The Naked and Famous Take Home The Silver Scroll For "Young Blood"

Photo: Amanda Ratcliffe

For a second last night, it seemed liked longevity might have had the advantage over the Silver Scroll awards. There were two relatively new bands on the shortlist for the prize — Artisan Guns and The Naked and Famous — yet the nominees were rounded out by almost-veterans The Mint Chicks, Julia Deans and Anika Moa, whose respective songs were all deserving of the award. But it clearly wasn’t meant to be as TNAF took home the Silver Scroll award for Young Blood (which was written by band members Alisa Xayalith, Thom Powers and Aaron Short), a song so immediate, monstrous and undeniable that it’s easy to see why they nabbed the award and $5000 prize.

However, there was no doubting that Young Blood may have had an advantage; even though the Silver Scrolls are based on songwriting excellence and not commercial success, the tracks appeal drew a new audience far and wide which allowed them to debut at number one on the New Zealand singles chart with barely any media attention or recognition. It was proof of the songs appeal and quality, which was cleverly backed up with a great video by Special Problems, (who the band have a long working relationship with). In the same vein of The Mint Chicks Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!, TNAF’s pop wonder was a shift in focus from the direction that they had originally taken (check out the bands No Light and This Machine EP’s) into something that showed how far they had come as songwriters.

Per usual, it was also a night of unique cover songs; Three Houses Down took on Young Blood, while The Datsuns tackled Running Through The Fire and Street Chant surprised everyone with their cover of Autumn. But it’s TNAF’s moment right now and the win is also an important part in proving their permanence and significance in the local scene. As APRA’s Anthony Healey pointed out, “It seems like the perfectly written song for this very point in time. It should take the world by storm.” Last night should also help the bands album Passive Me, Aggressive You, which was released on Monday, debut at number one on the albums chart come next week. So let’s give a quick round of applause to TNAF and everyone involved in the Silver Scrolls. Bravo.