Total Control

Featuring some of the strongest germs in Melbourne, Australia's garage punk scene, Total Control formed in 2008 when UV Race drummer Dan Steward and Eddy Current Suppression Ring guitarist/producer Mikey Young came together over a love of wiry '80s punk heros like Devo, Gary Numan, and the Screamers. Both initially busy with their main bands, they experimented with Total Control whenever time allowed, eventually bashing out a punky self-titled debut 7" in 2008. The band's releases came mostly in the form of quickly sold-out 7" singles for the next few years, including Paranoid Video and the cold-wavey Pyre Island. Each concurrent single saw the duo (sometimes aided by external players on these recordings) shifting styles dramatically. Fans and press alike noted Total Control growing more minimal with each gear shift, adopting more electronic elements as their catalog grew. Late 2011 saw the release of Henge Beat, their first full-length endeavor, and an amalgamation of the various cold styles that wove through their previous singles. Steward and Young enlisted the help of accomplices from the Melbourne punk underbelly for both the recording of Henge Beat as well as live shows. At this point the band enjoyed a successful tour of the States opening for San Francisco garage favorites Thee Oh Sees.