EP Review: Job Site

Job Site is a band of great cultural significance formed one weekend in the Waikato with the power of a box of Waikato. They play terrible (their words, not mine) high-energy garage rock. Everything you wish you were but are glad you’re not.

The band roster reads like a bogan boyband. These guys are the One Direction of lifestyle tradies. You’ve got Huzi on guitar and vocals, Damo on samples and vocals, Danimal on bass and Roggo on drums. You can just picture each one of them playing a distinct character in big-budget monster house music video.

To give you an idea of what you’re in for with Job Site, I will quote the message I sent to my good mate and repressed father when I shared the link with him:

“New band from the mighty Waikato that made me think of you. If you ever liked Deja Voodoo it’s kind of like that. Potentially NSFW if you’re not rocking headphones, there’s a few C bombs and mention of king hitting a bouncer.”

Their  self-titled EP is an 11-minute taste of what Job Site has to offer. 3 tracks of raucous garage goodness bookended by beautiful and stylistically jarring piano pieces.

First track Ford Ranger is a song about how great the Ford Ranger is. It opens with a devil’s triad, like Purple Haze, but on truckie speed. It’s also about being a human Ford Ranger but getting banned from high school rugby for too many head-highs. The guitar solo in this song has a surprisingly tasty tone that goes beyond the specs of just garage rock. The song culminates in a spoken word love poem/ free advertising for the Ford Ranger.

In between each song is a moody rendition of the James Bond theme. It’s either a novel idea for a palette cleanser between songs, or one of the band members figured out how to play the James Bond theme so they chucked it in the EP.

5 O’Clock is either about quiet quitting or protecting your own wellbeing by maintaining good boundaries:

“F**k off c**t it’s 5 O’Clock / I’m going home / F**k off c**t it’s 5 O’Clock / see you dickheads Monday.”

At this point I’d like to add: they call themselves terrible, but they’re objectively good musicians. It also ends with an explosion sound effect.

Not Tonight has another solo that has no business being as compelling as it is. It also has a meaningful message about never giving up and not bowing to fake authority figures. As well as a happy ending about getting free entry into a building.

Job Site is a band for the people. I feel like I’ve met these guys thousands of times. I’ve worked with these types of people, entertained them and partied with them.
This band has a built-in fan base of anyone who’s ever worn thick socks. These guys could already fill a venue with hundreds, even in their infancy. These songs are destined to be binge drinking anthems.

I’m reminded of the punk attitude and DIY ethos of Kiwi up and comers Dartz, which is another band full of people you’ve met singing songs about conversations you’ve had. But where Dartz, from Wellington, get in the spirit of decolonisation by appealing to you to 1 outs captain Cook; Job Site, from Waikato, embody the true human state of mind and implore you to king hit a bouncer that won’t let you in.

This is YOUR band, Aotearoa. Every Kiwi should have their noses rubbed in what they’ve helped create and listen to Job Site.