Pretty Boy – GRXCE

Released on Friday, ‘Pretty Boy” is the terrific debut release from Eora/Sydney-based indie-rock band GRXCE. A punchy, pop-punk track with guitar-driven lines, head-bang-worthy percussive hits and lead singer Jamila Grace showcasing her sarcastic lyrical flair, the song builds to chorus that drips in swooning falsetto. It was produced and mixed by Fletcher Matthews (The Buoys, Stumps, CLEWS) and mastered by George Georgiadis (Adam Newling, The Vanns, Tyne James-Organ).

Vocalist Jamila Grace talks about the journey of the track:

“‘Pretty Boy’ started as a very literal song. I was worried that I was too much for someone because they were stereotypically ‘cool’ and I didn’t really view myself that way. Over time I grew in confidence and the song became almost an ‘F U’ to people who believed they were ‘too cool’ to try in a relationship and give anything above the bare minimum. Then as soon as we sat down in the studio with Fletcher we completely changed the lead guitar hook to reflect how present-day Jamila feels when she sings the song. At the end of the day, it’s about being confident in who you are and not turning a blind eye to red flags just because you are attracted to someone physically.”

The soundtrack is supported by visuals filmed by Braiden Toko (Goblin Pictures) and directed by Sinead Campion; depicting an unrequited romance through the feisty, rose-coloured glasses of a protagonist raised on cult classic films such as Heathers, Jennifer’s Body & Mean Girls. 

GRXCE is actually an expansion on a previous solo project, Jamila Grace. Band members Alex Berger (drums), Emily Elvish (bass), Jonathan Amirzaian (guitar) and Freddy Zeater (guitar) were welcomed at the end of 2021, bringing their own creative inspirations to the table alongside Jamila’s songwriting talents. While the songwriter’s previous works may be humble predecessors of new big sister GRXCE, a combined 50K streams across the two releases makes their successes and compliments unavoidable. With support from SYN FM, triple j and Livewire AU, Jamila’s poetically blunt lyricism was already loved but now GRXCE offers the perfect sonic pairing to amplify them. 

To celebrate the release, GRXCE will be hosting a single launch show on October 21st at The Factory Floor in Marrickville, Eora/Sydney supported by local legends The Blue Tongues & Memory Motel.

You can find out about the band by following them on their Instagram, Tik-Tok and Facebook pages.