Category: Single Releases

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Evol Walks Bring Back the Power Ballad with “Without Me”

Gold Coast band Evol Walks are taking me back to the glory days of real rock power ballads with their new single “Without Me.” It’s so refreshing to hear a track like this, with big vocals by the flame-haired Leah Martin-Brown and great big wailing guitars.

“‘Without Me’ isn’t your typical ballad,” Leah explained in the press release. “It’s a farewell song to someone whom you used to care about very much but have now fallen out of love with”.

They haven’t broken the big time yet, but Evol Walks seem destined for greatness. They’ve been spending most of their time in Los Angeles, where they’ve performed at legendary venues like House of Blues and the Viper Room. They also played on the mainstage at Przystanek Woodstock in Poland, which is Europe’s largest music festival.

If you’re in California next month, you can catch Evol Walks at the following shows.

3 February 2016 – The Other Door Bar, Los Angeles
7 February 2016 – The Mint, Los Angeles
27 February 2016 – Amplyfi, Hollywood

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Is Missy Lancaster the Next Taylor Swift?

I love T-Swift more than your average woman my age, but there’s a part of me that misses the wide-eyed guitar-playing, country-singing young thing that she used to be. Thankfully Australia has Missy Lancaster to fill the void.

Missy’s self-titled EP debuted at number nine on the ARIA country chart when it was released earlier this month. She also debuted at number three on the AIR albums chart. When only Courtney Barnett and Sia keep you from the top spots, you know you’re doing something right. Missy features the charming single “That’s What I’m Talking About.”

After completing a successful run of dates at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Missy will show the city slickers how it’s down at an instore tomorrow at St Mary’s Sound in St Mary’s. She’ll perform from 10:30 am before signing copies of her EP for fans.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Jade Alice Releases Catchy Single “Kick Drum”

Jade Alice has finally released the song that earned her the 2015 Melbourne Music Bank title, “Kick Drum.” It’s a ridiculously catchy and quirky slice of indie pop. Personally I could have done without the trippy bits at the end, but its catchy melody is so addictive that I can overlook its flaws.

It turns out that melody actually came to Jade in a dream. She says “The song is simply about a feeling of uncontrollable happiness; a feeling I hope resonates with others when they listen to it…. The greatest reward for me as a musician is evoking the same emotion in people as the one you felt when you created that song. If you listen to the music I’ve written and you see me, then you aren’t really getting much out of it, but if you listen to that music and you see yourself, then you may learn things about yourself and the song’s purpose.”

A student at the Victorian College of the Arts studying Interactive Composition, Jade Alice has a big future ahead of her. She’ll launch “Kick Drum” at Shebeen in Melbourne on February 18.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Clairy Browne Releases Stellar Second Single Ahead of Album Release

Excitement for Clairy Browne’s forthcoming debut solo album Pool is reaching fever pitch with the release of its second single “Still Goodbye.”

“Still Goodbye” is a cleverly written, emotionally performed ballad about what it’s like to move on and let go after the end of a relationship. It’s painful, but there’s also an undercurrent of strength that’s lacking is so many breakup songs. This is really great stuff.

We’ve still got a little while to wait until we hear the rest of Pool’s tracks. It’s due out on April 15.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Broadhurst Stuns with “Little Lover” Single

Sydney-based musician Broadhurst actually dropped this single “Little Lover” online before Christmas, but it’s only come to my attention on its official release. I’m kind of glad I waited though, because now I don’t get just an incredibly powerful song but also a stunning video. It’s such a moving combination that I’m glad I experienced this song in this way.

Given the creative vision Broadhurst has shown here, the live show he’s currently developing should be truly something special.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Davey Craddock Releases Stunning “Peaceful Bay” Single

Give me a well-written, sensitively delivered folky number and I’m won over every time. So I was always going to fall for “Peaceful Bay,” the stunning new single from Davey Craddock. The track comes from Davey’s debut album City West, which is due out on February 5.

Davey wrote the track while hiking the Bibbulmum track which runs from Perth to Albany.

“Peaceful Bay is one of the only towns on the track where you camp in a settlement and not in the bush and it’s inspired by a girl a friend and I met in the townsite,” he explained. “She said she’d just moved down there from Perth, was pregnant and had morning sickness. We were knackered and didn’t have time to talk and properly meet her but I thought it was a really brave and unusual move to come from the city to this tiny, isolated fishing town. So by torchlight in a hot tent I filled in the blanks and made up what I thought her story may have been and that formed the basis for the song.”

Davey’s recorded the song at RADA Studios in Perth, but I think this live version really brings out the heart of the song. Are you loving it as much as I am?

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Ben Abraham Charms with “You and Me”

Ben Abraham wowed me when I heard his song “Speak” last year, so I’m thrilled to hear he’s released a single ahead of his album release in March. “You and Me” has all of the folkiness and heart that first attracted me to Ben’s music.

The clip’s also such a beautiful representation of the reality that creeps in after a night of celebrating. Perhaps not surprisingly it was also done by Oh Yeah Wow, the creative team behind Boy & Bear’s video that won me over yesterday.

“You and Me” is the first song lifted from Ben’s debut album Sirens, which will hit stores on March 4. The Herald Sun named Ben an artist to watch in 2016, and I can’t say that I disagree with their assessment!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Wolfmother Make a “Victorious” Return

I must admit, I haven’t always been the biggest Wolfmother fan. While I appreciated the band’s classic rock sensibility, most of their stuff felt a little too derivative for me. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear how fresh the new single “Victorious” sounds.

The title track from the band’s highly anticipated new album has that same retro rock feel the band’s famous for, but it’s got a lightness and optimism that I’m really responding to.

“We wanted to get back to that big sound,” Andrew Stockdale said in a press release. “The album is a balance of garage-y energy and big production. It’s wild, energetic and,” he muses, “perfect for a festival main stage.”

If this single is any indication, fans are going to go nuts for the album Victorious when it hits stores on February 19.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Benji Lewis Makes His Mark with New Single “Never Leave You Lonely”

Apparently “Never Leave You Lonely” is the third single from Victoria’s Benji Lewis, which makes me think I must have been under a rock when he dropped the first two. I’m glad I’m on board now, because he’s got such a smooth voice that seems able to do just about anything and a real knack for creating a catchy tune. So often when a song has such a dance-worthy hook it misses the emotional mark, but Benji delivers this song with plenty of soul.

“Never Leave You Lonely” comes from Benji’s EP Hearts & Halos, which is set to drop in March. Word is we’ll see him playing his first live shows around that time.

Image used with permission from Mucho Bravado

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Southern End Channel Classic Sounds with “Lost Girl”

I must admit, I typically struggle to embrace a song that doesn’t have strong lyrics. Perhaps it’s the writer in me, but if a song doesn’t have words that speak to me, then I probably won’t give it a second listen. However, every now and again I hear a song that I enjoy despite it falling flat in the lyrics department.

Let’s face it, “Lost Girl” by Newcastle band Southern End doesn’t say a whole lot. But what it lacks in story it makes up for with a great classic rock sound. I can hear a little Led Zeppelin and Neil Young coming through this track; that blend of blues and psychedelia is so appealing.

These guys have only been together since 2014, when they met in high school, so I can forgive them for not writing songs that speak to my heart. Hopefully that will come in time. Right now they’ve got the bare bones of something with real potential.