The Itch

Boldly debuting with a 7-minute rave pop masterpiece named after the great sci-fi novelist Ursula Le Guin clearly confirms one thing: The Itch are well-versed in the art of ‘making a splash’. Not to mention how shrewdly the duo borrows (or should we say ‘Burroughs’?) some of the catchiest pop hooks known to humankind. 

If “Ursula” is any indication, an infatuation with scratching that classic 80’s pop itch sits at the forefront. But Georgia Hardy and Simon Tyrie dig much much deeper, citing for example REM’s stadium-filling sensibility as a filter for their riotous floor fillers.

Since entering the circuit in 2023, The Itch received crazy buzz as a word-of-mouth live sensation: each show so far has featured a different lineup of performers orbiting Hardy and Tyrie. They actually founded The Itch at a Talking Heads tribute concert, believe it or not. As you can imagine, things started making perfect sense from there. 

“Merging the 80s melodramas of Tears for Fears with the smooth, protean voyages of classic Chicago House, one section bleeds effortlessly into the next like so many trains of decisive thought” – So Young Magazine