If you’ve ever wrestled with negative self-talk, you’re really going to relate to Holly Wild’s latest track “Inside My Head.” It’s a gritty pop song with powerful lyrics and vocals from this Eora/Sydney singer-songwriter.
“This is a song about the negative dialogue that goes around in my head, the endless loop telling me that I’m the jack of all trades, but master of none. Chipping away at my self-confidence every day, telling me I’m not good enough,” Holly admitted
Holly’s music has already earned praise from publications in the United States and United Kingdom. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world discovers this local talent.
Laurie Cave was born in the United Kingdom, but we’re pretty lucky he’s decided to call Naarm/Melbourne home. He’s just released his debut single “Nobody Could Ever Love You”, one of the catchiest rock songs I’ve heard in some time. You can hear the Sam Fender influence coming through, but there’s something about Laurie that sets him apart.
“This song is heavily inspired by ‘Seventeen Going Under’ by Sam Fender – a song that completely transfixed me”, Laurie explains. “It felt like Sam was making the music and expressing the things that I have always wanted to. In some ways, it is a homage to his song.”
He added that “This release is about doing ‘the work’ and facing up to the demons of early childhood and a ‘mis-spent youth’ of drug use and avoidance. It’s about the moment when you finally accept that you have to go to the deep and dark places to work through your trauma.”
I hear he’s got a stack of material that he’s waiting to unleash, so we can expect to hear a lot more from Laurie in the coming months.
Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.; credit: Casey Horsfield
Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter marigolden has gotten underneath my skin with her latest single “Mars.” It’s one of those songs that sneaks up on you, a slow burner that reveals itself to be the perfect mix of folk and indie-rock. If you’re into artists like Sharon van Etten and Middle Kids, I know you’re going to love this.
“Have you ever felt a bit fed up with humanity? Like everything around you is a bit too hard and you wish you could just scrap it all and start from scratch? That’s sort of what ‘Mars’ is about,” she explained. “The ebb and flow of this feeling is mirrored in the song’s structure. Guitar drives the song from a soft, vulnerable start to a climactic full band ending that truly encapsulates the essence of feeling overwhelmed.”
If your working week is getting to you, this song is the perfect antidote.
Cosmic country act Ben Mastwyk has dropped his fabulous new single “Actually.” If ELO ever released a country track, it might sound a little like this.
“Performing is essential to my happiness, but it’s not always easy. Dressing up, standing out with flashy clothes and jewellery, gives me confidence and protects me from the dangers of the world. ‘Actually’ is a glimpse behind the armour of gold suits and rhinestones, reminding us that even the boldest of personas can be vulnerable,” Ben explained.
Ben is doing plenty of performing in the coming weeks. Here are all the places you can see him and his flashy clothes:
17 March 2023 – The Gem, Naarm/Melbourne
25 March 2023 – Union Hotel Newtown, Eora/Sydney
26 March 2023 – Grand Junction Hotel, The Junkyard, Minderibba/Maitland
1 April 2023 – Goulburn Valley Country Music Festival, Kanny-goopna/Shepparton
Meeanjin/Brisbane band August River Band has served up a delicious new single, “Lemonade.” With the band’s strong fiddle and minor acoustic guitar notes, I’m getting serious Dave Matthews Band vibes from this one. Trust me, that’s a really good thing.
The song explores the idea of making lemonade out of life giving you lemons through four characters: a barman, a spinster, a merchant, and a blacksmith. It’s a cool concept executed so perfectly by this inventive band.
This is August River’s first release since they dropped their debut album Thank You, Pain in 2020. Well worth the wait, it comes ahead of a new EP release later this year. They’ll play The Bearded Lady on March 24.
Boorloo/Perth indie-folk act Jordy Maxwell will make your day better with his new single “Let Me Out.” It’s a textbook example of how you build a song. I love its gentle acoustic opening but really appreciate how it builds to this cathartic climax once the percussion and strings kick in.
“‘Let Me Out’ started as a phone recording and some seriously silly lyrics. After listening back, the chord progression and melody were kept, and the song evolved from a simple, sweet start, into a massive build-up and release,” Jordy explained. “With the help of the violins and drums, I wanted to create momentum in the back end of the song that inspires and motivates. The song is a journey of feeling so trapped in life, whether it be a location, a relationship, or work and eventually being able to release yourself from what’s dragging you away from what you love. It’s a song I hope can inspire people to make a change if they feel they need it in their life.”
Jordy will join fellow Aussie singer-songwriter Jack Botts on his national tour, which kicks off later this month in Tandanya/Adelaide.
I’ve been really impressed watching Stadium Dreams On a Bedroom Budget, the new EP from LOSER, unfold. In case you missed it, these local rockers have opted to drop a new track every few weeks, giving us time to sit with each one, rather than just dumping them all at once. You might think that four tracks in the project might be losing steam, but the latest cut, “The More I Know” might just be my favourite. It’s giving me serious Foo Fighters stadium vibes. Crank it up and you’ll hear what I mean.
