World EP, Tuff 2B Tender, what the band describe as “a vast existential outing assembled over a period of change.” Again released on Lost Sound Tapes, the record once more lands somewhere between twee-throwback and punk propulsion, juxtaposing sweet pop hooks with tangled riffs and cutting deadpan delivery. Think Tiger Trap meets Sleater Kinney meets The Courtneys, all shaken up with the sound of four friends having lots of fun together.
Opener ‘Debutante’ begins relatively composed, but soon perks up with pummelled percussion and chugging guitar. It’s a song about the constant cyclical change of any creative scene, the refreshment and rejuvenation which are vital for creativity, though exciting and exhausting in equal measure. Rezende faces the constant state of flux as artists, venues and ideas are cultivated, used up and thinned out (or as as she puts it, “pull the shit that’s dead out of the garden bed”) in the name of creation.
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From there the record commits to a blend of saccharine and acidic. Sincere wonder mixes with shrewd cynicism, resulting in razor-witted pop songs that tackle everything from colonisation and ecological collapse to your favourite type of sage. ‘Hellbent’ sounds twitchy and anxious, wiry guitar winding behind Rezende’s droll vocals, while ‘Grassland’ feels slow and wide-open, evoking the panoramic vistas referred to in the lyrics. “I’m just looking for a place to call my grassland,” Rezende sings as she imagines a post-human botanical paradise while longing for escape from the city.
Perhaps the standout is ‘Social Seagull’, an indie pop anthem about the ups and downs and general weirdness of friendship. “Tiny crown fit for tiny mice,” its begins in a moment of child-like charm, before moving on to images of rusting steel and heavy drinking and disappointed Facetime calls. It’s playful and noisy and surprisingly heartfelt, distilling everything Olivia’s World do so well into four minutes.
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Tuff 2B Tender is out now via Lost Sound Tapes. Get it from their website or the Olivia’s World Bandcamp page.
