Okay, stop everything. A new Italian supergroup just crash-landed into my playlist and I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor. Gee Whiz! (yes, the exclamation point is part of the name, and they absolutely earned it) have arrived with their very first single “Mr Dinosaur” – and it’s the kind of song that makes you want to roll the windows down, crank the volume to eleven, and scream along before you even know the words.
Imagine if The Beatles’ rooftop concert had a love-child with Flaming Lips-style technicolor weirdness, then raised that kid in Bologna on a strict diet of 90s alt-rock and endless espresso. That’s Gee Whiz! in a nutshell.
The track kicks off with guitars that immediately start talking to each other like old friends who’ve had one too many negronis – playful call-and-response riffs that bounce and weave like they’re having the time of their lives. Then the rhythm section storms in with this unstoppable, almost cocky groove that just refuses to let your foot stay still. And the chorus? Pure ear candy. The moment Michele “Mike” Giuliani sings “We need an adventure!” you’re already sold – it’s the musical equivalent of someone grabbing your hand and dragging you out the door for the best night you didn’t know you needed.
What makes this even wilder is the lineup. This isn’t just some random band – it’s a proper Italian indie rock Avengers team-up:
- Mike Giuliani (the guy who basically helped invent Italian pop-punk with Lùnapop back in the day)
- Mariagiulia Degli Amori (the secret weapon behind Iosonouncane, Daniela Pes, and A Toys Orchestra)
- Paul Pieretto (Settlefish, A Classic Education)
- Giacomo Gelati (Altre di B, Lo Stato Sociale, LaPara)
These four got together after binge-watching Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary (you know, the one that made every musician on Earth want to start a band in their garage again). Mike wrote a bunch of demos, played them to Mariagiulia and producer Bruno Germano during a 25-hour bus ride home from the Blur Wembley show (iconic behavior), and boom – Gee Whiz! was born at Vacuum Studio.
“Mr Dinosaur” is basically their love letter to breaking out of your shell. While Dinosaur Jr. were out here feeling everyone’s pain and then feeling nothing, Gee Whiz! flip the script: “You hide a heart of gold behind that scary growl… we need an adventure!” It’s the hypersensitive friend anthem we all deserve in 2025.
Oh, and the video? A gorgeous 2D animated road trip from Bologna to the Adriatic coast directed by Pafo Gallieri (yep, the same guy who worked on that Oscar-winning The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse). Watching a grumpy cartoon dinosaur try to make sense of doom-scrolling and modern chaos while power chords explode in the background is peak 2025 energy.
This is only the first taste of their debut album coming next spring, but if the rest sounds anything like “Mr Dinosaur,” we’re in for one of the most fun indie rock records in years. Think big guitars, bigger hooks, glockenspiels sneaking in when you least expect it, and a general vibe that screams “Summer of Love but make it 2025.”
Italian indie rock just leveled up, people.
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What do you think of “Mr Dinosaur”? Are Gee Whiz! about to take over your playlists too? Drop your thoughts below – I’m dying to know!
