William Drummond, the bassist for British India, is now making music under a new moniker Heartbeatz. His latest single “Heavyweight” is a really cool indie-rock track which brings the pub scene of Naarm/Melbourne to life with its vivid lyrics. I’m not sure when I last heard such a well-crafted song.
“This is my ode to hospitality,” William explained. “To the unbreakable friendships made, nights that seem to drag on forever and others that disappear in the blink of an eye. To the feelings of stagnation and yearning, to hot blooded heartbreak. To all the people who fight vehemently for us even when we are bringing them down.”
“Heavyweight” comes from the first Heartbeatz album Memory::Loss, which gets released on March 22.
I’m getting so excited about the glut of great pop music coming from local female artists at the moment. “We’re Not Really Strangers,” from Naarm/Melbourne artist POLLY, is the latest to get me buzzing.
“I wrote this song to process that weird feeling when you reconnect with someone from the past that you once knew inside out, and then time passes by, and all of a sudden they’re a stranger again – but like, not really? And you both are awkward and not sure how to navigate the strangers but not really territory,” POLLY explained.
This track is so incredible, it’s hard to believe it’s only POLLY’s second release. Expect to hear big things from this awesome local talent in the coming year.
“Say Goodbye” has long been a live favourite for Concrete Gold fans, and now the Cavanbah/Byron Bay act are unleashing it on the public. This is a straight up rocker which manages to celebrate the band’s alternative rock influences while sounding fresh as a daisy.
“’Say Goodbye’ came together after I had been practicing a cover we would often play, called ‘Reptilia’ by ‘The Strokes’,” frontman Cameron Lockwood explained. “The main chorus hook of the song provides a similar rhythm and tonal characteristic used by the popular New York band. The rest of the song was then put together in a demo before finalizing the song with lyrics and structure through pre-production at Red Star Music.”
“Say Goodbye” is the second single from Concrete Gold’s debut album Burning Out, which will drop on March 23rd. They’ll launch the album at Tomcat in Meeanjin/Brisbane on March 30.
The Bad Dad Orchestra have just dropped “Makin’ Me Wild,” the title track from their forthcoming debut studio album, and it’s an absolute banger. Its driving guitars and drums give it a classic rock feel, but then there are those horns and lush backing vocals adding a sprinkling of soul.
Talking about the track, which is a tribute to their late founding member Liam Guthrie Pennicott, frontman Jimi Steele says “A lone wolf’s judgement can be shifted by the pack, sometimes in a good way, but likewise contribute to poor decisions. A sudden whim of wildness and you’ve turned into one of the bunch. We need to sometimes call on our primal instincts, or be tamed. The Wolfpack will undoubtedly decide if it’s let off the leash to run wild.”
You won’t have to wait too long for more new material from these guys, as the Making’ Me Wild album is slated for release later this month. Expect to hear a few more new tracks and old favourite when the Bad Dad Orchestra plays the following shows.
Valentine’s Day may be behind us for another year, but I’m a firm believer that you should keep romance alive every day. So on that note, I wanted to bring you Angus & Julia Stone’s latest single “The Wedding Song.” The single is so charming, but then you add in the music video, which features footage from their fans’ weddings … let’s just say it’ll warm even the coldest of hearts.
“‘The Wedding Song’ was originally written for a friend’s wedding years ago. Since then, we’ve been honoured to play it at several friends’ and family’s weddings, including our mum’s, and we received so many requests from fans for a proper recording to use on their special day, so we decided to make that happen,” the siblings shared. “We chose it as the first single from our upcoming record because it’s all about love. The song is a celebration of love and human connection. In a world that can feel disconnected and frightening, we want to share something that reflects the beauty of how humans choose to treat each other, love each other, and make promises to build something beautiful together.”
“The Wedding Song” is the first track lifted from Angus & Julia Stone’s sixth album Cape Forestier, which will be released on May 10. It sees the duo going back to basics with songs that focus on storytelling and simple arrangements. They’ll support its release with the Living Room Sessions tour, a series of intimate shows in beautiful theatres all around the world which let the new music and old favourites shine.
