{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}} {{Short description|Australian music duo}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = HTRK | image = HTRK.jpg | alt = | caption = HTRK performing in 2007: Sean Stewart, Jonnine Standish, Nigel Yang | image_size = | landscape = yes | alias = Hate Rock Trio | origin = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | genre = {{hlist|Experimental rock|cold wave|sadcore|electronic|post-punk}} | years_active = 2003–present | label = {{hlist|Fire|Blast First Petite|Ghostly}} | website = | current_members = * Jonnine Standish * Nigel Yang | past_members = Sean Stewart }}
'''HTRK''' (pronounced "hate rock", formerly '''Hate Rock Trio''')<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=AnOther |date=2012-01-27 |title=HTRK |url=https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/1716/htrk |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=AnOther |language=en}}</ref> is an Australian band formed in 2003. The band is currently a duo of vocalist Jonnine Standish and guitarist Nigel Yang; bassist Sean Stewart was a member until his death in 2010.
The band's debut album was produced by Rowland S. Howard. ''The Guardian'' described their early work as "defined by aggressive, guitar-driven noise, which was matched in spirit by Standish’s haunted, brazenly sexual lyrics."<ref>{{Cite news |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |date=2024-05-30 |title=HTRK turn 21: ‘Whenever I met fans I could tell they were a bit shocked I wasn’t the gothic lord’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/may/31/htrk-band-21st-birthday-max-watts-melbourne-rising-festival-day-tripper |access-date=2024-09-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> ''Pitchfork'' noted how since Stewart's death, the band "shed the cold, industrial leanings of their earlier releases for a more overtly sensual approach, something that could soundtrack moments of intimacy or ennui, or both."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Joshua Minsoo |title=HTRK: Venus in Leo |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/htrk-venus-in-leo/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Biography== ===Emergence===
Originating from Melbourne, and previously based in Berlin and London, HTRK (pronounced Hate Rock) started playing in November 2003 when guitarist Nigel Yang and bassist Sean Stewart invited vocalist Jonnine Standish to create music inspired by the surrealistic films of David Lynch, along with protopunk and post-industrial ideas. Using a very slow 808 drum machine, minimal bass grooves and highly textured noise, their attitude clashed with the "rock and roll" status quo in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p892797|pure_url=yes}}|title=HTRK Overview|first=Jason|last=Lymangrover|publisher=Allmusic.com|accessdate=2009-12-18}}</ref> HTRK's first release was the ''Nostalgia'' EP in 2004, originally intended as a demo but later self-released in a limited 500-disc run. That year, Standish designed the band's logo, which she said was "an overthrow of the iconic LOVE logo crossed with political propaganda angles and big corporation confidence."<ref name=":1" />
Their live shows soon caught the attention of underground icon Rowland S. Howard and popular Australian producer Lindsay Gravina, who invited them to record their debut album at Gravina's Birdland Studios. Titled ''Marry Me Tonight'' and considered something of a pop effort by the band, the album was held in limbo for several years due to a protracted rights dispute. In August 2005, the band performed as a support act for Howard at the premiere party for Scott Crary's film, ''Kill Your Idols'', in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jo Roberts |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/sticky-carpet/2005/07/27/1122143909909.html |title=Sticky Carpet |publisher=Theage.com.au |date=2005-07-25 |accessdate=2015-10-10}}</ref>
===Breakthrough===
In 2006, a few months after recording ''Marry Me Tonight'', the trio relocated to Berlin, toured with fellow expatriates Devastations and played their first UK gig at the 20jazzfunkgreats club in Brighton. Upon witnessing a show at the Brixton Windmill, UK label Fire Records signed HTRK to give ''Nostalgia'' a wider international release. A 27-date European tour supporting Liars and a performance at Glasgow's Optimo followed in 2007.
In 2008, they began to be managed by Paul Smith, who organised London shows with Lydia Lunch and Alan Vega. Stewart and Standish spent part of the year in Melbourne recording as guests on Howard's final album, ''Pop Crimes'', including a duet by Howard and Standish, "(I Know) a Girl Called Jonny".
