Melbourne alt-rock act The Beautiful Monument has delivered a delicious taste of their forthcoming new album with the release of their latest single “Stay.”
It’s an epic, yet deeply personal, track which reminds me a little of something we might hear from Paramore or our own Tonight Alive. It explored frontwoman Lizi Blanco’s feelings leaving home for the first time.
“If I hadn’t have moved away from my family, The Beautiful Monument wouldn’t exist. Everything happens for a reason and sometimes it’s hard to understand at the time, but it all ties in and makes sense eventually,” she explained.
“Stay” comes from The Beautiful Monument’s new album I’m the Reaper, which drops on June 28.
Image used with permission from Deathproof PR; credit: Steven Cook
Sydney emcee Imagine the Rapper has released your perfect Saturday soundtrack, his vibey new single “When the Doors are Closed.”
Featuring guest vocals from Victorian singer-songwriter Shaun Black, the track has a laid-back party feel that pays a nod to pop, R & B, and hip hop. Imagine the Rapper’s rhymes have a distinctly Aussie flavour that should appeal to local listeners. He says the track was inspired by his stint living and working in a Hunter Valley pub.
“Naturally working in hospitality I felt most relaxed at closing time “When The Doors Are Closed.” As soon as we shut I was out the back by the fire bucket drinking with his mates until the sun came up,” he explained. “The song pretty much sums up that build up to that moment, the story of some mates coming together and enjoying each other’s company over more than a few cold ones and doobie or two.”
“When the Doors are Closed” was conceived and created at the Grow My Music songwriters retreat. What a testament to its benefit for local musical talent!
Wollongong-via-Melbourne duo Cry Club are back with single number three, “Two Hearts.” The band says it’s the closest thing they’ve written to a love song. I say it’s the best thing they’ve ever released.
“I’d come out of a relationship where I’d ignored so many red flags because I was so desperate for someone to love me! Which is not healthy,” vocalist Heather Riley explained of the song’s inspiration. “I think I was so scared of being alone that I didn’t care. That’s probably the core of the song: this kind of deranged loneliness that makes you so desperate and pathetic for a connection that you stop thinking rationally. You replay it in your head, create imaginary scenarios, think of all the ‘what-if’s – it’s exhausting!”
Cry Club have played big stages over the last 12 months, including the Yours and Owls Festival, Bigsound, and Laneway. Tomorrow night they’ll support Sweater Curse at The Grace Darling in Melbourne. If you’ve got tickets, make sure you turn up early for their set!
Image used with permission from Future Popes; credit: Giulia McGauran
My Facebook feed is frothing today with friends excited they’ve snapped up tickets for Grinspoon’sChemical Hearts tour. The shows will be a celebration of everything that makes the Grinners great, with audience faves and hits from their 22-year career.
To celebrate the tour, Grinspoon will release a new vinyl record, Chemical Hearts, on October 11. Sure to be a collector’s item, it will feature many of the songs you can expect to hear at these shows.
Grinspoon will be ably supported on all dates by The Hard Aches, Gooch Palms, and Bugs.
“These concerts will have a very exciting atmos due to the individual scintillating performances by these amazing acts. We’re super excited to be doing this tour,” enthused Phil Jamieson. “We don’t get out much anymore and our last one focused primarily on our first record and this one will take a more broad approach to the little nuggets of songs that came between 1995 and 2013. Sooooooo … long story short. TOUR – CHEMICAL HEARTS – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER ~ ripper time. Ripper bands. Great times. Classic hits.”
Tickets are on sale right now. If the rapturous response to Grinspoon’s last tour was any indication, don’t expect them to hang around for too long. Get onto it music fans!
11 October 2019 – Metropolis, Fremantle (18+)
12 October 2019 – Metro City, Perth (18+)
16 October 2019 – The Forum, Melbourne (18+)
18 October 2019 – UC Refectory, Canberra (18+)
23 October 2019 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart (18+)
26 October 2019 – Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide (ALL AGES)
31 October 2019 – Waves, Wollongong (18+)
1 November 2019 – Entertainment Centre, Newcastle (ALL AGES)
2 November 2019 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (ALL AGES)
7 November 2019 – The Star Broadbeach, Gold Coast (18+)
8 November 2019 – The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane (18+)
Two years ago Crystal Cities seemed to have it all. Their debut EP Who’s Gonna Save Us Now was released to widespread acclaim, the title track reached number one on the Triple J Unearthed charts within just a few days of its release, and it even earned some airplay on American college radio. Not bad for a recording made in a mate’s Sydney garage!
But then they seemed to fade from view. You’d be forgiven for thinking they got out of the music scene altogether. However, Crystal Cities haven’t been sitting idle. They took the time to create a full-length debut LP they could be proud of, at Abbey Road Studios no less, and they’re ready to share it with the world thanks to inking a global deal with Audio Network. Lead single and title track “Under the Cold Light of the Moon” is a great introduction to the album’s cool indie pop-rock sound.
“The song ‘Under the Cold Light of the Moon’ was inspired by the plight of young North Korean girl Yeonmi Park who escaped North Korea in search of freedom,” explained the band’s vocalist and guitarist Geoff Rana. “After watching her speech, I penned the lyrics, interpreting her story.”
Under the Cold Light of the Moon is available on all your favourite digital platforms.
Sydney indie-pop act Bel Woods has burst onto the local scene with her first single “Running.” It might be her debut, but there’s a confidence in the track that reminds me of classic female-fronted acts like The Pretenders and The Motels.
It’s so interesting to hear how the song evolved too. It started life as a samba ballad, but over the years it’s morphed into the high energy indie-pop track we hear today. It might have been a couple of years in the making, but the song’s narrative about two people drawn to one another against their better judgement is timeless.
“Running” is a really strong start from Bel Woods and hopefully a great sign of things to come for this talented Sydneysider.
Alice Springs born, Virginia raised, and now living in Melbourne, Jayden McGrath has been exposed to a wealth of musical influences through his travels. They all come together in his genre-defying new single “Conditions.” It’s a little pop, a little rock, a little R’n’B, with a sprinkling of other elements as well, yet it all comes together so seamlessly.
That catchy, unique sound drew me in, but the song’s inspiration is every bit as fascinating.
“’Conditions’ is a track that came up for me in a rather dark period of my life,” Jayden explained. “After some big changes, I started to question the meaning and purpose of my life. At the time it felt like every step forward sent me two steps back. ‘Conditions’ is a kind of morbid acceptance of everything being dull for me at this point in time. Luckily since then, things have changed!”
Jayden will launch “Conditions” this Friday night, June 7, at The Evelyn in Melbourne.
Sydney singer-songwriter East Denistone is back with a beautiful new single, “River.” His first release for 2019 is perfect for the season, an evocative, brooding number with poetic lyrics and a gorgeous interplay of piano and guitar.
“The song itself started off being about the nature of addictive behaviours … over time, it evolved into a song about life choices and consequences,” he explained. “It’s not some complicated, deeply introspective lyrical juggernaut, and I don’t think all music has to be. My hope is that the idea of making undesirable decisions that you might regret later on is a relatable predicament for listeners.”
East Denistone filmed the clip at his parents’ home where he lived most of his life.
“If I did have one thing working in my favour it was the fact that I knew the locale better than any other place in the world,” he admitted. “It’s a weird house too! Different parts were renovated at different times and there was an extension added to it before I was born so there were few funny little different areas of the house to take advantage of.”
This is really special stuff from one of Sydney’s most promising new artists.
I expected a psychedelic number when I pressed play on A Star Pilot from Saturn’s latest single “Byeee.” What I got instead was so much better.
This track from the Sydney act with a trippy name is so powerful in its simplicity. There are no bells and whistles, no artifice. Instead it delivers the elements that really matter in music. A compelling story. An honest lyric. Emotional vocals. It’s moving. It draws listeners in with its delicacy, ensuring that by the time the music swells we’re all on board.
A Star Pilot from Saturn initially seemed like an odd name for an act with such a classic sound. But when you consider that songs like “Byeee” really out of this world, it all makes perfect sense.
They’re not quite household names here yet, but The Faim are destined for greatness. They sold out shows around the United Kingdom and Europe earlier this year and are getting rave reviews in leading publications like Forbes, NME, and Billboard. Not bad for a couple of mates from Perth, right?
If you love big anthemic rock tracks from the likes of Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco, you’re going to adore these guys and their most recent single “Amelie.” Take a listen and if you dig it, make sure you get along to one of their upcoming Aussie shows. Something tells me they’ll be playing larger venues and spending less and less time in Australia as time goes on!
12 July 2019 – The Zoo, Brisbane (ALL AGES)
12 July 2019 – The Zoo, Brisbane (18+)
13 July 2019 – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
14 July 2019 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (ALL AGES)
14 July 2019 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (18+)
17 July 2019 – The Factory, Sydney
19 July 2019 – Vision Studios, Perth
20 July 2019 – Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth
17 August 2019 – Frequency Festival, St Polten
19 August 2019 – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg
20 August 2019 – Melkweg, Amsterdam
21 August 2019 – Den Eglantier, Antwerp
23 August 2019 – Leeds Festival, Leeds
25 August 2019 – Reading Festival, Reading
27 August 2019 – Academy 2, Dublin
28 August 2019 – Oh Yeah, Belfast
29 August 2019 – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
30 August 2019 – Arts Club, Liverpool
31 August 2019 – Corporation, Sheffield
1 September 2019 – Epic Studios, Norwich
4 September 2019 – Den Atelier, Luxembourg
5 September 2019 – Skaters Palace, Munster
7 September 2019 – Hydrozagadka, Warsaw
8 September 2019 – Lollapalooza, Berlin
10 September 2019 – Tower, Bremen
11 September 2019 – Meetfactory, Prague
