Sex Mask are fuelled by spontaneity

Original Photography by Gracie Watt When Sex Mask suddenly emerged a few years ago, they were galvanised from the get-go as authors of stimulating shout-spoken synth-punk songs with an existential edge. If the Bandcamp release date is true, their infectious first single “How to Be Cool at Parties” quietly dropped first thing in 2023, and it best encapsulates them: an arresting monologue of critiquing riddles from a speaker craving connection, while its urgent and mesmeric backdrop makes their magnetic performance infinitely more expansive. The questions that arise afterwards and the pace never letting up are sustained in the band’s subsequent singles, as their digital discography grows from the mere 12 or so minutes it was just a year ago.Even from the beginning, when they were playing Melbourne’s live circuit, they already had enough material in the tank to stretch their shows between 45 minutes and an hour. It’s not unreasonable to believe they had everything planned out, but as their vocalist Wry Gray discloses, that way of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. Sign up to Best Fit's Substack for regular dispatches from the world of pop culture Gray formed Sex Mask as a du...