Liam Gale & The Ponytails are offering an exciting taste of their upcoming release “’The Desire Lines,” dropping the single “It’s Alright, Speak Nice” for your listening pleasure.
This is such an original track, with a trippy psychedelic rock feel meeting some sexy jazz grooves. Rosie Jackson brings some soul to the track, which touches on reckless drinking, religion, forlorn love, and bushfires.
Liam Gale & The Ponytails are playing several shows around Sydney over the coming weeks, including one in Marrickville tonight. Here are the places you can catch this talented band.
17 April 2018 – Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville
29 April 2018 – Upstairs at Fred’s, Camden
11 May 2018 – Sofar Sounds, Sydney (secret show)
Baby Animals were the real surprise packet of this year’s Red Hot Summer shows for me. They were one of the only acts I’d never seen live before, and their blistering sets made me wonder why I’d left it this long. Suze deMarchi oozes cool and the band is one of the tightest I’ve ever seen. I also appreciate that they weren’t like so many other acts resting on their laurels. Trading on nostalgia is easy, but bringing new music to an audience takes balls. The new single “Tonight” was a highlight of the set, a track I wanted to make sure you all wrapped your ears around.
Baby Animals do too, so they’re touring the country as headliners to support its release. Expect to hear more tracks from their forthcoming EP along with all your old favourites at the following shows.
22 June 2018 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
23 June 2018 – The Gov, Adelaide
29 June 2018 – Doyalson RSL, Doyalson
30 June 2018 – Waves, Wollongong
Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute
Canberra’s Harry Carman defies genre with his new single “Prisoner.” The press release claims it’s “a melodic, up-tempo 3-minute pop song” but that description doesn’t go far enough. The brass hooks and bass have a real jazzy flavour, and those wailing guitars are pure rock. It takes the listener on a real journey, engaging from start to finish.
“When I wrote ‘Prisoner’ I was broke, sleeping on a friend’s couch and living a self-destructive lifestyle. My first EP was out, and I wanted the rock star lifestyle – sex, drugs and rock & roll – the problem was that I wasn’t a rock star, in fact far from it,” Harry explained. “’Prisoner’ is a song about breaking up with that way of life and focusing on the music, I wrote the song from the perspective of an abusive relationship, because that’s what it was, an abusive relationship between myself and the person I wanted to be.”
“Prisoner” comes from Harry’s upcoming EP State of Sedation, which should drop in the middle of the year.
“Believe,” the new single from Queensland indie folk singer Mitch King is like chicken soup for this cold-ridden music blogger. It’s got a beautiful message delivered so sweetly with an acoustic guitar and Mitch’s superb vocals.
“The more you believe the more you’ll create what you want out of life,” Mitch explained of the song’s inspiration. “Sometimes you have to let go of old ways of thinking and ingrained programs in the mind to sincerely believe in yourself, goals and passions.”
Amen. This stunning song is paired perfectly with the film clip, shot in picture-perfect New Zealand.
Mitch plans to spend the rest of 2018 recording, writing, releasing, and playing live gigs. He’ll play BBQ Bazaar at Burleigh tomorrow night from 7 pm.
William Crighton has wowed crowds here in Australia, most recently at Bluesfest, and across North America. He’s been called a visionary and an Australian icon, and seeing him live has been compared to a religious experience. So it’s surprising to discover he only has one album under his belt. That’s all about to change though, with his second album Empire set to drop on May 4.
If May seems too far away, you’re in luck. William is giving us a taste of what’s to come with the release of his single “Happiness.” It’s everything you want it to be, fiery, powerful, passionate, honest, and bloody good.
Look out for Empire when it’s released on May 4.
Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute
Stevie Burr sounds like a musical veteran, with some gravel in his voice and a confidence in his lyrics. So it might surprise you to learn that “Got a Story” is the debut single from this Melbourne-based singer-songwriter.
What a debut it is though, full of grit and emotion. Perhaps that’s because he’s lived a hell of a life to this point, leaving a home tainted by drugs and violence at just 13 to live with his grandparents. His grandfather taught him how to play the guitar, which led him to songwriting as he attempted to make sense of his unconventional start in life. He lost several people close to him at just 25, and again music helped get him through. You can hear all of that pain and heartache in this amazing song, which Stevie wrote while living on the floor of his uncle’s one-bedroom public housing flat. Deeply depressed and contemplating his life, he penned this track about his upbringing.
It probably doesn’t surprise you to hear Stevie has plenty of music up his sleeve. After the release of this single, I can’t wait to hear more.
Image used with permission from the A&R Department
“Wish It Would Rain” is the first single for Melbourne soul outfit The Sugarcanes, but if you didn’t know better you’d swear these guys had decades of industry experience. It has such a fantastic old school feel, with confident vocals from Lucy Wilson.
