Up-and-coming pop act ixaras will hit the road this morning for her first headlining tour. She’ll stop by the East Coast capitals to promote the release of her fabulous new bop, “DO YOU LIKE GIRLS?”
“’DO YOU LIKE GIRLS?’ is a song that helped me better understand my own sexuality,” ixaras said. “Every time I’ve shared it, whether in a small room or online, the response has been overwhelming. So many people have told me how it helped them feel seen, or helped guide them through their own experiences. That connection means everything. I knew this song needed its own moment.”
Fans can expect an intimate, high-energy show featuring all ixaras’ beloved tracks and some you’ve never heard before. You can almost guarantee she’ll play bigger venues next time around, so make sure you see her playing these small shows while you can.
Walyalup/Fremantle-based artist Anna Schneider casts a spell with her latest single “Bad Dream.” Her sublime vocals bring this “ode to isolation, dread, and the inner landscapes we often try to escape” to life.
“It’s a song about stagnating,” Anna said. “That feeling of being isolated and drowning within the walls of your home, and the debilitating frustration between what is and what could be. Since I was a child, I have always had extremely vivid nightmares, where I can wake up and recount every detail like a cinematic piece. I was often afraid to go to sleep because I felt like I would just be terrorised by my own brain. ‘Bad Dream’ is about that fear of being alone with your thoughts, whether in your dreams or in the monotony of our everyday spaces.”
Stop what you’re doing and let “Bad Dream” wash over you. It’s a stunning song from one of Western Australia’s most exciting up-and-comers.
Eora/Sydney-based alt-punk act SoSo describe themselves as “offensively average,” but take a listen to their latest single “Messed Up” and you’ll soon hear that they’re selling themselves short. It’s a fantastic pop-punk track with a face-melting guitar solo and relatable lyrics about being in the wrong relationship.
“Lyrically, the track is about opening up to someone when you kind of knew deep down that you shouldn’t, then having it thrown back at you by their actions,” frontman Rhys Weeks explained. “The kinda toxic relationship where you’ve created an idea of what your life with that person would look like, rather than seeing the relationship for what it was from the start – and having to mourn not only the end of the relationship, but also the end of whatever future you thought you might have seen for yourself and having to reset your outlook for your future.”
“Messed Up” comes from SoSo’s forthcoming debut album So Much For Second Chances. It’s not out yet, but already the band are predicting big things.
“We’re going to turn heads,” Rhys said. “We’re going to be the band that goes against the grain and pushes back on the traditional way of doing things. By keeping ownership of our music, self-funding and self-promoting our debut LP AND GUARANTEEING a Number 1 Record, we’re convinced that we can show independent bands that you don’t need to sign away your rights to be successful.”
If you want to see SoSo hit number one, you can help them along by pre-ordering So Much For Second Chances for up to 50% off the recommended retail price (depending on your chosen format) from the band’s website.
Image used with permission from Capital Artist Group
Stop what you’re doing and hit that volume button. Naarm/Melbourne-based band One More Weekend are here to rock your face off with their latest single “Aunty Meredith.” It’s an all-out assault on the senses, with chunky guitar chords, arresting vocals, and a hooky chorus you’ll find yourself singing long after the final note.
“This one’s about that thin line between freedom and losing control,” explained One More Weekend’s lead vocalist Connor Dougan. “It’s personal, intense, and we didn’t want to sugarcoat any of it.”
Mission accomplished!
You won’t find this song on Spotify or many of the mainstream streaming services, but you can check it out on Bandcamp, Square, or One More Weekend’s Patreon page, where you’ll get access to all the band’s new material first.
The wild music video for “Aunty Meredith” depicts the highs and horrors of a psychedelic experience gone awry at a music festival. It’s both a literal and metaphorical trip that you won’t quickly forget.
One More Weekend will celebrate the release of “Aunty Meredith” with a massive hometown show at The Catfish on July 12. Shows around the rest of the country will follow really soon, so watch this space!
It’s been three years since Naarm/Melbourne indie act Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird graced us with new music, but they’ve coming back with some really special tunes. The first is “My Ghost & Its Crawling,” a tender, poetic number that hints at all of the sonic goodness to come.
“‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’ explores the haunting nature of memory, and the forms that significant people assume within our own psyches,” Lachlan Rose, the band’s frontman and songwriter, said. “In some ways I think people from our past live inside us as very real, living, breathing entities. They can be talked with, argued with, listened to and loved, for better or for worse. In my experience, no matter how hard you exorcise those spirits, they can still be heard crawling around in the attics and the garrets and the nooks and in the hallways of your heart. This song is sung from the perspective of such a spirit”.
