Ocean Grove rockers BIN release debut album

Two years after debuting their first single, Ocean Grove-based band BIN have released their long-awaited debut album.

The album Listen Guys pays homage to all the people who have contributed to the band’s music over the years.
Drummer, back up vocalist and lone female member of the band Lys Mac said it was time the fans had something to listen to.
“We felt we kind of owed it to people who supported us to give them more music. Most of the songs are ones you would have heard if you’ve seen us play before, all tied together into an album,” she said.
The first single from the band, “Moocher”, was written and released in 2018 and since then BIN has consistently played shows at local venues.
Lys formed BIN after deciding to learn to play the drums during a night out watching friends in another band perform at a local pub.
“I had had a few beers, picked up the drumsticks, sat behind the kit and started to tap away and one of my friends said I wasn’t too bad, so I took that and ran with it,” she said.
The other four original members of BIN lived within hundreds of meters of each other in Ocean Grove, which made starting the band easy.
“We were all really good friends and hung out surfing and going to shows. Everyone loved music and all of them played an instrument except for me,” Lys said.
The title of the album started as a joke after band member Tim Fluker’s mum commented on a Facebook post congratulating Lys and the guys on a show.
“The album is called Listen Guys which is a bit of a pun on ‘Lys and Guys’; there’s seven guys who have contributed to the album, and me,’” Lys said.
BIN recorded their album on Currumbin Farm in Wallington, where Lys and band guitarist Cal Shortal now live.
The band used two large fridges left behind on the property by apple and pear farmers to record their music.
Lys said the fridges were “heavily insulated and serve an incredible acoustic purpose for being music studios”.
The album premiered on music and arts website Trouble Juice, which described the sound as “a familiar friend”. “It’s a form of rock and roll, it’s punky, it’s probably jangle punk and heavily inspired by bands of the 90s and the UK music scene,” Lys said.
The members of BIN are also proud to be a part of the Greater Geelong and Surf Coast music community.

The group says while Ocean Grove is a beautiful place to live, there are also a lot of local musicians who want to help each other succeed.
“Where we live is just dense with incredible bands like Bones and Jones, Gonzo and King Gizzard so it’s really cool to be a part of the Greater Geelong music scene because there’s so much brilliant stuff happening,” Lys said.
BIN is looking forward to being able to return to performing shows in the future alongside these bands.
“We can’t wait until it’s safe and everyone can go and socialise in pubs and music scenes again and we look forward to playing shows and hopefully a regional Victoria tour in light of how small event venues have been affected recently.”
“The arts have really suffered in these weird times so if you love music then buy some of their stuff.”
Listen Guys is now available for purchase via bintheband.bandcamp.com/merch on cassette and CD, or can be streamed across all services including Spotify and Apple Music.