Thursdays can be so tough. The weekend is approaching, but it still feels too far away. What you need is some music to put a spring in your step and a smile on your dial. Hit play and take a little time out to listen to “Burnout,” the latest single from Sydney alternative pop-rock act The Phase.
This is such an endearing song with a great summery vibe sure to get your toes tapping. It reminds you to stop sweating the small stuff and start enjoying what really matters, a lesson we probably all need to remember during our working weeks!
The band’s founder Luke Mangraviti says “This song is for all the people working hard to make money but are always too burnt out after working so hard to ever enjoy it.”
Catch The Phase supporting Gaspar Sanz at The Vic on the Park in Enmore on November 30.
Image used with permission from the A&R Department
To me, the very best music is the stuff that moves you. I don’t care how well you can sing or how proficient you are on an instrument. If you’re not making me feel something, I don’t want to know. That’s why I’m really excited about Sydney singer-songwriter Andrew Samuel and his new single “Luck Feels Good.”
The track recounts a night so many of us can relate to, where an unexpected blossoming romance manages to turn a terrible house party around. There’s an optimism to it, but also a sense of melancholy, almost as if the good mood could turn at any moment.
“Luck Feels Good” comes from Andrew’s forthcoming EP Enmore Road. Sydneysiders can hear more from it when Andrew launches the single at Lazybones in Marrickville on November 8.
Cover versions are a tricky business. When you take a song beloved by many, it’s often judged more harshly than any original. And when you take on an iconic Aussie band like Silverchair, the knives are likely to come out. As a born and bred Novocastrian, I might be a harsher critic than most. I haven’t like everything I’ve heard from Spawn (Again): A Tribute to Silverchair, but Hands Like Houses has risen to the occasion with a cover of “Ana’s Song (Open Fire).”
This is probably my favourite Silverchair song, and the Canberra band brings just the right mix of pathos and aggression to it.
“It’s impossible to be an Australian band and not have some recognition and appreciation for the huge role Silverchair has played in Aussie music, and the pathway it created for rock in particular,” Hands Like Houses frontman Trenton Woodley explained. “Daniel Johns has such a strong songwriting style, so when were were asked if we were interested in this compilation, it was an intimidating but exciting prospect to try and bring in our own take on their music, while still retaining and respecting what made them such massive hits. We’re stoked on how it came out and hope it, along with the rest of the compilation, does justice to the significance of Silverchair’s role in Australian music history!”
Spawn (Again): A Tribute To Silverchair hits stores on November 17. Hands Like Houses will remind Australia of its own original talents with an acoustic tour next year. It’s something we don’t often see from bands that rock as hard as Hands Like Houses, so if you’re a fan you’ll want tickets to these shows.
18 January 2018 – The Toff In Town, Melbourne
19 January 2018 – The Basement, Sydney
20 January 2018 – The Foundry, Brisbane
21 January 2018 – Capital Brewing Co, Canberra
Image used with permission from Unified Music Group
Born and raised in country Victoria, Keira is living out her dreams as a travelling musician, touring the world and recording music in Los Angeles. Her latest effort is “Make You Mine,” a catchy country-pop track penned during Keira’s American tour earlier this year.
The single gives us a taste of the music Keira’s making to follow up her breakthrough debut EP Forever Roam. I can’t wait to hear more!
Melbourne-born soul singer Maya has had a big 2017, dividing her time between Los Angeles, New York, and her Australian home, all the time writing, performing, and honing her craft. Those experiences help inform her exciting new single “What We Are Worth.”
This song feels so fresh and original. It’s got a strong message, equally powerful vocals, and a really unique sound that helps set it apart. It’s the sort of track that could establish Maya as one of our most promising young talents.
“What We Are Worth is a conversation with myself about my constant questions about humanity – it’s a song about respecting yourself and the earth we live on,” Maya explained. “My music has to inspire people to reflect on both our actions and reactions to life,” MAYA passionately explains. “The song was made to shock and excite, while also opening up and expressing my feelings with intensity. This song was made to spread a message – to wake up and understand what we are worth to this earth.”
Maya will play a couple of shows around Melbourne to launch the single. Catch her at Ferdydurke in Melbourn on November 30 or The Night Cat in Fitzroy on December 1.