After treating us to three fabulous EPs in as many years, Highline are preparing to release their long-awaited debut album, Shapes We Figure Out. It’s still a couple of months away, but the release of their latest single “Believe Me I’ll Run” should satisfy you until it drops.
“’Believe Me I’ll Run’ is an admission of sorts that you’re all in on a relationship, regardless of whether the other person is feeling the same way,” explained Highline’s lead singer, Sam Rigney. “Unlike a lot of our songs we’ve made in the past, this song offers up a bit of hope as opposed to being down about a situation. It felt good to write a song with positive notes that had some happy memories attached to it.”
Listen out for Highline’s debut album Shapes We Figure Out when it drops on April 19. These guys have been making waves around the Eora/Sydney live music scene, so I’ll be very surprised if we don’t see some shows this autumn coinciding with the album’s release.
We all know Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday and we should be keeping romance alive all year round, but I think it’s also kind of nice to take the day to celebrate love. In honour of February 14, Jacob Fitzgerald has released his brand new single “Sophia.” It starts as a classic tale of boy meets girl, but this is no ordinary love song.
“Sophia’ is a simple premise: a man falls in love with a woman, but the woman does not fall in love with the man. It’s the tale of a heartbreaker,” Jacon said. “After absorbing the Nashville music scene in early 2023, I came home with the original riff and hook for ‘Sophia’ tattooed on my mind. The enhanced blues-rock-inspired nature of my music consumption gave birth to a song I knew I NEEDED to write. As someone who feels deeply, in my mind, Sophia is distant, hurt and cautious with who she lets love her.”
Jacob has some choice supporting slots coming up. Make sure you arrive early enough for his set if you have tickets to any of these shows:
Meeanjin/Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Benny Elder is building hype for the release of his debut album by dropping a fantastic new single “Coffee Don’t Taste the Same”. It’s such a well-written track with excellent vocals from Benny.
“‘Coffee Don’t Taste The Same’ is about longing to belong and have purpose in life. It’s about the feeling we all have growing up, where we are figuring out who we are, where we belong and what we want in life,” Benny explained. “I hope that it helps a few people that feel like they don’t belong to relate and realise there are others feeling the same. You are not alone, and you can find your peace.”
Kate Gill is one of those TikTok sensations who deserves to make the leap into the mainstream. The Meeanjin/Brisbane-based singer-songwriter has just released her latest single “friends,” and I know it’s going to blow you away. It’s a catchy alt-pop number, but its astute lyrics which call out toxic relationships are what’s really impressed me.
“At its core, ‘friends’ is about sticking up for yourself and knowing when to leave a toxic situation. In my personal life, I have found this particularly hard with friendships, and (as much as I try not to) I really care what other people think about me. I have this fear of coming across as a bad person for leaving a relationship, even if it’s what’s right for me,” Kate explained. “After being with this person, I always left feeling more and more frustrated and exhausted each time, and eventually I just snapped and decided to do what was best for me. It’s bittersweet because even though I was so angry with this person, deep down I still love and care about them, which is why the song’s climax comes to a soft resolve, which to me is like a huge sigh.”
“friends” provides a taste of Kate’s upcoming EP, which should hit streaming services in early March.
Naarm/Melbourne-born and LA-based artist Bobi Andonov has given me chills with his latest release, “Anymore.” His incredible voice wows from the first note, but it’s also an incredible well-crafted pop song. Can you believe he’s never released music using his falsetto before? He’s out here sounding like the love child of Prince and D’Angelo, yet someone managing to avoid being derivative. I’m impressed.
“It was the song that I needed to write. It sucks to love someone whose reasons for your relationship are so much more casual and self-serving than your own needs. The chorus lyric ‘I just can’t do this anymore’, was of those things I always wanted to say but couldn’t,” Bobi admitted. “I wanted to explore a complex, ambiguous, and even poetic lyric with the feel of a Bee Gees like stacked melody, thrown into a stripped, alt/bedroom mix. I loved the exercise of writing an entire hook in high, falsetto harmony. I like the contrast between that and the rougher part of my voice”.
“Anymore” comes from Bobi’s sophomore EP SAINT, which drops on May 9.
Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia
