Swinging Sixties Spirit, Melbourne Style
The Gnomes come flying out of their Frankston garages and straight into your speakers with their video for “Flippin’ Stomp,” and the whole thing feels like it leaped off a vintage TV set. Shot in a single day with pure impulse guiding the way, the clip captures the band tearing around Melbourne with a grin, a stomp, and the kind of carefree charm that made their recent Headphone Approved album review here at The Fire Note feel right on target.
Director Willem Kingma taps straight into the ’60s vibe, pulling from that playful, technicolor era of Beatles clips like “Paperback Writer” and “Penny Lane.” His choice to shoot in Campbell Arcade — partly to dodge the weather — ends up being perfect. Those salmon pink walls pop against the band’s denim, ties, badges, and bell-bottoms as they run, dive, and mug for the camera. It looks like a lost moment from The Monkees or The Goodies, only with more Melbourne grit and less choreographed chaos.
“Flippin’ Stomp” itself was one of the first songs where singer and lead guitarist Jay Millar aimed for an authentic ’60s beat sound. You can hear the echoes of the Hamburg-era Beatles and the wild rush of The Swinging Blue Jeans and Los Shakers, but filtered through the band’s own youthful charge. Lyrically, it’s a tribute to those early days at The Bird — moshing with friends, discovering local bands, and feeling that first real jolt of live music excitement.
Millar says Kingma and the creative team totally nailed the vision. The band spent the day darting through gardens, clowning with instruments, and letting the day unfold without stress. The result is a video that feels loose, fun, and full of life — exactly the spirit they wanted to bottle.
THE GNOMES LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Dog Meat Records
The Fire Note is an independent-music website that mixes record-store culture with lively, opinionated music journalism. It publishes: Album reviews and features – Covering indie-rock, punk, folk, experimental music, and underground scenes.
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