PREMIERE: THE GREAT AWAKE // A Shitty Midlife Crisis

25 years on from the release of the very first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game, its influence is still being felt, with Sydney punks The Great Awake unleashing their own game for new single, A Shitty Midlife Crisis.

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Describing themselves as purveyors of “wholesome punk rock”, the Sydney outfit have been going for quite some years now, with newest album Quit arriving early last year. Now, they’ve unveiled their latest single from the record, and Shitty Midlife Crisis has been worth the wait.

Musically, both the album and song take an introspective look into the highs and lows of growing older as it ruminates on the delicate balance of doing what you need to, and pursuing what you love.

No more is this apparent than on A Shitty Midlife Crisis, which moves into nostalgic territory as singer and guitarist Matt O’Keefe talks about picking up the skateboard once again. “Dusted off my Nintendo and Epitaph LPs/Drinking tinnies in a kiddie pool to put my mind at ease,” he sings with an earnestness and conviction that’s compounded by the punchy pop-punk instrumentation underneath.

However, the track is accompanied by an impressive visual which sees the song soundtracking an endearing 8-bit side scrolling skateboarding video game. However, the beauty is that it’s available to play right now.

Crafted by O’Keefe himself, the game is simple, with a simple tap of the keyboard allowing the player to make their skateboarding hero jump over wheelie bins and fortune cookies. If you lose, you’re met with a few choice quotes from The Simpsons and a question as to whether you’re too old for things; but if you make it all the way through, you’ve got the chance to stream The Great Awake’s latest album.

Needless to say, it’s time more bands leaned into the world of 8-bit video games, so at least we’ve got something to amuse ourselves during our own shitty midlife crises.