With the release of last year’s Holiday Food EP, which featured “Spring Has Sprung” and “Got On My Skateboard,” the Bryon Bay, Australia-based trio Skegss, comprised of Ben Reed (vocals, guitar), Toby Cregan (bass) and Johnny Lani (drums) won national and international attention for a sunny, anthemic take on surf punk — and for ripping and energetic live sets. Interestingly, the band has received praise from Clash Magazine, who recently included them in this year’s “Best Punk Bands Come From Australia” feature, and as a result of the growing buzz around them, the Bryon Bay-based trio have been playing bigger and bigger shows across the UK and Australia — and have their sights set Stateside. 

The up-and-coming Aussie band’s full-length debut My Own Mess was released yesterday through and so far the album has been a massive commercial success: as of this writing, bum single “Up in the Clouds” has become the 10th most-played on commercial speciality radio, and in their native Australia, the album has recached #1 on the iTunes Alternative chart and #4 overall. And from the album’s latest single “Stop,” I’m not surprised, as the band specializes in breakneck, sugary sweet, power pop-influenced punk centered around infectious shout along hooks, fuzzy power chords and a youthful sense of abandon that recalls early FIDLAR — but with an eye back towards what you did the night before, understanding that usually at some point, the partying and bullshitting will eventually lead to soul-crushing day jobs, dreadful routines and adult obligations. 

The recently released video features the members of Skegss goofing around with a Stop/Slow sign as responsible adults look at them with suspicion and confusion. May the video serve as a reminder of how much we really shouldn’t aim to be so serious that we’ve forgotten what mischief feels like — or that we should always have some fun somewhere.