BINGETHINKERS ALBUM LAUNCH

As a hip hop collective, they have an unlikely name: the Bingethinkers, a play on the band’s short bursts of concentrated intellectual activity amongst long spells of being largely unproductive. And for a debut album, the title Where Are They Now is strangely revival. Beatmaker PSYKEone (Mitchell Allen) tells us: “It’s a nod to the fact that we’ve been in the scene for a minute now, ever-present but never prolific. Also because it’s Mike Munro, This is Your Life-esque.”

Look past the tongue-in-cheek titles and you get the kind of mature lyrics, polished production and slickly addictive beats unusual for a first effort (aside from their 2007 mixtape, Shelf Life). Musically, the foursome come from diverse backgrounds: MC Rinse focusing on his own brand of rap, Philosophical Life Gangster; DJ 2Buck as turntablist for Melbourne’s Pegz and Sydney’s Dialectrix; while beatmakers PSYKEone and Aeon experiment at the borders of electronica. “That said,” says Allen, “we’ve all got a significant portion of our hearts reserved for that straight boom bap.”

It’s Aussie hip hop, but it’s tied its laces and put on a suit shirt. It’s smart without being preachy: perfect for a crowd one part hip hop-loving hoodlums, one part scholars of fresh new Sydney sounds.

“With a life-altering bevy of sirens, air horns, explosions and wardrobe changes, we can honestly say there isn’t a live show like it. In supports, our QLD brethren Calski (latest addition to LookUP Records) and Rainman (long time Soul Brother) have cooked up a new live production and, closer to home, Ellesquire (Big Village) is dropping some freshness ahead of the Big Things launch the following night.”

Put simply: don’t miss it.

Fri Jun 24, 8pm, FBi Social, Kings Cross Hotel, 244-248 William St, Kings Cross, $15 on the door, facebook.com/Bingethinkers