Perhaps a reincarnation of the still-living Laurie Anderson, (spiritual geyser? uncanny guise?) ‘Purposeful Lady’ is the first official release from Great Statue, moniker of an unknown entity lit from beneath by a cheap disco light. Since 2018 they've appeared across Boorloo and Walyalup holding a bush chook in one hand, mic in the other: some strange karaoke performance of the classics you've never heard. In the new dawn of the year of 2023, a halo of light emanated from her silhouette, and swirling in the smoke around her appeared these letters as if etched into stone:

THE GREAT STATUE ARRIVES BEARING GIFTS OF THEIR OWN MAKING. THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE DIGITAL REALM WILL BE CELEBRATED ACROSS THE SUMMER MONTHS OF THE YEAR TWENTY-TWENTY-THREE (2023) PUNCTUATED BY THE RELEASE OF FOUR (4) EXTENDED PLAYS (EPs) ON LOCAL LABEL ROCKTON RECORDS. EACH OFFERING SHALL BE PRESENTED ONE WEEK APART, COMMENCING JANUARY 10 AND CONCLUDING JANUARY 31. ACCOMPANYING THE TOTAL OF NINETEEN (19) HOT NEW TRACKS WILL BE ONE (1) MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL FAIRY-GIRL BADDIES EMMA DAISY AND LYNDON BLUE. AS THE FINAL GIFT, THE STATUE HERSELF WILL APPEAR AT PIG MELON FOR AN EVENING OF IMPASSIONED MOTION AND DRAMATIC YET BUDGET LIGHTING ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3.

The first of four EPs in their outrageous debut offering, Purposeful Lady is the essential Statue; goofy and sombre; poised and flailing; conjuring the grandeur of idols unknown to us and all the while retaining the certain everyday charm of a suburban neighbour. ‘Taking the train to meet someone in the city, meeting at a cafe to discuss art marking; possibly a collaborative project, success in our bellies!’

The EP began with the acquisition of an old Yamaha PSR7 (obtained courtesy of Western Australian Shitty Keyboard Orchestra). Recorded improvisations were followed by equal parts intuition and rigour to finally be shaped into this collection of wayward weird-pop. The EP is produced almost entirely on the PSR7, lending its authentic, nostalgic and supremely cheesy timbre. Already mentioned above, Laurie Anderson is a no-brainer influence, as well as the weird stylings of Jenny Hval, and more niche tribute to the colourful composition of Olga Bell. Lyrically, the songs pivot wildly between irreverence and seriousness; an oscillation so rapid that it resembles stillness. It’s hard to imagine any other work (local or otherwise) in which exclamations of “Nutrition! Hydration!” sit beside “the belly that sleeps alone in the dark,” or in which subliminal arts industry affirmations (“give me the grant”) are whispered between pointless musings such as: “Do they call that TV show Sea Change?” Somehow the Statue makes it all seem perfectly possible in their other-worldly logic.

Purposeful but towards what purpose? A lady, but on whose terms? Great Statue reminds us, nonchalantly, that ‘she could manage a difficult situation with poise and ease; but she hasn’t got time for your problems!’