Track: Secret Machines – Talos’ Corpse, plus news of return with album ‘Awake in the Brain Chamber’
One of the most exciting bands of the 2000’s for me, Secret Machines, have released a new single ‘Talos’ Corpse’ and announced a new album after a long hiatus. ‘Talos’ Corpse’ indicates a complete return to form – pounding drums and rousing choruses with complexity and vibrancy. Singer Brandon Curtis’s voice is distinctive – deep, …
Track: Bretton Lee John – Rock Show
Straight out of Calgary, Bretton Lee John’s deep sonorous vocals and wry sense of self-deprecatory humour immediately entice: there are elements of Jonathan Richmond, David Berman (Silver Jews) and a low-fi thrum redolent of The Velvet Undergound and Lou Reed. His new single ‘Rock Show’ has a sense of intimacy – personal musings by a …
Track: Johnny Hunter – Hollow Man
Sydney’s Johnny Hunter are quite a delight – drawing as they do on a long and creditable line of goth-tinged post punk music stretching from Joy Division through to Editors and Interpol. And they do this without resorting to simple cliches or sounding like a mere facsimile of their influences. Their new single, ‘Hollow Man’, …
Album Review: Key Out – Anthropomorphia
Key Out are proving to be one of the more exciting bands in Sydney – even the world – at the moment and this is never evident than in their new album ‘Anthropomorphia’. It is brimful of shimmering guitars and songs that seems to perfectly reflect the bright blue summer skies of Sydney. Skies that …
Track: Winter – Endless Space (Between You & I)
Winter is essentially the work of Samira Winter – a Brazilian native relocated to the US and now based in Echo Park. Her new single ‘Endless Space (Between You & I)’ is a lush, sparkling track that delivers shoegaze/dream pop perfection in just over three delightfully immersive minutes. Winter’s voice is fragile and emotive – …
See: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cameo (Video)
Following the release of their impressive second album, ‘Sideways to the New Italy’ (reviewed by me here) , one of Australia’s greatest musical exports, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (RBCF) have released a video for one of the tracks, ‘Cameo’. ‘Cameo’ is a delightful jangly track that encapsulates the definitive indie sound of number of their …
Track: Song Sung – The Mind’s Eye
Hazy waves of reverb and chorus soak through the new song from twin sister duo Song Sung to create a dream pop epic that is quite mesmerising. There are Beach Boy harmonies, layers of instrumentation that are sunny and bright despite the achingly melancholic tone and distant, haunting vocals. Of the themes of the song, …
See: A. Swayze and the Ghosts – Cancer, plus album news
Tasmanian stars A. Swayze and the Ghosts have highly impressed us earlier this year with their post punky single ‘Mess of Me‘ released in February. With a US tour unfortunately cancelled as a result of the COBID 19 crisis, the band has just released a fantastically bizarre and creative video for their new theatrical glam …
Track: Moscow Apartment – New Girl
We were highly impressed by Moscow Apartment‘s single ‘Halfway‘ released last month and their new release, ‘New Girl’ is a clear indication of the songwriting strength and sustainability of this talented Canadian duo. While ‘New Girl’ continues the same delicate musical vulnerability of ‘Halfway’, it incorporates within itself a muscular spine with its heartfelt themes …
Album Review: The Spitfires – Life Worth Living
In my formative years I was madly in love with what is termed as the second wave of ska – bands like The Specials, Madness and The Beat. There was a third wave which didn’t move me much, but if The Spitfires represent a fourth wave, then welcome back. ‘Life Worth Living’ is quite frankly …