Two Steps on the Water’s ‘More True More Rowdy’ is a Surreal Combo of Silent Film, Gun Violence and Forbidden Sexuality

Two Steps on the Water are a genre defying trio from Melbourne whose attitude is succinctly summed up in the title of their latest release, Having Pop Punk Feelings in a Country Western Body.

Below is the premiere of their video for “More True More Rowdy” from that same EP. The single is a playful deconstruction of Australian masculinity, with its chorus paying tribute to that most ladsiest of drinks - Red Bull and Jaeger. Frontwoman June Jones says that the song is also about “violence, fear, and half-baked ideas of what it means to live truthfully.”

The video is a road trip through Melbourne’s suburbs, into the bushland and beyond, and it features a dreamy, sexy montage of sports references, beer, bushrangers and half naked bodies wrestling in space.

Much of the clip is set in Australia’s past, described by Jones as “a time before Tumblr, before Judith Butler, back when men were Men and women were Women - a time before I would be allowed to exist.”

It’s a surreal combo of period costumes, silent film subtitles and gun violence, and forbidden sexuality. “Something about the song just warranted queer scandal within a ye olde silent film context,” Jones says.

You can catch Two Steps on the Water live at Transgenre on April 3. Organised by Jones, it’s an eight hour mini music festival featuring a lineup of trans and gender non-conforming musicians, as well as a few poets, DJs, and performance artists.

June says Transgrenre was “basically born of my own selfish desire to see all of my favourite trans and gender non-conforming musicians, poets and DJs play a show together.”

“I was friends with pretty much everyone I asked to perform, and they’re all incredibly talented and original artists in one form or another. Hopefully enough people come so that everyone can get paid a decent wage for their hard work and their art.”

Celebrating diversity, “the festival’s name is a reference to the breadth of genres, styles, and traditions that the different performers are coming from. But whether it’s the croony smackwave of Spike Fuck, or the spooky electronic pop loops of Geryon, all the artists are bloody top notch. Fingers crossed we pull it off, but I’m not really worried. Oh, and Two Steps on the Water are just another name on the bill. I’m organising the festival, but that’s it, really.”

Transgenre 2016
April 3 – Melbourne at Howler

Astrid&
Brooke Powers
Callan
Chloe Alison Escott (The Native Cats) (Tas)
Coral Ceto
Divinia Rainn
Geryon
Jack Mannix (TERMINAL INFANT)
Jules
rorts ([-o-])
Simona Castricum
SPIKE FUCK
trixie darko
Two Steps on the Water
Wahe
WET KISS
Xen Nhà
Yung Brujo (Syd)