Category: Single Releases

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Winter Gypsy Impress With Unique Folk Single

Adelaide indie folk act The Winter Gypsy is generating plenty of buzz with their latest single “Took Me By.”

This is such a complex track, with delicate electric guitars and driving drums. It’s a little heavier than much of the folk music we’re used to hearing, but there’s a restraint about it too. It’s not like anything else I’ve heard, yet it feels totally cohesive and accessible.

I also love the video, which was shot in Mount Barker, South Australia. In a press release, The Winter Gypsy’s lead singer Tush Singh explained the meaning behind the song and its clip.

“I wrote this song about a period of time wherein my mum was battling cancer – I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do to make her better,” he said. “I wanted to portray that thought into having a visual of someone restrained and ‘crying out for help,’ but having everyone run past (me through the tunnel) because there’s nothing they can do to help me.”

“Took Me By” comes from The Winter’s Gypsy’s forthcoming EP Page I, which is released on August 5. To celebrate, the band will play the following East Coast shows. Tickets are available from the venues on the night of each show.

28 August 2016 – Bar Open, Fitzroy (18+)
4 September 2016 – The Jade, Adelaide (ALL AGES)
8 September 2016 – Playbar, Surry Hills (18+)
10 September 2016 – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra (ALL AGES)
17 September 2016 – The Exeter, Adelaide (18+)

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

JP Klipspringer Gives Taste of Forthcoming Album With “Can’t Be”

JP Klipspringer took inspiration from the cult TV show True Detective and his own journeys backpacking around America’s south for his latest single “Can’t Be.” At its core it’s a pop song, but there’s a sinister edge to it that makes it a little more challenging than most mainstream fodder.

Personally I love the mix of sweetness and melancholy here. There’s that extra layer that many people won’t hear, but it makes the listening experience so much more compelling when it gels.

“Can’t Be” comes from JP’s first full-length album, which is expected to drop in September. JP promises to tour around the country on his album’s release.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Vincent Sole Shows He Has a Big Musical Future

At 18 I was nowhere close to “making it.” I was attending uni, partly because that’s what I thought I needed to do to become a writer, partly because it let me carry on being a teenager without real adult responsibilities. I was working a part-time job in retail and focusing the majority of my energies into chasing bands. I remember writing a couple of songs which I knew at the time were terrible.

So I have a special kind of admiration for guys like Vincent Sole, a Melbourne teen who emerged from triple j’s Unearthed competition last year to work with Grammy-nominated engineer Andrei Eremin (Chet Faker, Ta-ku, Japanese Wallpaper). The result of their collaboration is “Don’t Waste My Time,” a cruisy electro gem anchored by lush beats and Vincent’s killer voice.

With so much talent at such a tender age, I expect we’ll hear a lot more from Vincent Sole.

Image used with permission from 5/4 Entertainment

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Illy Teams Up With Vera Blue for “Papercuts”

If you’re off to Splendour this weekend, make sure you don’t miss Illy. This home-grown rapper is in fine form at the moment, which you can hear on his latest single “Papercuts,” a collaboration with Sydney’s Vera Blue.

“I’ve been holding on to Papercuts for a while, and I’m really excited that it’s finally coming out,” Illy said in a press release. “It’s a different vibe to anything I’ve done before. I love that about it. A lot of rap music’s been uninspiring lately. I wanted to make an album that didn’t sound like anything else out, and bring back those big moments and big songs that make albums stand out. I can’t wait to share the rest of this one.”

“Papercuts” is likely to feature on Illy’s fifth studio album, which he’s currently working on with M-Phazes. No doubt Splendour attendees will get a sneak peek at some of the other tracks from that release.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Make Time to Hear Shaun Black

Good honest pop-rock is something we just don’t hear enough of at the moment, so I’m pretty excited to hear “Time,” a new single from the Yarra Valley’s Shaun Black.

There’s more than a hint of blues in this track, which is Shaun’s first single. He sings with a whole lot of soul and plays the guitar like nobody’s business. The song’s lyrics are also so relatable for many of us in this fast-paced modern world.

“This song is about something we all seem to not have enough of,” Shaun explained in a press release. “In today’s world full of smartphones and deadlines I think we all feel at some point in time that we need to get back in touch with ourselves and our own lives.”

What do you think of the song?

