Their aesthetic clashed drastically with the rock revival scene that was growing popular in Australia, and their early shows harbored mixed reviews. The trio followed its love of Krautrock to Berlin, Germany, and recorded an EP. Titled "Nostalgia", the disc was self-released in a limited run of 500 in 2005.
Two years later, U.K. label Fire Records (Spacemen 3, Jackie-O-Motherfucker) gave the album a proper release, and soon after the trio started recording its first full-length, "Marry Me Tonight", with former Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S. Howard. Long withheld due to a legal dispute, "Marry Me Tonight" finally saw a release in 2009 on seminal avant-rock label Blast First Petite (Pan Sonic, Suicide).
Live, HTRK have supported Alan Vega, Lydia Lunch, and The Locust, The Horrors and toured Europe with Liars, Shellac and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Bassist Sean Stewart died of a suspected suicide at 29 years of age on March 18, 2010. RIP.
April 2014 saw the release of their third album, "Psychic 9-5 Club", expressing a change of musical direction towards a more minimal sound.
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Synthetik
HTRK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
your love is so successful, it’s perfect, it’s synthetik
stretch out slow, measure you up, swallow you whole
smother my street, smother my house
stretch out slow, measure you up, swallow you whole
smother my skirt, smother my blouse
perfect, successful
my plastic heart attack, make me come in 9 flavours, shrink wrap
polysynthetic acrobat, make me come in 9 flavours
back to back to back to back
The lyrics of HTRK's song "Synthetik" are expressing the paradoxical nature of love, which is being presented from two contradictory perspectives - on the one hand, it is described as "successful" and "perfect," while on the other hand, it is portrayed as being "synthetik," meaning artificial or fake. The use of the word "Synthetik" conveys the idea that the love being sung about is not natural or genuine - it has been created or manufactured. The lines "stretch out slow, measure you up, swallow you whole" suggest that the love that is being described is all-consuming and that it engulfs the person who is experiencing it entirely. The line "smother my street, smother my house" depicts the way that the love has the power to control and engulf the surroundings of the person feeling it, which is a metaphor for its intensity.
The next lines "my plastic heart attack, make me come in 9 flavours, shrink-wrap, polysynthetic acrobat, make me come in 9 flavours, back to back to back to back" continue to emphasize the idea that love can be a manufactured product, with the "heart attack" being a reference to the physical and emotional impact it has on the individual. The repetition of "9 flavours" creates a sense of overabundance, showing how love can be commodified and sold like a product, with the emphasis on the artificial ("plastic" and "polysynthetic") nature of the emotions. Overall, the lyrics of "Synthetik" present an ambiguous and at times unsettling portrayal of love, suggesting that it can be both all-consuming and fake, a paradoxical mix of intense emotion and manufactured sentimentality.
Line by Line Meaning
your love is so successful, it’s perfect, it’s synthetik
The love you exhibit is so flawless, it appears to be artificially manufactured and flawless.
stretch out slow, measure you up, swallow you whole
Take your time to evaluate, embrace completely.
smother my street, smother my house
Overpowering everything around me.
stretch out slow, measure you up, swallow you whole
Take your time to evaluate, embrace completely.
smother my skirt, smother my blouse
Overpowering everything around me.
perfect, successful
Ideal, flawless.
my plastic heart attack, make me come in 9 flavours, shrink wrap
Emphasizing the desire to become malleable and versatile in love, being readily available in different forms.
polysynthetic acrobat, make me come in 9 flavours
The desire to be versatile and adaptive to love.
back to back to back to back
Continuously, without a break.
Contributed by Joseph B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@creepycraig73
I have not seen a band come back from tragedy like this since New Order. Carry on, HTRK, carry on.
@caseyroy2907
im extremely glad this video does not have a million views. most people dont deserve this amazing art
@ivktor
Si habría que demostrar que la música es arte, esta canción sería una digna representante de tal demostración.
@nikaveronika2220
One of my favorite songs for many years! And my favorite music band✨✨✨
@jeremydanzie543
I'm so in love with life again. This give me confidence that my thoughts are on the right track as an artist. It also makes me appreciate being called different.
@friedeggsss
Niesamowite... Idealne.. Mnie dosłownie odrywa od ziemi.. Nieziemskie.. Jak słucham odpływam gdzieś w inny świat.. Mega emocje...
@robinhoode
Last year I was having an existential crisis after smoking DMT. There was a constant eerie reminder, coloring every room I walked through, of death & it's permanence. This is what I was listening to during that time..
@Heden00
Still listening 6 yrs later. HTRK forever.
@midderbean4021
How about now?
@slameba
@Midder Bean classics are immortal