Category: Single Releases

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Portia Clark Duets With Darius Rucker on “Ready to Fall”

Zambian-born, Perth-based singer Portia Clark has teamed up with Darius Rucker for a gorgeous new country single “Ready to Fall.” Portia met the Hootie & The Blowfish singer by chance backstage in Minneapolis. She pitched the idea of collaborating then and there, something they talked more about when Darius toured Australia in 2018. Portia later flew to Nashville to lay this song down.

I love the way Portia’s powerful, pure voice matches Darius’s unmistakable warm delivery. Hopefully, his inclusion will introduce our adopted Aussie’s talents to a few more folks around the world.

Portia is currently working on a new live show saluting great women through musical history. With her versatile voice, I imagine it’ll be fantastic!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Discover Nick de la Hoyde’s Dreamy New Single, “Night Stuff”

Sydney singer-songwriter Nick de la Hoyde has given me all the feels with his latest single “Night Stuff.” I’ve been listening to new music all day waiting for something to hit; something like this sweet synthy pop number.

The track is about those sleepless nights we’ve all spent, tossing and turning while thoughts of that special someone race through our minds. It’s so relatable and real, and I can’t say enough good things about it.

More like this please!

Image used with permission from Gatcombe Music

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

ELKI Releases Uplifting Pop Smash, “Spend Your Life”

Mondays are hard work, but ELKI has just what the doctor ordered. Her smashing new pop single “Spend Your Life” is an uplifting track with cool Scandi vibes.

After spending 2020 working in a mental health institution, ELKI knew her return to music had to make a difference to people. And so, she dropped this track, which she believes is “something different and important … a mental health song that jump-starts action and gets you out of a rut.”

I think I could listen to this song anywhere and love it, but ELKI insists “It’s a song to listen to while you’re moving. Get up from your
desk and jump in your car. Blast it with the windows down, with fresh night air on a lonely freeway.”

You heard her! Crank this up, have a dance and get those feel-good endorphins flowing!

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Lakelend Shines Bright With “Supernova”

Melbourne pop act Lakelend has got me grooving with his latest single “Supernova.” This is an irresistible synthy pop track that takes its cues from acts like Lauv, LANY, and The Chainsmokers. It’ll definitely get you dancing, but its romantic lyrics might tug at your heartstrings too!

“Sometimes that new person falls into your lap when you least expect it. A breath of fresh air. Something that you haven’t experienced before,” Lakelend explains of the song’s inspiration. “I was all in. Never in my life had I experienced a love for someone that built up so incredibly quickly. I think it’s only human to return love and affection if it’s received well and is something you’re capable of giving back. In hindsight, there were certain moments that I was blind to everything happening around me. My close friends, my family and even my own goals and ambitions. I don’t regret it, but I’m just being honest.”

“Supernova” is only Lakelend’s second single, but he’s already showing big promise.

Image used with permission from GYRO PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Boleyn Releases Provocative Single, “Violence”

Sydney pop act Boleyn smoulders with his latest single “Violence.” It’s got such a cool, soulful sound and lyrics that confront and make you think about how we get what we want out of relationships.

Boleyn explained the song came about after a frank conversation with a friend. “’If he loves me, why won’t he hurt me?’ A friend was complaining her partner wasn’t being aggressive enough in the bedroom and that seed buried itself in my mind. ‘Violence’ is fundamentally about consent. How do we communicate our sexual needs? What boundaries do we set? How is that expressed? What anxieties do we harbor about communicating our true desires? ‘Violence’ is about letting go everything except your needs and communicating those with honesty – you want bruises? You want it to hurt? To leave a mark? Cool, I’m game – you just need to ask,” he explained.

If you love “Violence,” there’s more where that came from. Boleyn has spent the pandemic working on new material with Xavier Dunn (Peking Duk, Jack River, CXLOE) and Guy Stacey (GVY), so he’s got a stack of new material waiting to be unleashed. I for one can’t wait.

Image used with permission from GYRO PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Full Steam Ahead for Pierce Brothers With New Single, Album & Tour

So many of us approached 2021 with a sense of optimism. The year might be looking like the same old shit, but I’m not ready to surrender just yet. So I’m seeking out music that puts a smile on my face, even as the world goes to hell in a handbasket. The latest track to get my toes tapping is “It’s Alright” from Pierce Brothers.

If any band will convince you it’s all going to be OK, it’s these guys. The song’s inception reminds us of the kind of world we’ll get back to. Jack Pierce penned the chorus in 2018, while he was trekking through the mountains of Switzerland. It sat in a drawer until brother Pat took it out recently, laid down the verses, and gave it a new bluesy feel. It’s got that upbeat, energetic folk feel that sweeps you along for the ride. If you’re into Nathaniel Rateliff or Mumford and Sons, you’ll love this.

Pierce Brothers are forging ahead and doing all the things the pandemic has made so difficult. “It’s Alright” comes from the band’s sophomore album Into the Great Unknown, which will drop on March 5. They recently cancelled NSW shows, but not to be deterred they’re forging ahead with the following dates, including a few new gigs in regional Victoria. All shows have limited COVID-safe capacity, so grab those tickets before they sell out!

16 January 2021 – Moonah Arts Collective, Rye
22 & 23 January 2021 – Volta Arts & Culture, Ballarat
30 January 2021 – The Wedge, Sale
13 February 2021 – Marlo Pub, Marlo
20 March 2021 – The Sheds, Wonthaggi
2 April 2021 – Bluesfest, Byron Bay

Image used with permission from On the Map PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

COTERIE’s Single “In the Fire” is Scorching

“In the Fire,” the latest single from Perth band of brothers COTERIE, is my latest song obsession. It’s such an earnest and emotional number, which builds to a fabulous rock crescendo. It also goes to show just what you can do away from a big studio.