''Marry Me Tonight'' was finally released in 2009 on Smith's independent label Blast First Petite, receiving critical favor from the UK press, scoring 8 out of 10 in ''NME'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourcomicbookfantasy.com/presspress%20nme%20mmt%20review.html|title=NME review of ''Marry Me Tonight''|website=NME|accessdate=2011-05-22}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> making ''Artrocker''s best of 2009 list and an office ambience listing in ''The Wire''. Artist and former porn actress Sasha Grey also listed ''Marry Me Tonight'' in her top three albums in a ''Stereogum'' end-of-year poll.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stereogum.com/104471/celebrity_ballots_2009/gummy-awards|title=Stereogum Celebrity Gummy Ballots 2009|date=7 December 2009 |publisher=stereogum.com|accessdate=2011-05-22}}</ref>
That year, HTRK were invited by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Horrors and Fuck Buttons to embark on various European tours. Their increased profile led to a headline show at Cargo in London in January 2010, which coincided with the release of the first of a series of free mixtapes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cargo-london.com/blogs/2010/01/htrk-interviewmixtape/|title=HTRK Interview and Mixtape|publisher=cargo london|access-date=2011-05-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927235227/http://www.cargo-london.com/blogs/2010/01/htrk-interviewmixtape/|archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> and appearances in US magazines ''Alternative Press'' and ''Nylon''.
===Re-organisation===
On 18 March 2010, Stewart was found dead in his London home from suicide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imposemagazine.com/features/hrtk-address-sean-stewarts-death|title=HTRK address Sean Stewart's death - Features|website=Imposemagazine.com|date=7 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/htrk/50591|title=HTRK founding member Sean Stewart dies|website=NME|accessdate=2011-05-22}}</ref> ''NME'' published an obituary on 24 April 2010 with tributes from Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner and the Horrors' Faris Badwan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourcomicbookfantasy.com/presscopy.html|title=HTRK's Sean Stewart RIP|website=NME|accessdate=2011-05-22}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Standish and Yang have remained active, beginning with a comeback show at the ICA in London on 29 November 2010. The band's second album ''Work (Work, Work)'' was released on 12 September 2011. Standish contrasted it to the band's debut by saying, "In our first album ''Marry Me Tonight'' I was the predator and instigator of my own destiny... primal and dominatrix at the same time. In our latest album ''Work (Work, Work)'' I’m overcome by my desires and play a submissive and subversive role. I went under, got swallowed up, gave in, let go."<ref name=":1" /> It was released on Ghostly International.
The duo's third album, ''Psychic 9–5 Club'', was the first that Stewart did not work on in any fashion. It was released on 1 April 2014 and produced by Nathan Corbin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2014-03-25 |title=HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/19350/1/htrk-psychic-9-5-club |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> At the Music Victoria Awards of 2014, ''Psychic 9–5 Club'' was nominated for best album.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-nominees|title= Previous Nominess|website= Music Victoria|accessdate= 13 August 2020|archive-date= 19 September 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200919214225/https://www.musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-nominees|url-status= dead}}</ref>
Since 2016, Standish has been based in the Dandenong Ranges, east of Melbourne, where the band also has a studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/features/music-features/htrk-dandenongs-studio-bushwalk-tour-3060146|title=A day out with HTRK in the Dandenongs|first=Kate|last=Hennessy|website=NME|date=7 October 2021|access-date=10 October 2021}}</ref>
HTRK's fourth album ''Venus in Leo'' was released in 2019. It was recorded live in a few takes and features lyrics by Standish about the "different people that you run into in your life randomly, and the incredible effect they can have."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-07 |title=HTRK interview: The Melbourne duo are happy to be back |url=https://theface.com/music/htrk-interview-venus-in-leo-melbourne |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=The Face |language=en-gb}}</ref> It contains a cover of Missy Elliott's 1998 single "Hit Em wit da Hee".<ref name=":0" /> The band's fifth album ''Rhinestones'' was released in September 2021. It was their first to chart in Australia (at number 58). ''Pitchfork'' compared the album to a "subterranean Everything But the Girl" and observed that they traded "their minimal-wave roots for unexpected forays into gothic country."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Litowitz |first=Drew |title=HTRK: Rhinestones |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/htrk-rhinestones/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2023, the band signed with New York based firm SemaphoreMGMT.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brandle |first=Lars |date=2023-10-05 |title=HTRK Signs With U.S. Management Company SemaphoreMGMT |url=https://themusicnetwork.com/htrk-signs-management-company-semaphoremgmt/ |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=The Music Network}}</ref> In 2024, HTRK played the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona for the first time, one of several Australian acts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-06 |title=Primavera Sound 2024: Live Review |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/primavera-sound-barcelona-2024-review-61201/l/the-australian-effect/ |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>
