naarm
News: Blackbirds F.C. announce new album ‘Desire Lines’ for 11 July, exploring new sounds and textures, with launch dates ahead.
The heaters on full blast can barely keep the extremities warm down here at the southern-most outpost of Backseat Mafia, but news of a new album by one of our favourites, Blackbirds F.C., has provided a warm and comforting ray of warmth. ‘Desire Lines’ is the band’s third album – their second ‘Magiclands’ being enthusisatically …
Track: Indie Naarm/Melbourne superlative group Bleak Squad (Adalita, Mick Harvey, Mick Turner and Marty Brown) announce debut album ‘Strange Love’ and unveil the frosty single ‘Lost My Head’.
You can’t get much more super than news of the new group, Naarm/Melbourne’s Bleak Squad, consisting of living legends Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party), Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting). It’s a match you would only normally fantasise …
Track: Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird ease into the universe with the expansive statuesque ‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’ ahead of new album ‘Rosewater Crocodile’
The sonic behemoth that is Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird (CTBNF) roll into our universe, foot flat to the floor, with the grand expansive and enigmatic single ‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’, proving yet again that this is a transformative and thrilling outfit. It’s a precursor to one of my personal most anticipated album releases …
Track: Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Amaya Laucirica unveils second single from upcoming album ‘The Blue Hour’, the shimmering ‘Road To Us’.
With a voice of velvet and a infectious yearning tone, Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Amaya Laucirica has just released the single ‘Road to Us’, which follows her earlier release ‘Now Or Never’ (see my review here). ‘Road To Us’ coasts along on a motorik beat and dappling crystalline guitars with Laucirica’s vocals seeped in a reflective melancholia. …
Track: Merpire shares the gorgeous yearning ‘Leaving With You’ off her forthcoming album ‘MILK POOL’.
Naarm/Melbourne Merpire, the exquisite work of multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, continues to dangle sonic enticements ahead of her album ‘MILK POOL’ due out on 4 July 2025. Next cab off the rank is the soaring lush sounds of ‘Leaving With You’, exhibiting a delicate yearning romanticism over the rich guitars: I only stay in …
Premiere: Naarm/Melbourne band Alcotomic unveil a buoyant sliver of sunshine pop with ‘Ruby Shoes’.
We are very honoured to premiere the single ‘Ruby Shoes’ from Naarm/Melbourne indie band Alcotomic: a track so bright and boisterous you need anti-gravity boots and sunglasses to listen to it. Alcotomic formed in 1996 when John Baxter left nineties band Holocene and played to great acclaim for five years. In 2024, bassist Doug Lee …
Track: ‘Uh Oh’ – Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Romanie is back with a brilliant new single and tour dates.
Romanie (Romanie Assez) relocated to Naarm/Melbourne a few years ago from Belgium and has released a string of exquisitely beautiful tracks that showcase her velvet vocals and acute observations on life. She is back after a couple of years’ absence and her new single ‘Uh Oh’ continues this upwards ascendancy. ‘Uh Oh’ has grungy, thrilling, rich guitars …
Premiere: Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird break the thermometer with the incandescent new single ‘Mercury Rising’ as they announce the ‘Rosewater Crocodile’ tour to launch their new album
One of my favourite antipodean outfits, Naarm/Melbourne band Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird (CTBNF) today announce a new album ‘Rosewater Crocodile’ due out on 27 June through the glorious Double Drummer label. Tomorrow, the band is releasing the second single, ‘Mercury Rising’, off the album and it is another astounding and euphoric piece of music which we …
News: The magnificent Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird are back with news of a new album, tour and euphoric gospel-tinged single ‘Rosewater’.
Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird (CTBNF) last lit up the firmament with the majestic ‘Smiles of Earth’ album back in 2022 (see my review here). And the sun shines brighter in the Autumn light down under, with news of another album on the way through the redoubtable Double Drummer. Today, an early taste of what’s …
Premiere: It’s an ‘Earthquake’, but rest assured – Hobsons Bay Coast Guard come to the rescue with an effervescent bounce and a launch date.
We are honoured to premiere the new single ‘Earthquake’ from Naarm/Melbourne surf punk exponents Hobsons Bay Coast Guard. Try keep your feet still for this one: it’s a gravity-defying blast of hyperactive fun. Guitars tumble out of the speakers with an abandon as the hyperactive beat propels the track and a harmonised chorus sparkles over …