The Sugarcanes are no strangers to the live music scene, with performances at Meredith, Boogie, and the Beechworth Music Festival over the years and supporting slots for Smith Street Band, The Bennies, and Loose Tooth. If they kept releasing singles this good, they’re sure to step up as headliners soon.
Just a week out from the release of his debut album Running, Ryan Downey has dropped another stellar single. “1+1” is a dreamy ballad featuring guest vocals from Zoe Randall.
Zoe’s voice is lovely, but I think Ryan is the real star here. He reminds me a little of Chris Isaak, which his rich, resonant voice, but I find his music much more compelling and captivating than the American crooner’s.
I also love the clip, which again sees Ryan collaborating with filmmaker Alex Badham. It has such a simple premise, but like the song itself it draws you in and hits you right in the heart.
Ryan is set for a busy couple of months with shows supporting Sarah Blasko and his own headlining dates for the album. See him at the following venues.
11 May 2018 – The Great Northern, Byron Bay (with Sarah Blasko)
12 May 2018 – The Triffid, Brisbane (with Sarah Blasko)
17 May 2018 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
23 May 2018 – Canberra Theatre Centre (with Sarah Blasko)
24 May 2018 – The Junk Bar, Brisbane
26 May 2018 – Oxford Art Factory Gallery, Sydney
1 June 2018 – Metro Theatre, Sydney (with Sarah Blasko)
8 June 2018 – The Gov, Adelaide (with Sarah Blasko)
14 &15 June 2018 – The Rosemount, Perth (with Sarah Blasko)
21 June 2018 – The Capital, Bendigo (with Sarah Blasko)
22 June 2018 – 170 Russell, Melbourne (with Sarah Blasko)
Image used with permission from Remote Control Records
I intended to listen to “Pinball King,” the current single from Terra Lightfoot’s new album New Mistakes to decide whether it was putting on your radar ahead of her Aussie tour this month. But Terra Lightfoot music is a little like Easter chocolate. It’s impossible to stop at just one song. Needless to say, this article got put on the back burner because I needed to listen to the entire album. Twice. It’s just that good. And no doubt her upcoming tour will be as well.
Terra is playing shows along the East Coast, both as a headliner and in supporting duties for Letters to Lions.
“We came to Australia for the first time in the spring, and were welcomed with open arms. Each city we visited was more beautiful than the last—and I was properly initiated when I got stung by a bluebottle on the beach in Cronulla,” Terra explained. “I felt very at home in Australia; I loved all the musicians we met, and we made so many friends and can’t wait to see them all again! We are going to have so much fun.”
Get on this one music lovers. If her new album is any indication, Terra’s shows are sure to be excellent.
18 April 2018 – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla
19 April 2018 – The Gasometer (Upstairs), Melbourne (with Letters to Lions)
20 April 2018 – The Loft, Warrnambool (with Letters to Lions)
22 April 2018 – The Spotted Mallard, Melbourne
24 April 2018 – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla
27April 2018 – Gumball Festival, Dashville
28 April 2018 – Beaches, Thirroul
29 April 2018 – The Quarterdeck, Narooma
2 May 2018 – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla
3 May 2018 – Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane
4 May 2018 – Nightquarter, Gold Coast
5 May 2018 – Sol Bar, Maroochydore
6 May 2018 – Kingscliff Beach Hotel, Kingscliff
It’s a case of turning lemons into lemonade, or heartbreak into indie pop gold for Iluka, who’s just released her new track “Ritual.”
“When I wrote ‘Ritual’ it was quite melancholic and full of longing and sadness,” she explained. “The original demo is slow and kind of heart breaking. I was in this place of loneliness, this bitter sweet kind of feeling that comes after a relationship has ended and you’re reflecting back and in this self-searching phase trying desperately to figure out who you are again. Then as I began playing it with the band and eventually took it into the studio, it became more of this celebration and defiant kind of song. The ritual of falling in and out of love, learning to stand on your own two feet again. To be defined as yourself, by yourself, and follow your own star. Everyone has their own ritual, and this is mine.”
Ritual is the title track of Iluka’s new EP, which is available through her website from Friday. Not so coincidentally, that’s when Iluka kicks off her East Coast tour. Check her out at the following venues.
6 April 2018 – Mo’s Clubhouse, Gold Coast
7 April 2018 – Bloodhound Bar, Brisbane
12 April 2018 – Transit Bar, Canberra (FREE)
14 April 2018 – Grace Darling, Melbourne
20 April 2018 – Rad Bar, Wollongong
21 April 2018 – Waywards, Sydney