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Henry Wagons Touring New Single Around North America

I’ve long been a fan of Henry Wagons’ slightly unhinged style of Americana folk. He’s served up another winner with his latest song “Head Or Heart.”

“Nashville is a town full of some of the finest in music and booze. A musician’s paradise! It’s the perfect storm for getting in a real mess. ‘Head or Heart’ is a song about that time of the night when it becomes difficult to decide between your rational mind, or what’s below the belt. The head or the heart,” Henry explained in a press release.

The clip has got just the right sort of spontaneous feel to suit the song. It sees Henry on a music-making frenzy, shaking the foundations of a fully stocked garage along with the band that helped him put together his recently released solo album After What I Did Last Night.

Henry Wagons is currently touring around North America. He’s set to announce some Aussie dates soon.

16 & 17 July 2016 – Vancouver Folk Festival, Vancouver
21 July 2016 – The Flying Steamshovel, Rossland
23 July 2016 – Vinomania Secret Wine Party, Edmonton
24 July 2016 – Interstellar Rodeo, Edmonton
25 July 2016 – Secret Show, Edmonton
26 July 2016 – Ironwood, Calgary
29 July 2016 – Live From the Divide, Bozeman
30 July 2016 – Red Ants Pants Festival, White Sulphur Springs
3 August 2016 – Music City Roots, Nashville
5 August 2016 – Hill Country Live DC, Washington
6 August 2016 – Hill Country Live NYC, New York City
11 August 2016 – Dakota Tavern, Toronto
12 August 2016 – Pearl Company, Hamilton
14 August 2016 – Interstellar Rodeo, Winnipeg

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Bon Scotts Shine a Light on Society with “Main Street”

After taking much of 2015 off and almost disbanding, The Bon Scotts are back with a cracking new single “Main Street.”

It’s a politically charged look at the racism that so often masquerades as patriotism these days, and the way society needs conversations, understanding, and empathy rather than anger and ignorance. It asks the poignant question “Can either side be part of the solution when they often seem to be the root cause of the problem?” The video was shot by the band in their hometown of Coburg at a race rally this May.

This is the first song to come from the band’s upcoming new album When I’m Lonely I Still Think Of You, which should drop next March.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Lucy Roleff’s “This Paradise” Drops Today

With her debut album This Paradise in stores today, it seemed the perfect time to share Lucy Roleff’s new single “Aspen” with you.

This is such a beautiful song, delicate and haunting. I’ve heard it classified as chamber folk, which is a pretty apt descriptor if you ask me. There’s something almost spiritual about it.

If you love this song, and you want to hear more, make sure you get This Paradise, which is available on CD, vinyl, and for digital download from today. Lucy will launch the album at The Gasometer in Collingwood on July 28.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

“Firetrain” is Your Feelgood Friday Song

With a weekend looming, most of us are probably feeling pretty good about life. “Firetrain,” the latest single from Adelaide muso Todd Sibbin is the perfect accompaniment to those good vibes. With its hand claps and bold trumpets, this optimistic number is a real winner.

Todd describes the single as “being about putting out psychological fires, both the ones you create yourself, and the ones others create for you.”

“Firetrain” is just one of the excellent songs on Todd Sibbin’s new album The Bottled Ship Got Freedom, which is available now.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Runaway Weekend Poised for Greatness

With a loyal fan base and plenty of buzz, Runaway Weekend could well be the next big thing. When they released the video for “Déjà Vu,” the title track from their debut EP, recently it garnered 20,000 views in just a couple of days.

I love the way this band plays with light and shade. The song is so epic and dramatic in places, but delicately restrained in others. I’m doubly impressed that Runaway Weekend have written, produced, and recorded this song and the others on their EP themselves. It’s got such a professional sound that we don’t normally see from acts just starting to play with production.

“We really hope that people can find something of themselves in our music and if they do, hopefully they can also lock themselves away in it to escape from reality for a bit, like we do with our favourite bands,” the guys from Runaway Weekend explained.

“At the end of the day we’re just some teenagers from Adelaide who want to affect people, we want to make people feel something, be that utter happiness or realisation. Through our music we want to touch people, like we’ve been touched by artists and if we can do half as good a job as the artists we admire, we’d be totally complete.”

Runaway Weekend are currently touring their EP. You can catch them at Wrangler in Melbourne on the 16th of July and Producer’s Bar in Adelaide on July 18.