What’s better than discovering an awesome new song that you can’t stop playing? Finding out that the artist is supporting a musician you already have tickets for! The song in question is “Slow Mover,” and the woman behind it, Melbourne’s Angie McMahon, will warm up the crowds at Alanis Morissette’s upcoming shows.
This track just oozes heart and charm. I love Angie’s low, smokey vocals and its great groove. Those lyrics too really strike a chord.
“’Slow Mover’ is a song about putting energy into things that are worthwhile, and taking plenty of time to get to a good place,” she explained. “I’d spent a lot of time pining after love, but at this point, my head was shifting, and what I actually wanted and needed was to pursue my music career.”
If you didn’t secure tickets to those sold-out Alanis gigs, don’t worry. Angie is headlining a show tomorrow and supporting The Shins in December. Here are all the places you can see her showcasing tracks from her debut album, due out next year!
2 November 2017 – Workers Club, Melbourne
4 December 2017 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne (with The Shins)
5 December 2017 – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane (with The Shins)
8 December 2017 – Enmore Theatre Sydney (with The Shins)
22 & 23 January 2018 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne
24 January 2018 – ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney
Melbourne chanteuse Mo•Louie has just released a retro-inspired clip for her sultry new single “I’ll Call You.” The track is the second lifted from her debut EP Fire Brick, which drops tomorrow.
“I’ll Call You” is a soulful exploration of a healing heart, with a chilled out groove and biting lyrics. She combines genres so easily here, creating a track that is complex, yet accessible.
Mo•Louie will celebrate her EP release by taking part in an exciting multisensory show Technicolour Wonderland alongside other local talents Youthfire and Abraham Tilbury. It all happens at Ding Dong Lounge on November 24 as part of Melbourne Music Week.
It’s not quite Halloween fodder, but there’s certainly a haunting quality to Howlite’s new single “Saviour.” It’s a sultry, languorous slow burner with killer vocals from Alison Thom.
“The song draws a lot from religious imagery, as well as deep southern blues and gospel, and I tried to capture the raw emotions and joy of choral singing – when I wrote the refrain in the chorus of the song I imagined it being sung a’capella by a church choir,” Howlite explained. “Much of the lyrical content was inspired by one of my favourite poems called “Ishtar Awakens In Chicago” by Mohja Kahf, which talks about feminine strength and self assurance”
Follow Melburnians can catch Howlite at a couple of shows next month.
4 November 2017 – Revolver Bandroom, Melbourne (with Seattle Fix)
16 November 2017 – The Toff In Town, Melbourne (with General Assembly)
Anticipation is building for The Lockhearts’ new album Americana Doom Fuzz with the release of their brand new single “Goddamn Pretty.” The album won’t hit stores until early 2018, but if the single is any indication it’s going to be a corker. I love the ways these guys reinterpret vintage Americana sounds with a little Aussie edge.
If you love what you hear, get yourself to one of The Lockhearts’ upcoming shows. Expect to hear more of the new album tracks and all your old favourites at these shows:
3 November 2017 – The Bendigo Hotel, Bendigo
10 November 2017 – Factory Theatre, Sydney
11 November 2017 – Frankies, Sydney (FREE)
17 November 2017 – Prince of Wales, Brisbane
18 November 2017 – Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast
2 December 2017 – Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast
3 December 2017 – Sounds of Sunday @ Broadbeach Tavern, Gold Coast (FREE)
I was so amused by Hamish and Andy’s latest stunt, where they wrote a song in 10 minutes and handed it over to Guy Sebastian to pass it off as his latest single. Most of the radio execs fell for the ruse hook, line, and sinker, despite the song’s woeful lyrics, because frankly Guy could sing the phonebook and it’d sell. Thankfully for us all though, his new single “Bloodstone” is a whole lot better than the phonebook or Hamish and Andy’s song.
“Bloodstone” is the latest cut from Guy’s album Conscious, set for release on November 3. It hooked me in with its piano introduction and didn’t let go. Its lyrics are emotionally charged, and it’s got a great soul-pop sensibility. Guy’s vocals are also on point, but that’s nothing new.
“It’s kind of a desperate song,” Guy explained. “You’re in a relationship where you feel like everything is coming to an end and you’re just pleading to your other half.”
With quality tracks like this, you can expect Conscious to do big things on its release next week!
I was so amused by