“My Ghost & Its Crawling” comes from Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird’s forthcoming album Rosewater Crocodile, which drops on July 10. They’ll celebrate its release with a string of local shows. Tickets are on sale now, so get onto it!
I’m always impressed by a quality cover, a rendition that breathes new life into a song and makes a statement all its own. So I’m really digging what country artist Fanny Lumsden has done with Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” We’re used to hearing this song as a haunting indie-pop duet with Kimbra, but Fanny’s country-folk version features her live band, The Prawn Stars. It was also produced by Matt Fell, Dan Freeman and Fanny, mixed by Matt Fell, and mastered by William Bowden (who mastered Gotye’s original).
“After doing our own version of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ on ABC’s Spicks and Specks last year, we started adding it to our live show, and have loved playing around with it so much that we thought it about time we recorded it! It’s the first song that has my whole live touring band on it, and it makes me so happy that each of these people I spend so much time with on the road, brought a little of themselves to the song. We also wanted to feature the harmonies, which are a big thing for us live.”
Fanny and The Prawn Stars are heading to the United Kingdom next month, but they’ll be back before you know it for shows with Paul Kelly and Lucinda Williams.
It feels like only yesterday that Ocean Alley burst onto the scene, so my head is spinning with the news that they’re about to release album number five, called Love Balloon. While the title track is a pretty funky affair, we should expect plenty of diversity from the album.
“The album explores the many layered dimensions of love – not just the cinematic kind where you’re falling head over heels, but the full spectrum: joy, hurt, discomfort and disappointment,” explained Ocean Alley’s keyboardist and vocalist Lach Galbraith. “Let’s call it the river of love – whether it’s with a partner, a friend, or family, you never know when it’ll get deep, go shallow, or suddenly change course. It’s such a force that you have to just surrender to its current.”
The Love Balloon album drops on September 19. Ocean Alley has plenty of shows in North America, South America, the UK, Europe, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand planned. Here are all the dates you need.
Tarntanya/Adelaide outfit The Tullamarines perfectly balance upbeat vibes with bittersweet lyrics in their latest single “Lying.” It’s got a laidback summery feel, but once you start digging into those lyrics you realise it’s really raw and introspective.
“‘Lying’ is about insecurity, imposter syndrome, self-loathing, and the effort to do better,” The Tullamarines explained. “That feeling of people leaving before we perform is a running joke, but it comes from real doubt. We struggle with confidence in our music, image-everything. So we said exactly how we felt, but wrapped it in sunny, 90s pop-inspired sounds. It’s sad-happy. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend you’re okay than to be vulnerable. We hope this song helps people feel seen and encourages real conversations.”
The Tullamarines are currently on tour with the Preatures and have plenty more new music on the way. You’ll also see them at some of the hottest upcoming festivals, so the back half of the year is shaping up to be huge for them. Here are all the places you can catch them live in the coming months.
Seb Szabo has got me swooning with “Crumbs From Your Table,” a bittersweet alt-rock track about having a crush on someone who’s already attached.
“The song started out as a larger-than-life inner monologue. A bunch of messy feelings I wished I could say out loud,” Seb remembered. “It’s one for people with gigantic hearts, even if it might get you into trouble. It’s a privilege to feel this much. Hopefully, the song reminds you not to suppress everything – because you never know what might happen next. It could go either way … and that’s beautifully terrifying.”
Seb will hit the road in August to support Jordy Maxwell on his national tour. If you want to see him live, here’s where you’ll find him.
Boorloo/Perth-based pop artist Hannah Stow has my heart with “I Never Changed.” This bittersweet indie-pop ballad unravels the aftermath of a relationship breakdown caused by two people moving in different directions. Hannah’s sincere vocals bring her introspective lyrics to life so beautifully.
“This track is about giving someone everything and them being fake and switching up who they are whilst you stay consistent,” Hannah said, “Being so bound by the bare minimum and lowering your expectations when you date someone. Forgetting your worth and begging them to stay and hear you out. Trying to be what they need when you don’t even believe in yourself enough to stand by what you need.”
Hannah has built a strong reputation as a force on stage with supporting slots for 360 and sold out shows of her own. She’s got a couple of shows scheduled for the coming months, so if you’re out West make sure you get along to discover what all the buzz is about.