“We’ve been recording at home in our garage for years, but this is the first time we’re releasing a home job!” admitted frontman Tyler Fisher. “We had written what I think was a great rock song, driving and swirling guitars and a lyric that put you in a different time and all that, but something just wasn’t sitting right. So we wrote another version … and another version …. and another … until all we had left of the original, was the chorus. At this point we called in one of our good buddies, Oscar from Holy Holy … With his production magic and all-round experience, we birthed something we’re all pretty proud of.”

I’m personally thrilled they kept the garage rock version. This song is so emotive, I think it might lose something if you smoothed its edges. This raw, powerful track also suggests just how good COTERIE are live. If you’re in Western Australia, catch them at the following shows.

15 January 2021 – Cool Perth Nights Rosemount Hotel, Fremantle
22 January 2021 – Bunbury Fringe Festival, Bunbury
6 February 2021 – Cockburn ARC, Cockburn Central
26-28 February 2021 – Nannup Music Festival, Nannup
6 March 2021 – Music in the Park, Kinross
27 March 2021 – By the C Festival, City Beach, Perth

Image used with permission from Island Records Australia

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Click the Play Button on RAAVE TAPES’ “Habitual”

If you’ve ever fallen too hard and fast for the wrong person, you’ll love “Habitual,” the latest track from Newcastle duo RAAVE TAPES. This track has a vulnerable emotional core wrapped in a dancefloor filler. It’s the perfect mix, because once you’ve wiped away your tears, dancing truly is the best therapy. If Lady Gaga and Nine Inch Nails had a baby, it might sound a little something like this. The cutting line “You put the dick in predictable” is hand’s down one of the best lyrics I’ve heard in ages.

“‘Habitual is a trick of the light, taking pop hooks and running an undercurrent of desperation beneath the surface,” explained Lindsay O’Connell, who takes lead vocals on the track. “It’s a self-reflection on the errors and faults we find in our behaviours, cutting the moody tones with a distinct pop edge and plays on words. We’ve blended our new production style with the original RAAVE TAPES ethos: not taking ourselves too seriously whilst discussing serious themes.”

“Throughout the recording process, we found moments where we asked ourselves ‘Can we get away with this? Are we allowed to do it?’ Then we remembered that the points are made-up and nothing actually matters,” added her partner-in-crime, Joab Eastley. “We stood by our game-plan of unapologetically committing to guilty pleasures. Live it up baby.”

Live it up indeed!

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.; credit: Liv Jansons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Step Back in Time With Bob Evans’ “Born Yesterday”

Bob Evans has me feeling nostalgic with his latest single “Born Yesterday.” If the lyrics don’t make you want to search for your high school yearbook, that killer sax line certainly will. At a time when so many of us are feeling frustrated by the world around us, this little trip down memory lane is the perfect sonic solution.

“I was backstage at a Jebediah gig when an old housemate from Perth messaged me with a link to our old sharehouse we lived in that was for sale. We couldn’t believe it when looking through the photos of the house that it hadn’t changed at all since we lived there in the late 90s. What followed was a slew of messaging between us, as well as the other two friends I used to live with in that house. It was my first sharehouse after leaving home and the whole exchange between us and seeing the house again just brought back a lot of great memories from that time and age, my late teens and early twenties,” he explained about the song’s inspiration. “I already had the music for the song pretty much written at that stage so all I needed was the lyric to go with it. It’s a deeply nostalgic song for me, looking back at a stage of my life that feels so long ago now, but at the time it felt like it would last forever.”

The video’s Super 8 footage amps up the nostalgia. It captures life in the studio and on the road in such a candid way that you feel like you were part of the action.

Bob Evans will play a couple of shows in May. Catch him at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on the 19th and Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on the 20th.

Image used with permission from On the Map PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Crank Up Bugs’ Newest Banger, “Old Youth Feeling”

If you’re stuck in the Greater Brisbane lockdown, or you’re just enjoying a quiet weekend in, hometown heroes Bugs has just the tune you need. “Old Youth Feeling” is an upbeat slice of indie rock, perfect for those impromptu at-home dance breaks. Just try to sit still, or keep it at a reasonable volume, once you hit play.

“I think at some point in time everyone wants to find a more energetic, charismatic, hopeful version of themselves from a time gone by – so we reminisce on our youth quite idealistically. We generally gloss over the cracks and exaggerate the highs,” explained the band’s vocalist and guitarist Connor Brooker. “As the pressure and reality of adulthood constrict our imagination, we socially regress by watching Disney films, crying to our parents, buying dumb ‘immature’ outfits, meeting up with an old friend from school – the list of behaviour goes on. We generally try to recapture that spark for life when things were more comfortable and simple. It can be a healthy coping mechanism, it can be a midlife crisis, it can be a mental breakdown, it can be a bad habit. Truth is we all experience it to varying degrees, nostalgia is a visceral & powerful emotion. Seeing an old family photo, driving past your childhood school, finding a box of toys and outdated pop culture artefacts. Our memories are so intrinsically tied to who we are, it’s not often you have those moments but when you do they are quite profound.”

Bugs were one of the first bands to get back out there when venues opened up, playing four sold out shows at The Zoo in July along with Airwaves Festival and In Bloom. Connor is scheduled to play Rock Salt at Phoenix Launceston on January 29, but with the current COVID flare and its border closures, who knows whether that show will go ahead. Don’t get too despondent though. At the very least the band will drop their third studio album this year, giving us all something to look forward to.

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.; credit: Jaden Marc