Perth soloist Odin Malchik is back with another single from his upcoming debut album, the wholesomely titled ‘Treat Everybody With Respect’. It’s a short, sharp tune coming in at less than two and a half minutes, but it achieves a lot in that time.

‘Treat Everybody With Respect’ bursts with energy, the fast-paced drums giving it a highly danceable quality. It’s the kind of song you can imagine being a hit at Malchik’s live shows. The jangly guitars, which have become the sign of a good Odin Malchik song, scream ‘Summer’. It’s reminiscent of some of the short, fast, summery songs from The Vaccines’ debut. The muffled shoegaze vocals, though, are a callback to some of Malchik’s 90s influences. They obscure the lyrics from immediate view, lulling you into a false notion that this is just a carefree summer tune. Underneath the bright instrumentation lurks lyrics about a troubled relationship.

         “It’s pointless trying to connect. You don’t respect me, and that’s okay”.

All this seems at odds with the cheery music, the title and the artwork. But that’s where the craft of this song lies. Odin Malchik is using more than lyrics to tell his story. While he may sing of the fraught end to a relationship, he’s put his listeners in such a good mood. By the end, we’re singing along:

          “Bet you’re glad to see the back of me, oh well I love walking away”

And it’s clear there will be no tears shed for the loss of this love. Clearly, Malchik has found it much more productive to get a whole room full of people to be dancing along and singing about how he’s better off without this person. It’s a rare quality for a songwriter to be able to make us feel the way they do. Once again, though, Odin Malchik has shown just how impressive he can be. If these singles are anything to go by, his upcoming album is well worth looking forward to.