==Collaborations==
The band has collaborated with New York-based film maker Nathan Corbin, (Bendin', Chinatown Style, Venus in Leo) and costume designer and wardrobe stylist Jenni Hensler, who has done styling for Standish<ref name="stylist">{{cite news |accessdate=29 September 2019 |url=http://bedfordandbowery.com/2015/04/stylist-for-zola-jesus-and-chelsea-wolfe-plans-a-multi-sensory-immersive-exhibition/ |title=Stylist for Zola Jesus and Chelsea Wolfe Plans a Multi-Sensory Immersive Exhibition |work=Bedford + Bowery |location=New York, NY |date=21 April 2015 |author=Disser, Nicole}}</ref> and who also worked on the 2014 video for the song "Chinatown Style."<ref name="chintatown">{{cite news |accessdate=29 September 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB_xAdHV0dI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/sB_xAdHV0dI |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=Chinatown Style |work=ghostlyintl YouTube channel |location=New York, NY |date=22 July 2014 |author=HTRK}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
== Reception == The band is associated with the Ghostly International record label. Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly, Sacred Bones Records founder Caleb Braatan and Crushed vocalist Bre Morell all named a HTRK album (most commonly ''Psychic 9-5 Club'') as the label's best release.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ghostly at 25: Key moments from the label’s first quarter century |url=https://www.thefader.com/2024/05/21/ghostly-international-25th-anniversary |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=The FADER |language=en}}</ref>
==Members== *Jonnine Standish – vocals, percussion, samples *Nigel Yang – guitar, programming, electronics
'''Former members''' *Sean Stewart – bass guitar, programming (2003–2010; his death)
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Details ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions |- ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br /><ref>{{cite magazine|title=The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 27 September 2021|magazine=The ARIA Report|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|issue=1647|page=6|date=27 September 2021}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| ''Marry Me Tonight'' | * Released: 2 February 2009 * Formats: CD, digital download * Label: Blast First Petite (PTYT 016) | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Work (Work, Work)'' | * Released: 2011 * Formats: CD, digital download, LP * Label: Mistletone (MIST047) | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Psychic 9–5 Club'' | * Released: 2014 * Formats: CD, digital download, LP * Label: Mistletone (MIST066) | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Venus in Leo'' | * Released: 2019 * Formats: CD, digital download, LP * Label: Ghostly International (GI342CD) | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Over the Rainbow'' | * Released: 2019 * Formats: digital download, LP * Label: Boomkat Editions (BKEDIT019) | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Rhinestones'' | * Released: 17 September 2021<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/htrk-announce-new-album-rhinestones-will-arrive-next-month-3015007|title=HTRK announce new album ''Rhinestones'' will arrive next month|website=NME Australia|date=10 August 2021|access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref> * Formats: CD, digital download * Label: Ghostly International | 58 |}
===Compilations=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Details |- ! scope="row"| ''Tape for Sean'' | * Released: 18 March 2020 * Formats: Cassette * Label: HTRK * Limited edition |- ! scope="row"| ''Rarities'' | * Released: 20 March 2020 * Formats: digital download * Label: HTRK |- ! scope="row"| ''String of Hearts (Songs of HTRK)'' | * Released: 05 December 2025 * Formats: Cassette, digital download * Label: Ghostly International |}
===EPs=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Details |- ! scope="row"| ''Nostalgia'' | * Released: 2004 * Formats: CD, digital download * Label: HTRK |- ! scope="row"| ''Live At Corsica Studios London 2008'' | * Released: 2011 * Formats: digital download, LP * Label: JSMЁ Records (JSE 05) |-
! scope="row"|''Body Lotion'' | * Released: 2014 * Formats: digital download, LP * Label: HTRK |- ! scope="row"| ''Drama'' | * Released: 2018 * Formats: digital download, LP * Label: HTRK (HTRK002) |}
==Awards and nominations== ===Music Victoria Awards=== The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. {{awards table}} ! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- | Music Victoria Awards of 2014 | ''Psychic 9-5 Club'' | Best Album | {{nom}} | <ref>{{Cite web|url= https://musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-nominees|title= Previous Nominess|website= Music Victoria|accessdate= 13 August 2020|archive-date= 19 September 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200919214225/https://www.musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-nominees|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-winners|title=Previous Winners|website=Music Victoria|accessdate=13 August 2020|archive-date=31 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731040330/https://musicvictoria.com.au/musicvictoriaawards/previous-winners|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- {{end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.yourcomicbookfantasy.com yourcomicbookfantasy.com] Official site *[http://htrk.tumblr.com htrk.tumblr.com] Official blog
'''Interviews''' *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110323185619/http://betaarti.com/2011/01/interview-htrk/ Interview with Nigel Yang at betaarti, 16 January 2011]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Htrk}} Category:Australian indie rock groups Category:Blast First artists Category:Musical groups from Melbourne