Like Roxy Music, Rolling Stones, Devo, Talking Heads and Les Savy Fav, 2009 ARIA Hall of Famers MENTAL AS ANYTHING got their start in art school. Forming in the mid 1970s, it was a handy distraction from class at the time. But then something happened.
In the intervening 30-plus years the band wormed their way into the consciousness of the nation with a string of instantly recognisable songs (Too Many Times, If You Leave Me, Sprit Got Lost, The Nips Are Getting Bigger) and for that co-frontman Greedy Smith blames the wireless. "We came from a period where the only time you heard rock music was on radio stations and a few rock music shows," he explains. "But now we're reaping the benefits because when radio stations do surveys about songs their listeners want to hear, they recognise all of our stuff so we get played quite a bit." Bit like the Stockholm Syndrome then. Well, not quite. "The thing is - a lot of Australian bands from the '90s get far less radio play than we do but have probably sold a lot more records then we did. But we really managed to imprint on people's heads at that stage." OK, so it's actually more path dependence then. Whatever the theory - it seems to be working as the band continues to play over 100 shows each year. As for all those singles, well "we used to put out a single every two or three months!" Is it any wonder they're everywhere then?
Yet for a band who have had to deal with their fair share of knockers and naysayers over the years, primarily focussing on their perceived relaxed attitude, the band never planned 'wackiness' as such. It was more a function of necessity. "When we went to the US we had all these record company executives asking us 'who do you get to do your styling?' and we'd sort of jokingly reply 'St Vincent De Paul.' We just got everything from the op shop so we weren't consciously trying to have a look. It was just that the half-fitting, lairy clothes were the ones we could afford. Geez, those Americans took everything so seriously. We were just oblivious to it."
Oblivious or not, a cursory glance at the Mental's discography reveals a comfort and prowess for songwriting that's often overlooked. An incredible range of influences bubble to the surface - reggae, rockabilly, new-wave, punk-pop and country - but they don't really crowd each other out or overpower the mix. They make it look deceptively simple, and for that reason alone Mental As Anything are one of the few bands that transcend their history and survive without tacky re-invention. Deep down - I think they do take what they do quite seriously.
Mental As Anything play the National Capital Craft Beer Festival on Saturday September 26. Tickets through Moshtix.
