After taking much of 2015 off and almost disbanding, The Bon Scotts are back with a cracking new single “Main Street.”
It’s a politically charged look at the racism that so often masquerades as patriotism these days, and the way society needs conversations, understanding, and empathy rather than anger and ignorance. It asks the poignant question “Can either side be part of the solution when they often seem to be the root cause of the problem?” The video was shot by the band in their hometown of Coburg at a race rally this May.
This is the first song to come from the band’s upcoming new album When I’m Lonely I Still Think Of You, which should drop next March.
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.
With the release of their latest single “Young Gun,” Sydney quartet Burn Antares continue to show they’re like no one else on the modern musical landscape.
There’s a sweetness in frontwoman Grace Farriss’s vocals which is beautifully tempered by the song’s big crunchy chords. It’s a throwback to the heady heyday of glam and psychedelic rock, but it somehow manages to sound fresh rather than dated.
“We typically spend countless hours creating our songs, being very clinical and harsh with ourselves but with Young Gun, it was quite different. We went at it with open minds and experimented a lot more with sounds in the studio and generally had a bit more fun with it,” Grace explained in a press release. “I think the end result is a great reflection of the process and the vibe was captured perfectly by our producer Tony [Buchen].”
Is “Young Gun” the cure for what ails you this Thursday morning?
Robbie Miller could sing the phone book and I’d probably still listen. Thankfully though he’s being a little more ambitious with his new single “Road.”
It’s a slightly new sound for Robbie, with electronic elements building on the acoustic folk he’s famous for. It’s not such a dramatic departure that it should lose him any fans though.
There’s talk than a new EP isn’t too far off, which is a blessing if like me you can’t get enough of this incredible singer. Robbie is also set to hit the road supporting Dustin Tebbutt. Make sure you arrive early enough for his set at the following shows.
4 August 2016 – Byron Theatre, Broken Head
5 August 2016 – Foundry, Fortitude Valley
6 August 2016 – Solbar, Maroochydore
11 August 2016 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
12 August 2016 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
13 August 2016 – Workers Club, Geelong
18 August 2016 – Newtown Social Club, Newtown
19 August 2016 – Newtown Social Club, Newtown (SOLD OUT)
20 August 2016 – Transit Bar, Canberra
26 August 2016 – Jack Rabbit Slims, Northbridge
27 August 2016 – Jive, Adelaide
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.
What a thing of beauty is “Run” from Melbourne act Young Vincent. With sublime harmonies, poetic lyrics, and an awesome acoustic vibe, this is really the perfect track for a lazy Sunday.
Apparently this is the fourth single from Young Vincent, but one which sees the band taking a slightly different direction and expanding on their sound.
“It all started on my couch at home on the Mornington Peninsula. The bridge melody popped into mind, sparking the process of to-ing and fro-ing ideas with the band,” explained drummer Josh Walton.
Young Vincent has tour dates in the works, so listen out for them!
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