Director Jordan Peele’s forthcoming horror sci-fi Nope contains several references to relatively obscure bands, with characters wearing The Jesus Lizard, Wipers and Earth shirts at various points in the film. It turns out one Aussie band even snuck into the film: Tropical Fuck Storm.
As the Victorian noise rockers shared on social media yesterday, a TFS poster can be seen hanging on a wall in one scene of the film. It’s a design by Montreal artist Joe Becker, who created the cover art for all three Tropical Fuck Storm albums.
See the TFS Poster in Jordan Peele’s Nope
https://twitter.com/tfs_theband/status/1552104794415939584
https://twitter.com/tfs_theband/status/1304225220035661825
Nope is set to be released in Australian cinemas on Thursday, 11th August. The film, which follows two siblings as they attempt to capture evidence of a UFO, is Peele’s third directorial feature (following Get Out and Us) and stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott and more.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the film’s costume director, Alex Bovaird, discussed how Peele’s personal taste influenced the band shirts featured in Nope, which are owned by the character Angel, played by Perea.
“His band T-shirts are either post-punk or proto-grunge,” Bovaird explained. “There’s a bit of personal stuff going on there, because Jordan and [producer] Ian [Cooper]… they’re making a movie that they want to see, and so sometimes that pops into the costumes. As well as Angel’s the kind of character who likes obscure bands.”
She continued: “Like The Jesus Lizard, and Wipers and Rage. I mean, they’re all bands of Jordan’s teenage years. So, I think it works on a lot of levels for Jordan. It was something that Angel would be into, but also meaningful for him, and me too. I’m exactly the same age as Jordan, so I’m the one that ran with some of those bands.”
Tropical Fuck Storm are set to kick off a tour next month, with shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin and Melbourne. The post-Drones outfit released third album Deep States last year, and released a collaborative EP with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard titled Satanic Slumber Party in March.
Further reading
Tropical Fu*k Storm Make Chaotic Music For Chaotic Times
Members Of TFS, Dirty Three And The Necks Release Debut Single As Springtime
Tropical Fuck Storm Decry Sydney Festival’s “Lack Of Respect” For Artists
