The Valentinos

From the moment they first took to a dusty stage in early 2005, The Valentinos offered more than meets the eye. Behind the fashionable aesthetics and manic demeanour stands a band intent on forging original ground, a skittering shitstorm of punk fury, disco beats and psychedelic excursions, the sonic invention of M83, Can and My Bloody Valentine melding with the panty-poking fun of Wham!, The Pixies and The Human League.

It was the band's live intensity that quickly endeared them to audiences. With wiry frontman Nik slithering and exploding in a lusty spectacle, the Santamaria brothers' fanning the flames with propulsive rhythms and searing melodies, drummer Dan's breakneck brutality and guitarist Jonno Ma's dissonant ambience, The Valentinos immediately established themselves as one of the most exciting acts in Sydney’s indie quarters. By the time their self-titled EP (produced by Kim Moyes of The Presets) hit store shelves later in the year, their up-and-coming reputation was solidified, with the EP's initial pressing selling out in its first week of release and publications such as Rolling Stone, Nylon and Vice UK hitting up the band for their tear-jerking tale of success. Their first single, the noirish and anthemic “Man With The Gun”, immediately achieved high rotation on Triple J and earned the band a featured spot on the station’s Next Crop segment.

Despite the unending interest, the band has maintained their DIY ethic. Still fiercely independent, they have released songs on various labels yet hold complete creative control over their work, free to pepper their dancefloor desires with more freak departures than a Scooby Doo fever dream. From the eerily restrained Morricone atmospherics of “Bullets For Old Time’s Sake” to the urgent maniacal ramblings of second single “Kafka!”, The Valentinos’ shifting soundscapes highlight a fearless desire to expand their musical ideas far outside the trepid trends.

With support slots with like-minded acts such as The Presets, The Liars (US) and Datarock (Norway) under their collective belts, The Valentinos have worked hard to spread their seed around the country and a UK tour later this year is imminent. An extended EP has just landed in Japan and a 12-inch featuring remixes of their work by such fancy knob-twiddlers as Headman (UK), Bang Gang DJs, Van She and many more is set for release in the UK. A whole new audience is set to discover the unique intensity of The Valentinos, and all that’s left to do is Dance Or Die. We’d choose Dance.