Pipsy ’s new album/EP is 21 minutes of foot-tapping, high energy, indie surf pop punk, dusted with the youthful optimism and impatience of a young New Zealander living it up in South Australia.

Each element of ‘Users’ was recorded separately and mixed to an apparent alternative-sound brief, producing a thoughtfully curated combination of guitar, bass, drums, breezy vocals and edgy lyrics. The majority of the eight tracks are entirely solo efforts, written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Paul Pouwels-Trumpour in Melbourne or Ontario. The exceptions are Get Out! (which was mastered by Rick O’Neill) and the outro for Whatever (If It’s Going To Come to This) written by Cameron McMillan.

Paul, the man behind Pipsy, is known in local indie music scene as the drummer from Dunedin-based band Males, as well as for his playing in the Julian Temple Band and Two Cartoons. Opening track Whatever (If It’s Going to Come to This) sets the carefree tone of the album with the lyrics, “I can do whatever I want, if it’s going to come to this.”

The student radio friendly summery single Holiday is a stand out with the cheerful hook telling the listener to, “Go away on a holiday, never ever feel alone again.” With its distorted vocals and darker lyrics, Loner brings a rougher punk sound to the collection, whilst maintaining the overall optimistic beat found throughout the remainder of the album, perhaps inspired by the move from the cold depths of Dunedin to the unrelenting Australian sun.

The brief eight-track release is brought to a close with Geek, a song that leaves the listener feeling as if they now know Pipsy a little better than they did before. Overall ‘Users’ is a strong, thoughtful and addictive album that will surely be the launching pad for more surf pop punk sounds from this Kiwi ex-pat.