I’m an instant fan of Geoff Ong! When It Gets Easy is just on general release and I love it! Or, as I’d be saying if I still lived in Olde Wales, I loves it I does, see.

Based out of Tāmaki Makaurau, Geoff is adept at the most uplifting form of indie pop I have heard in some time. With a fabulously up-beat tempo, the rhythm section sits well-mixed and warm underneath some really cool 80’s sounding guitar and synth blends. This reminds me a lot of the likes of Fiction Factory and Alphaville, but this is way up to date and brings a smile to my dial and a bounce to my noggin as I sit here watching the vid and reading the EPK.

We’ve got a song dripping with infectious, catchy hooks across the whole gamut of the mix. The orchestration is glorious and party-central. Geoff‘s beautiful tenor vocal gives me the distinct impression he was smiling through every syllable. Was it because he knew full well that he’s just released one of the catchiest melodies this wizened old Gen Xer has heard for yonks?

Geoff says that the song is a granular unpicking of the complexities of mental health, a subject I never tire of exhorting one and all to never keep within and to always, always, reach out for help with when one is feeling unwell. Anyone who uses this kind of platform for this message has my support. From the EPK:  “As a kid I always assumed things would suddenly get simpler, that my emotions would get less difficult and my mental health would finally begin to thrive,” explains Geoff. “I’ve since realised that any progress means going through a deliberate, purposeful process, rather than just a sudden moment of effortless change. And I think that, slowly, it does get easier.”

This track is really anthemic, and so uplifting that I cannot sing its praises enough. This level of commercial viability is not for everyone, but it’s really caught me with its integrity, feeling like a big old hug from your softest, daftest old grandpa in its warmth, it’s non-threatening welcoming verbal and audio gesture, and the absolutely wonderful, madcap video that goes with it.

Spawning an imaginative, brave gesture to really hit the message home, Geoff‘s vid is him in a chair as his friends and whanau take turns at cutting his hair off! This isn’t a wig either. Geoff says the symbolism is parting with emotional weight represented by being tangled up in his hair. Great idea! Plus there is no doubt whatsoever that everyone involved had a blast doing it! Lochana Wijesundera, a long-time cohort of Geoff‘s, directed the vid. Go see it on the You Tubes.

If I wanted to listen to this I would find it most effective in the car, on a commute, at the gym (I remember the gym… sigh…) and actually in a club with a decent dancefloor. This number would work in a whole range of places. I really hope to see the vid on Juice, as I have no doubt that radio will pick it up with gusto. Geoff Ong has delivered a genuinely unforgettable pop song here, and you need to get on board.

It’s on the Flash-Trax Spotty Fly, but it’s also on my personal playlist too! Loving this song. I can’t wait for more.