Straight Arrows

Sydney, Australia-based four-piece Straight Arrows formed in 2007 when frontman Owen Penglis started recording his own material on a four-track recorder after being thrown out of various bands. Joined by Adam Williams (drums), Angela Garrick (bass), and Alex Grigg (guitar), the quartet released their first 7", Can't Count, on their own Juvenile Records label that same year, and their own brand of psychedelic garage punk -- which Penglis coined "mid-fi" -- was born. A split single with French garage punk outfit the Creteens appeared the following year, while live dates kept the band busy until they started recording their debut album, It's Happening, at Penglis' home studio -- and a recording space in Sydney's Kings Cross, after complaints from the neighbors -- in 2010. A handful of singles appeared following the release of the album -- 2012's All the Time and 2013's Never Enough -- but it wasn’t until 2014 that the band released their follow-up, Rising, as Penglis did some producing for other bands, including Palms, the Frowning Clouds, and Royal Headache, and put together the Nuggets tribute album Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi