The world has felt very heavy at the moment. The murder of George Floyd in the United States and ensuing protests has put racial inequality and injustice firmly back into the world’s spotlight. We’re still battling the global COVID-19 pandemic. All of these things are so important and it’s vital to lend our voices to them. But I think it’s also important to take a couple of moments to enjoy art that just feels good.
If you need a break from the darkness, press play on Harry Phillips’ new EP, Life Without Fairy Tales. At just four tracks and 13 minutes, it’s perfect for tea breaks or smoko. The EP’s title sounds a little dark, but this is fairly light folk-pop fair. Harry’s voice has a genuine warmth and his songwriting is full of charm. That’s no surprise though, as this EP is the result of Harry’s work after winning the prestigious Billy Thorpe Scholarship at the Queensland Music Awards earlier this year.
Life Without Fairy Tales features Harry’s current single “None of My Business,” a playful ditty about respecting personal boundaries. This cheery song will make sure you have a smile on your face as this EP fades out. Check this song and the rest of Harry’s material out on your favourite streaming platform. He’s scheduled to support British singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan at The Outpost on September 29, but with the state of the world right now who knows whether that will come off. Give Harry a follow on Facebook for more details closer to the date!
With concerts scheduled for as far away as November now getting the COVID-19 axe, music lovers need some good news. A reminder that Ocean Alley’s new album Lonely Diamond is only weeks away should hit the spot.
Lonely Diamond will hit stores and streaming platforms on June 19. But you needn’t wait that long to hear new Ocean Alley tunes. Wrap your ears around the band’s funky new single “Hot Chicken.” It’s a little edgier than the Ocean Alley tunes we’re used to, but I’m here for it.
Ocean Alley’s rescheduled Aussie dates are also giving us something to look forward to. Catch one of Australia’s finest supported by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Dulcie at the following shows.
6 February 2021 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (SOLD OUT)
7 February 2021 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
12 February 2021 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane (SOLD OUT)
13 February 2021 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
5 March 2021 – Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth
12 March 2021 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
24 March 2021 – Melbourne Arena, Melbourne
Image used with permission from Cult Logic; photo credit: The Sauce/Kane Lehanneur
El Cosgrove should charm even the most cynical listener with her latest single “Some Fools.” It’s a gorgeous country-folk ditty with the relatable lyrics and the unmistakeable twang of the banjo accompanying her distinctive voice. It wraps around you, encouraging to listen a little longer.
I did too, making sure to check out El’s new EP Spring Tides before writing this piece. El wears her influences proudly at a time when so many artists seem to worry about crossover appeal. I wouldn’t consider myself a country music fan, but her sound has won me over.
El says she wrote this collection of songs at a time when life gave her “love, heartbreak, new travel experiences, new and old friends by my side and ultimately all lead me to learn and accept a lot about myself as a person.”
Start with “Some Fools,” but don’t end your journey there. El Cosgrove’s new EP Spring Tides is on all your favourite streaming services now.
It’s Saturday, time to put the stresses of the working week and the woes of the world to the back of our mind and kick up our heels. For many of us, our merry-making might involve a cocktail or two. No judgement! However you’re celebrating, “Pink Mojitos” by Ella Fence goes down just as easy as the beverage it’s named after! Sublime vocals, an infectious groove, and the kind of NSFW lyrics that you can crank up now the office is a distant memory!
“Pink Mojitos” is the opening track from Ella’s new mini-EP All I Do is Think. With just three tracks it shows so many sides of this exciting singer-songwriter. “She’s Looking Pretty” is as poignant and heartbreaking as “Pink Mojitos” is frothy and feelgood. “Japan” rounds out the trio on a sombre, introspective note. It’s beautiful.
Ella will play a stack of gigs over the coming months to support her new material. Get out and support her at the following venues.
8 March 2020 – Southport Sharks, Gold Coast (2-6 pm)
14 March 2020 – Brisbane City Sounds, Queen Street (12-2:30 pm)
17 March 2020 – Cambus Wallace, Gold Coast (7 pm)
20 March 2020 – Post Office Hotel, Sandgate (6:30-9:30 pm)
22 March 2020 – Scottish Prince, Gold Coast (7 pm)
27 March 2020 – Burleigh Brewing Co., Gold Coast (4-8 pm)
28 March 2020 – Rics Bar, Brisbane (supporting Cheeky Velvet @ 7 pm)
5 April 2020 – Brunswick Hotel, Brisbane (1-4 pm)
16 April 2020 – The Archive (7-10 pm)
17 April 2020 – Scottish Prince Friday (7 pm)
18 April 2020 – The End, Brisbane (7 pm)
25 April 2020 – Burleigh Brewing Co., Gold Coast (4-8 pm)
28 April 2020 – Cambus Wallace, Gold Coast (7 pm)
3 May 2020 – Komune, Coolangatta (late afternoon, time TBC)
Brandon Dodd has just dropped his debut album What a Way to Die, and it sounds far more accomplished than any first effort from a millennial really should. Brandon is an old soul who’s making the kind of rootsy, real music most musicians many years his senior can only dream of.
I could wax lyrical about the entire album, but frankly I don’t want to unpack it. I’d much rather you discover it yourself, then tell your friends about it. If the current single, “Like a Diamond,” doesn’t compel you to listen to the rest of it at your leisure I’ll be shocked. The track is a duet with Kasey Chambers, who gave Brandon his start when she handpicked him to play guitar in her band when he was still a teenager. Brandon also recorded this album at The Rabbit Hole Recording Studio, which he runs on the Central Coast with Kasey. You can hear the chemistry that only comes when you’re working with someone you know well in this recording. It’s really special.
As is the rest of the album. So what are you waiting for? Fire What a Way to Die by Brandon Dodd up on your streaming service of choice!
I was intrigued by the first single “Monument City Lights, 19733,” but it didn’t quite gel with me. However, I’m a much bigger fan of the latest taste of the album, “All Tied Up.” I think Kate might give one of the best vocals of her career on this track, which she says is unlike anything else in her back catalogue. That’s exciting in and of itself. You’re not just getting a taste of nostalgia here folks; these guys are creating brand new music that pushes the boundaries.
“When I listen to ‘All Tied Up’ now, I can’t help feel as though someone else wrote and sang this song … it’s so different to any other song I’ve ever sung,” Kate confirmed. “I wrote from within the words, I was writing the music and the melody to create an atmosphere of surf, empty space and unfinished business. It’s like the sound of the suburbs where I grew up. Pregnant with subtext …”
Kate wrote the music for these songs after receiving lyrics from Steve and Sean. That unique collaborative process and the talents involved should make this album something special. The Dangerous Age drops on January 31.
Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute
With much of the country devastated by fire and drought, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of get happy about, but Cairns-based singer-songwriter Bobby Maguire is determined to make you smile. His latest track “Moving to the City” is pure joy, a feelgood ditty that is made to lift your spirits and get your toes tapping.
“Moving to the City was inspired by bands like The Cure and The Kooks,” Bobby admitted. “It deals with the loss of a past life as well as growth and a need to move forward with a new chapter. I wrote this song as a form of encouragement for myself to embrace this new journey.”
The clip, which Bobby made with the help of his family and friends, is also hilarious. If you’ve ever struggled to find the right rental property, it’s bound to strike a chord with you!
“Moving to the City” is the title track from Bobby’s debut album, which is full of gems. Hometown fans can see Bobby Maguire doing his thing at the following shows.
20 December 2019 – Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs AFL Club, Cairns
24 December 2019 – Cotton Club NEMO Jams, The Cotton Club, Cairns
28 December 2019 – Cotton Club NEMO Jams, The Cotton Club, Cairns
Aussie expat Lucas Laufen casts a spell with his new single, “I Know Where Silence Lives.” It’s a beautiful folky number inspired by Lucas’s experience watching the ocean from a bird-watching tower on the border of the Netherlands and Germany.
“It was the first time I’d seen the sea in months and I remember thinking, ‘this is where silence lives’,” he recalled. “The wind was super strong so it wasn’t actually silent but I felt at home with the salt spray and no one around. So it’s silence relating to peace as opposed to real acoustic silence.”
Much like the song itself, the songwriting process was a bit of a slow-burn.
“When I was growing up, my father would always wake up at 5:30 am to find a quiet place before the rest of the world woke up. I’d see him wandering down the beach by himself and I never really understood what he was doing. While writing this song I finally understood the reason for this and feel that I’ve grown to seek these moments out like my father did,” he added. “The song spans a one-year writing process, which is strange for me. I usually find it hard to hold onto an emotion for this long and a song will lose its meaning if it’s drawn out for this amount of time. It was my way of looking through his life and trying to understand him. I found that we are very similar people and hold this thought as an anchor when I’m trying to figure out when I’m going with my life.”
The film clip expands on Lucas’ original idea, telling the story of a woman who leaves city life to find her own quiet place in the Norwegian countryside.
“We purposefully begin the video with a greyish look and feel, the actress, Leona Grundig, is obviously sick of traffic and noise, the colours of her clothes are nondescript and she looks like she’s in the wrong place,” explained the director, Dennis Schischke. “Her mood lifts the closer she gets to her destination, the colours of her clothing changes and the colour grading is more saturated. Within the video there are three portraits of her, the last one shows the end of her journey and her reaction to finally finding her own silence.”
“I Know Where Silence Lives” is the title track from Lucas Laufen’s new album, which drops on December 6. He’ll play a string of shows around Europe in the coming months to support its release.
14 December 2019 – Privatclub, Berlin
30 January 2020 – L’Atelier, Basel
1 February 2020 – Chur Unplugged, Chur
3 February 2020 – Sofar Sounds, Paris
5 February 2020 – Cafe De Loge, Ghent
6 February 2020 – Cafe Litteraire Le Bovary, Luxembourg
9 February 2020 – Cafe de Witte, Assen
17 February 2020 – Viertal Bar, Wuppertal
18 February 2020 – Schlosskeller, Darmstadt
19 February 2020 – Lolita Bar, Kassel
20 February 2020 – Altes Wettburo, Dresden
21 February 2020 – Moritzhof, Magdeburg
22 February 2020 – Wohnzimmermucke, Bayreuth
24 February 2020 – Inspire, Chemnitz
25 February 2020 – Horns Erben, Leipzig
27 February 2020 – Stubenkonzerte, Aarau
28 February 2020 – La Cyma, Winterthur
2 March 2020 – Rififi, Innsbruck
3 March 2020 – Das Wohnzimmer, Klagenfurt
4 March 2020 – Guest Room, Graz
5 March 2020 – Rhiz, Wien
7 March 2020 – Foxis/Fuxbau, Freistadt
9 March 2020 – FOX, Munchen
10 March 2020 – Cafe Manheim, Nuremberg
11 March 2020 – Viertelkultur, Wurzburg
12 March 2020 – Kulturcafe Lichtung, Koln
16 March 2020 – Tonfink, Lubeck
17 March 2020 – Pony Bar, Hamburg
Image used with permission from Guerilla Music Promotion; credit: Jordan Kirk
I’ve had Thandi Phoenix’s debut self-titled EP on repeat today. It’s all such incredible music, but I’m most struck with the EP’s lone duet, “Again,” which sees her joining forces with Dan Caplen.
The song is a quiet moment in a collection of upbeat, sassy songs. It shows a more vulnerable side of this stellar local talent while reinforcing just how good her vocals are.
Take a listen to “Again,” then do yourself a favour and give the rest of the EP a listen. You will not regret it. And if you’re heading to Festival X in Sydney on November 30 or Melbourne on December 1, make sure you catch her doing her thing!
Press Club can do no wrong in my eyes, or by my ears. Their energy and passion is absolutely infectious. Their lyrics are so relatable. In short, they’re bloody awesome. All of the things I love about them are showcased in their latest single “Separate Houses.”
The film clip was captured on the band’s recent UK and European tour. With guitarist Greg Rietwyk behind the camera, it takes you to Scotland, England, and continental Europe.
“Separate Houses” is the first track on Press Club’s recently-released sophomore album Wasted Energy. If you still haven’t got your ears around this one, what are you waiting for? Press Club are bringing punters songs from that album and some old favourites on their current tour. They’re in fine form, after recently wrapping up that UK and European tour, so make sure you catch them this time around.
8 November 2019 – The Gaso, Melbourne
9 November 2019 – Hobart Brewing Company, Hobart
15 November 2019 – Torquay Hotel, Torquay
16 November 2019 – The Westerport, San Remo
21 November 2019 – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
22 November 2019 – Pelly Bar, Frankston
29 November 2019 – Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
30 November 2019 – The Zoo, Brisbane
5 December 2019 – Dunsborough Hotel, Dunsborough
6 December 2019 – Lucy’s Love Shack, Perth
Image used with permission from Little Giant Agency; Photo credit: Ian Laidlaw
The world has felt very heavy at the moment. The murder of George Floyd in the United States and ensuing protests has put racial inequality and injustice firmly back into the world’s spotlight. We’re still battling the global COVID-19 pandemic. All of these things are so important and it’s vital to lend our voices to them. But I think it’s also important to take a couple of moments to enjoy art that just feels good.
