Sydney
Track: Marveline returns with ‘Our Parade’ – another smashing power pop track
Last year, Marveline, the solo work of Sydney artist Pete Marley, released the debut album ‘Savoury-toothed Tiger’, premiered on Backseat Mafia. It was a pop powered package of good humour and mountainous melodies that really shone during the midst of the bleak pandemic year. Marveline is back with new material, and what a delight it …
EP Review: Nick Ward’s deeply personal treatise on identity in ‘Everything I Wish I Told You’ is beautiful, empowering pop.
Sydney’s Nick Ward is only nineteen but the maturity and stature of his new EP, ‘Everything I Wish I Told You’ is phenomenal. In instrumentation, vocals and lyrical themes, this is a fully formed piece of indie pop that sparkles with melody and rhythms. The themes are very personal and born from the strictures of …
Track: Cousin Betty pays tribute to the glories of the mixtape in the romping single ‘Tape Hiss’
There is a very specific audience which will recognise the many obscure references to names like Peter Russell Clark, TDK cassette advertisements and Countdown in the new single, ‘Tape Hiss’ from Australian band Cousin Betty. Namely, Australians growing up in the eighties when the music show Countdown ruled the airwaves and provided a musical education …
Track: Buddy Glass paints a poignant tale of family and loss in ‘The Spirit of a Small Town’
In my review of Buddy Glass’s album ‘Wow and Flutter’ last year, I said the album was absolute delight: an immersive journey into the poetic and expressive world of Buddy Glass. Glass has just released a poignant video for the track ‘The Spirit of a Small Town’ – a song dealing with memories of his …
Track: Middle Kids announce release of new album and provide a taster in the brilliant single ‘Questions’
Sydney trio Middle Kids are a band in the ascendant – their debut album ‘Lost Friends’ released in 2018 received universal praise, leading to some notable supports and US tv appearances – check out a stunning live performance of the album here. Ultimately the band moved to Los Angeles where they have worked on their …
Track: Barley Passable bottle the essence of a Sydney summer with new single Turnaround
Sydney duo, Barley Passable, have released a veritable slice of summer with their new slinky, sensuous single ‘Turnaround’. It is as if they have bottled the essence of Sydney’s northern beaches – the bleach white beaches, the cloudless blue skies and the driving searing heat, hooning around in panel vans and board shorts eating Chiko …
See: Bryan Estepa releases poignant and dreamy video for single Trick of the Light
I was highly impressed by Bryan Estepa‘s recent single ‘Trick of the Light’ – a track that blossoms with every listen – and he has followed this up with a very visually arresting and poignant video. The video, directed by Nicholas Banicevic, perfectly captures the dreamy nostalgic elements of the track with hazy colours and …
Track: The Electorate release the single ‘Skeleton’ from their impressive debut album ‘You Don’t Have Time to Stay Lost’
‘You Don’t Have Time to Stay Lost’ is the outstanding debut album from Sydney outfit The Electorate – appearing in my list of favourite antipodean albums for 2020. I described the album as perfectly capturing the ennui of modern middle-aged life and wrapping it into beautiful melodies and wistful observations that manage to express the …
Track: Bryan Estepa: Trick of the Light
Sydney musician Bryan Estepa has impressive song-writing style that is certainly Beatlesesque in delivery, while maintaining his own distinctive delivery and style. His new single ‘Trick of the Light’ showcases his smooth vocals with an extraordinary range as well as the lush and sparkling instrumentation. ‘Trick of the Light’ is infused with a deep melancholia …
Meet: We interview Nic Dalton, owner of Sydney’s legendary Half a Cow Records
As a reviewer, from time to time you come across small boutique labels whose enthusiasm and dedication to the music scene is utterly magnificent and completely inspiring. Over the past few years, I’ve reviewed a number of brilliant bands with one common denominator – they were all on the Half a Cow Record label. This …