“After lockdown it was hard to get back to regular programming, I lost faith in playing music and I was questioning whether I wanted to do it anymore. Craig and I sat down and punched this song out in a day,” explained the band’s frontman, Tim Maxwell. “The lyrics are the most meaningful on the EP. It’s about getting out of that rut and wanting to succeed more than ever after spending so much creative energy trying to make ends meet.”
This would be a great time to let you know that LOSER will tour the East Coast in May to celebrate the release of Stadium Dreams On a Bedroom Budget. While you’re at the shows, you may be lucky enough to score one of the limited edition signed clear 12” vinyls. LOSER will randomly draw a ticket holder’s name in the middle of each set to score one of these babies, which are the only physical merch available for this release.
“Call it crazy, call it genius, call it something in between – either way we thought this was the best and coolest way to share something special for this EP with our fans,” the band said. “It’s a gift to the people who come to see us live and hopefully a cool collectible in the future as we won’t ever be pressing this release again in its current form. We’re yet to know if our signatures will actually de-value the vinyl or not.”
If you want one, you’re just going to have to get to one of these gigs!
4 May 2023 – Oxford Arts Factory Gallery Bar, Eora/Sydney
5 May 2023 – Cambridge Sideroom, Mulubinba/Newcastle
6 May 2023 – Dicey Riley’s, Woolyungah/Wollongong (FREE)
11 May 2023 – Vinnie’s Dive Bar, Yugambeh Country/Gold Coast
12 May 2023 – Black Bear Lodge, Meeajin/Brisbane
13 May 2023 – Northcote Social Club, Naarm/Melbourne
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Ian Laidlaw
Before releasing her debut EP, Down Love, tomorrow, Danika’s dropped one more single “FYA.” The third track lifted from the EP, this gorgeous track casts such a spell, I think I might be my favourite one yet. Listening to Danika’s voice joining with a 16-piece female choice as she turns her trauma into a triumphant song is so special.
“It’s about me saying I support you. A song of support for all women and all people. Not feeling alone and being silenced,” she explained.
Down Love, featuring “FYA” and “Coolshit Bullshit,” drops tomorrow. Don’t miss her when she plays some of Victoria’s hottest festivals real soon:
18 March 2023 – The Warrandyte Festival, Wurundjeri Country/Warrandyte (FREE All Ages)
8 April 2023 – Boogie Festival, Kulin Country/Tallarook
I don’t write about enough instrumental jazz. Not because I don’t like instrumental jazz, but there’s just not enough good stuff that comes my way. The Rookies buck that trend with their very cool new single “On the Shoulders of Giants.” Consider that your cue to organise an afternoon tea break and take a few minutes to submerse yourself into this one.
“On The Shoulders Of Giants’ is an ode to the wisdom of those who’ve come before us and a reminder that although things may appear bleak in the future, one only needs to look to the past to see just how far we have come thanks to the hard work of our elders,” the band explained. “Ideally, we should be inspired by their work and look at the view from the giants shoulders with a renewed sense of optimism that real change is possible even if we may not see it in our lifetimes – just like the parable of the man who plants trees of whose shade he will never sit, but he does so for the love of future generations that will enjoy the tree.”
“On the Shoulders of Giants” comes from The Rookies’ upcoming fourth album Feed the Fire, which drops on March 22. You can catch them every Wednesday night at Rooks Return in Ngár-go/Fitzroy from 8:30 pm.
The press release for Fingerless’ new single “More to Come” describes the Meeajin/Brisbane act as a psych-folk-indie-rock group. It’s one of the more eclectic band descriptions I’ve read, but listening to this song it all makes perfect sense. It somehow reminds me of The Beatles, Suede, Pulp, and Powderfinger all at once. Playing with so many genres could get messy for a lesser act, but this song somehow works. It’s a love song with a difference, which rather than celebrating a relationship that will last a lifetime acknowledges uncertainty and that there is “more to come.”
The band recorded this single, and a few other tracks, at Black Box recording studio, where they worked with producer and recording/mixing engineer Jeff Lovejoy (resin Dogs, Sahara Beck) for the first time.
“We recorded these songs live, with vocal, percussion and acoustic guitar overdubs added later,” said Marc Cheeseman, Fingerless’ vocalist and guitarist. “We prefer to do it this way because that’s how we write the songs. It feels better, it’s more fun and it just makes sense. One really cool thing that happened during recording was getting to use the same 1950s mic stand that was used in the Baz Luhrmann Elvis film. Jeff worked on the film as a music equipment consultant and had some of the gear from the film at his studio while we were recording. So all the vocals from this single were done using that mic stand!”
Fingerless will launch the single for hometown fans at The Cave Inn on March 10.
Image used with permission from 4000 Records; credit: Jonny Pickvance
