With her debut album This Paradise in stores today, it seemed the perfect time to share Lucy Roleff’s new single “Aspen” with you.
This is such a beautiful song, delicate and haunting. I’ve heard it classified as chamber folk, which is a pretty apt descriptor if you ask me. There’s something almost spiritual about it.
If you love this song, and you want to hear more, make sure you get This Paradise, which is available on CD, vinyl, and for digital download from today. Lucy will launch the album at The Gasometer in Collingwood on July 28.
With a weekend looming, most of us are probably feeling pretty good about life. “Firetrain,” the latest single from Adelaide muso Todd Sibbin is the perfect accompaniment to those good vibes. With its hand claps and bold trumpets, this optimistic number is a real winner.
Todd describes the single as “being about putting out psychological fires, both the ones you create yourself, and the ones others create for you.”
“Firetrain” is just one of the excellent songs on Todd Sibbin’s new album The Bottled Ship Got Freedom, which is available now.
With a loyal fan base and plenty of buzz, Runaway Weekend could well be the next big thing. When they released the video for “Déjà Vu,” the title track from their debut EP, recently it garnered 20,000 views in just a couple of days.
I love the way this band plays with light and shade. The song is so epic and dramatic in places, but delicately restrained in others. I’m doubly impressed that Runaway Weekend have written, produced, and recorded this song and the others on their EP themselves. It’s got such a professional sound that we don’t normally see from acts just starting to play with production.
“We really hope that people can find something of themselves in our music and if they do, hopefully they can also lock themselves away in it to escape from reality for a bit, like we do with our favourite bands,” the guys from Runaway Weekend explained.
“At the end of the day we’re just some teenagers from Adelaide who want to affect people, we want to make people feel something, be that utter happiness or realisation. Through our music we want to touch people, like we’ve been touched by artists and if we can do half as good a job as the artists we admire, we’d be totally complete.”
Runaway Weekend are currently touring their EP. You can catch them at Wrangler in Melbourne on the 16th of July and Producer’s Bar in Adelaide on July 18.
It seems like Australians have a lot to be angry about, because I think punk music is the strongest it’s been in this country for a really long time. The latest punk act to cross my path is Jones the Cat, a four-piece out of Newcastle who are currently touring their new EP Paste On Smile.
These guys formed at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music in 2013, and they’ve been relentlessly gigging and recording ever since. The EP features the lead single “I Don’t Want to Die Here (Anymore),” an introspective take on gentrification and outgrowing a city that this girl from Newie gets all too well.
These are the remaining dates for the Paste On Smile EP tour.
21 July 2016 – Captain Cook Hotel, Sydney
22 July 2016 – Crown & Anchor Hotel, Adelaide
23 July 2016 – Whole Lotta Love, Melbourne
5 August 2016 – The Lass O’Gowrie, Newcastle
Image used with permission from Done Music Publicity
Brisbane band Feuds shows it knows how to craft a big rock song with their new single “River of Wine.” This track builds beautifully, with a composed verse giving way to a great big stadium rocking chorus. It sounds uplifting, but there’s a dark undercurrent to its lyrics.
“The bulk of the track comes from the struggles I was having with drinking a couple years back, suffering these awful bouts of depression for days afterwards, in this never ending cycle,” explained Feuds frontman Jeremy Hunter.
The clip’s also one of the cleverest uses of public domain footage I’ve seen in some time. It might have been put together on the budget, but it’s mesmerising.
“River of Wine” comes from Feuds’ debut EP Stay Lost, which is scheduled to drop in August. We should also see them gigging around the country to coincide with the EP’s release.
When I received a link to a trailer for Felix Reibl’s sophomore solo album Paper Doors I was a little disappointed. Not because it was a bad video per se, but because all of the behind-the-scenes studio footage of Felix mucking around with mates didn’t really give me any insight into what the album was all about.
I’m glad I watched it though, because when it finished YouTube found the audio of “In Your Arms,” one of the album’s lead singles. This duet with Martha Wainwright is apparently already at radio, but they certainly haven’t played it in my area. Which is a shame, because it’s such a great song.
If that’s not enough to get you excited about the September 2 release, the album also features duets with Little Birdy’s Katy Steele and Tinpan Orange’s Emily Lubitz.
“They all bring something out which is special to me,” Felix said in a press release. “When I’m able to sing really quietly, the presence of a female character adds some sparkle and character that brings another timbre in my own voice.”
An album that revels in quiet spaces like Paper Doors calls for a tour of some of Australia’s most intimate venues. Catch Felix bring the songs from Paper Doors and some old favourites to the following venues.
7 September 2016 – The Producers, Adelaide
8 September 2016 – Lizottes, Newcastle
9 September 2016 – Newtown Social Club, Sydney
10 September 2016 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
11 September 2016 – Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard new material from The Evening Cast, but it’s been well and truly worth the wait. Their new single “Gang of Fools,” reminded me just how much I love this five-piece from Geelong.
It’s got a great groove and some beautiful harmonies. I love the way the Evening Cast never overdoes things. The song is delicate and restrained, and the sort of thing that makes me hungry for more.
That’s coming soon. “Gang of Fools” is the first track lifted from The Evening Cast’s sophomore LP Belong, which will be released on May 11. A national tour will follow in June.
Marina Prior and Mark Vincent undoubtedly have some of the best voices of the country. Combine them and you’ve got an album that’s sure to make your Mum melt. Their duets album Together features their interpretations of operatic hits and musical theatre favourites including “Music of the Night,” “The Prayer,” and “Amigos Para Sempre.”
“I was so excited to work with Marina,” Mark said. “I’ve always wanted to work with her … singing together created such a great bond between us and we’ve become great friends. I think that shows in the songs we sing on Together … there’s an honesty between us.”
“You have to be on the same wavelength,” Marina added. “You have to be ‘simpatico’ and feel things together. I think that we do that musically, but I also think that we click personally. Music is just an extension of who you are, really. The work has to be true for it to resonate.”
While the Together CD is bound to impress if you’re still searching for the ideal Mother’s Day gift, if you really want to get in her good graces buy a couple of tickets to their upcoming tour. You might even offer to go with Mum to really make her day!
23 September 2016 – Concert Hall, Perth
29 September 2016 – State Theatre, Sydney
30 September 2016 – Concert Hall @ QPAC, Brisbane
1 October 2016 – Festival Theatre, Adelaide
2 November 2016 – Hamer Hall, Melbourne (1pm and 8 pm shows)
After a hiatus of nearly 40 years, TASTE are back. However unlike so many bands, they haven’t reformed to cash in on the nostalgia of the past or fund their retirements. Instead they’re doing it because they never got the chance to fulfil their potential.
Rewind to the ‘70s and TASTE were poised to be the next big thing. They were the first band to appear on Countdown, their song “Boys Will Be Boys” was going gangbusters, and they were set to tour the United States with Queen. Then their parents charged into their management office demanding they disband. Sadly, they listened to their mums and dads.
However, they’re looking to put all that behind them. The band’s back together, with the addition of new drummer Michael Corniola, and they’ve got a brand new single “I Am God.” It’s just as grandiose and it rocks just as hard as a proper glam rock track should. The clip is also brilliant.
The track comes from TASTE’s latest album Life on Earth, which drops on May 27. They’ll celebrate its release with shows in capital cities around the country.
1 July 2016 – Crowbar, Brisbane
9 July 2016 – Fowlers Live, Adelaide
14 July 2016 – Frankie’s Pizzeria (FREE)
16 July 2016 – The Corner, Melbourne
Way back in 1996, Kiwi rockers Shihad made a splash with their self-titled debut, an album that became affectionately known as the Fish Album. Now 20 years later the band is marking the milestone.
This month a remastered version of the Fish Album was reissued on vinyl and digital. And in June, Shihad will tour Australia. The shows will no doubt include plenty of cuts from the debut album as well as more recent tracks that remind us Shihad are much more than a nostalgia band. Special guests The Grenadiers will join the band on the road.
23 June 2016 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
24 & 25 June 2016 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
26 June 2016 – Newport Hotel, Fremantle
1 July 2016 – The Triffid, Brisbane
2 July 2016 – Pigsty in July, Hunter Valley
15 July 2016 – The Factory, Sydney
16 July 2016 – The Croxton, Melbourne
Image used with permission from Secret Service Public Relations
21 July 2016 – Captain Cook Hotel, Sydney
