The Thompsons are a band – for better or worse – way beyond their years. As Malstrom from the music site Moog and Malstrom likes to put it “The Thompsons run hand-drawn rings around their peers, who are probably still spending their time learning Metallica riffs…. [Their EP] is full of chicken-picking guitars and bumping synth lines that artists like Foals or The Wombats would happily call their own. Did we also mention that they’re old enough to get their Learner’s Driver License (just)?”

The Thompsons are undoubtedly heavily inspired by the 80’s, even modelling their band name in style after The Smiths, but they experiment with a range of sounds varying from reggae and jazz to electronic. They’ve created their own unique genre called raw disco fuzz pop as a rebellious answer to anyone who tries to pin them down too much musically. To get their signature sound, they use some funky gear including the Mopho keyboard, which they like for its grittiness, live trumpets, and on guitar the Boss DD-20 Giga delay, Holy Grail reverb, and the Analogman Peppermint Fuzz. You can look forward to hearing their original song “Knitting Knives” which totally epitomizes their sound.

Don’t miss out on your next chance to see this band live. They’ve made it through the first round of the festival and are now set to battle it out on stage at The Factory Theatre on the 7th for the semi-finals.