Operator, Please

Australia | Pop Rock, Dance-Punk

RIP 2005-2011

Why you need to know them…

• Created their own sound and wrote most of their own music
• Virtually Unknown (to most Americans anyway), thus a novel band.
• Super catchy and dance-worthy
• They played some of the largest festivals in Europe and Australia

Members

• Amandah Wilkinson (lead vocals, guitar)
• Ashley McConnell (bass, BGV)
• Tim Commandeur (drums)
• Chris Holland (keys – not pictured above, but below)
• Taylor Henderson (violin, BGV)

Winning a Battle of the Bands contest at their high school was only just the beginning for these awesome teenage punk-poppers, who went on to make music together for 6 years, through seven singles and two full-length albums. A few lineup changes happened early on, but the core members Amandah, Tim and Ashley were there from the very start. Triple J, the premier young adult radio station in Australia picked up on them fast due thanks to their single Just a Song About Ping Pong, a pretty simple yet fun track. Their first album Yes Yes Vindictive, released in 2007, is a very awesome go at a debut, as aggressive with punk pop as you can get from start to finish! Only a few songs are tamer than the rest, so it’s a fast-moving collection to get your butt moving in no time. Tons of gems are on there including but not limited to Get What You Want, Leave It Alone and Zero, Zero.

And if you think that their first album is fast-paced and punchy, their follow up three years later titled Gloves throws punches left and right too, except with some heavier electronic elements throughout. In the three year span between Gloves and YYV (Yes Yes Vindictive), their sound definitely matured to the point of almost sounding ominous at moments. A lot of the child-like naivety of the first album disappeared, but their sound didn’t altogether, thanks to lead singer Amandah’s strong vocals and their hooky melody writing still being on point. I could never decide if I liked Gloves as much as YYV. I think that was due to the newness of their sound at the start of the career, only to give into electronic trends later, losing a bit of their punk-pop niche, despite the maturing of the lyrical material. The best songs on there are Back and Forth, Volcanic and Logic.

Though they never formally broke up, they have been on a six year hiatus so my guess is they called quits. The other indicator of this is that at least half of the members dispersed into new musical endeavors, two of which are Colour Coding, consisting of the drummer Tim Commandeur and keyboard player Chris Holland and the other being the solo project of lead singer Amandah Wilkinson under the name Bossy Love.

Below are all 7 of their singles/music videos on YouTube… ENJOY!

Just a Song About Ping Pong

Their first single which put them on the Australian charts (No, literally). Simple, yet fun.

Get What You Want

One of the first singles from them, back in 2007, this catchy, poppy song is my favorite track from them. I think it’s the yelling in the chorus that I love.

Leave It Alone

Artistically gory in all of the right ways, this one comes to a close second for me as far as favorites go.

Two For My Seconds

A more chill single by them with an almost classical, innocent overall tone.

Logic

Unashamedly sinister sounding from the offset, this is a fantastic groove-filled song.

Back and Forth

An almost Two Door Cinema Club-like feel to this one… this was one catchy tune that didnt have to be heavy or intense.

Volcanic

Sounding like a party anthem to get the crowd moving from the very start, Volcanic is quite fiery.

Catapult

The final single before their hiatus, they were still as cool and stylish as ever.

 

Though they seemed to be ahead of their time in some ways and really had their own sound, Operator, Please was too short-lived and frankly, I miss them.