Summer can’t be too far away when bands like Sydney’s Tigertown are releasing shimmery new singles like “Warriors.” It’s such a feel-good track, upbeat and irresistibly catchy, pure pop in the best possible way.
Tigertown is currently wowing crowds in North America, where the band is supporting VÉRITÉ. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we see them back on home soil. If you’re Stateside, catch Tigertown at the following gigs.
9 September 2017 – Soda Bar, San Diego
12 September 2017 – Valley Bar, Phoenix
15 September 2017 – Stubb’s Jr., Austin
16 September 2017 – Three Links, Dallas
17 September 2017 – White Oak Music Hall, Houston
19 September 2017 – Vinyl, Atlanta
20 September 2017 – Local 506, Chapel Hill
21 September 2017 – Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington
22 September 2017 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
3 November 2017 – Petit Campus, Montréal
4 November 2017 – The Garrison, Toronto
6 November 2017 – Pike Room, Detroit
7 November 2017 – Beachland Tavern, Cleveland
9 November 2017 – Canopy Club, Urbana
10 November 2017 – 7th St Entry, Minneapolis
11 November 2017 – Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines
12 November 2017 – Minibar, Kansas City
14 November 2017 – Paper Tiger, San Antonio
Image used with permission from Inertia Music
Dramatic, dark, and haunting are three words that came to mind as I listened to MANE’s new single “What If the Love Dies.” The track is so compelling as is that special voice of hers. The mind-bending video clip is also worthy of some attention.
“We played on a ‘love is blind’ narrative quite literally,” Paige Renee Court, the woman behind MANE, explained. “Between the performance shots of the band, the story of two people evidently in love spans over three completely different eras in time … but there is a constant sense of distance between them.”
After wowing crowds in the United Kingdom and Europe, Adelaide’s MANE is set to impress with a string of shows to launch her single on home soil. Catch her at the following places.
19 October 2017 – Gasometer Upstairs, Melbourne
27 October 2017 – Rocket Bar, Adelaide
1 November 2017 – Rad Bar, Wollongong
2 November 2017 – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney
Kita Alexander has just dropped the video for “Hotel,” the title track of her sophomore EP released earlier this year.
It’s a beautiful clip with dreamy footage shot on location in Byron Bay the perfect foil for Kita’s laidback synth-pop smash. It also captures the emotional connection of two sisters, fittingly considering “Hotel” is a song dedicated to Kita’s late sister Natassja Claire.
“There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted a sister love-story line to play out in my video for Hotel. I took this idea to one of my best friends who is also an amazing creative director. She knew exactly how to visually explore the relationship I had with my sister, perfectly. These movies I have in my mind of my sister and I together were never filmed in real life, so to be able to re-create the memories and be able to live them whenever I watch the video, is really special to me. Thank you to everyone who supported the process,” she said. “And thank you to my sister for living life to its fullest and always having fun no matter where or when, appropriate or inappropriate.”
It’s really the perfect marriage of song and videos. Amazing work from Kita.
Queensland’s Karl S. Williams sings the blues like it’s supposed to be sung, with a swampy, rootsy grit that instantly draws you in. With his East Coast tour kicking off tonight, there seemed no better time than the present to show you his new video for single “Blood to Give.”
“When I started working on the video for ‘Blood To Give’, I knew that I wanted to convey something about being caught up in a destructive machine and seeking a way out of that while feeling uncertain whether indeed you have the capacity to escape something so omnipresent,” Karl explained.
“As I worked on the clip, saddeningly, the world began to be reflected more and more therein. The US/North Korea situation began to develop further, people elsewhere were waving nazi banners, xenophobia and exclusive policy here at home, death and terror ruling the news. The message of the clip felt increasingly urgent and (I hope) relevant.”
The clip was a real labour of love for Karl, who created the clip himself by animating his own drawings.
Karl’s no stranger to the stage after wowing crowds at Bluesfest, Woodford Folk Festival, Dark Mofo, and last weekend’s Wintermoon Spring Festival. Catch him at the following East Coast shows.
7 September 2017 – Leadbelly, Newtown
8 September 2017 – The Edwards, Newcastle
9 September 2017 – Heritage Hotel, Bulli
10 September 2017 – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
14 September 2017 – Bearded Lady, Brisbane
15 September 2017 – Soundlounge, Gold Coast
16 September 2017 – The Northern, Byron Bay
22 September 2017 – Northcote Social Club, Northcote
23 September 2017 – Barwon Club, Geelong
30 September 2017 – Caloundra Music Festival, Caloundra
1 October 2017 – Wildwood Music Festival, Port Macquarie
6 October 2017 – Music On The Hill, Red Hill
8 October 2017 – The Taproom, Castlemaine
21 October 2017 – Kyneton Music Festival, Kyneton
Image used with permission from Habit Music Company
Melbourne songstress Ariela Jacobs seems so sweet and wholesome, I’d never have imagined her breaking the rules. Yet she snuck into a local pool to bring us this stunning acoustic live performance of her brand new single “Say So.”
The song has me even more excited about her second EP, also called Say So, which will be released in the near future. Before then, she’s got two big shows at Bigsound to think about. Brisbane, you can catch her tonight at the Empire Hotel and tomorrow at Laruche.
Stand Atlantic has dropped brand new single “Sidewinder,” just in time to remind us that the EP of the same name isn’t too far away.
This is another gloriously gutsy slice of pop-punk from the Sydney outfit. Frontwoman Bonnie Fraser says the track “was written as a reminder that if you love someone, it’s important to acknowledge and accept differences between each other. Never compromise who you are just to try and change something you can’t.”
Stand Atlantic will release the Sidewinder EP on September 15. Until then, crank the title track up!
Image used with permission from Paris is Patient
Aussie country songstress Missy Lancaster gets nostalgic with her new single “Forget.”
Country isn’t widely embraced in this country, but if it was I could see this song going gangbusters. It’s not surprising really though, because Missy co-wrote it with Josh Kerr, a Nashville songwriter and producer with a string of hits to his name. Missy’s spent plenty of time in Nashville over the last 12 months, perfecting her sound with the assistance of Josh Kerr and Aussie-born producer Lindsay Rimes.
“Forget” is the first single from Missy’s debut album, which is scheduled for a 2018 release.
Ben Salter is one of those incredible Aussie talents that flies under the radar. He releases his albums with little fanfare, then takes the time to assemble another collection of quality songs so he can start the process all over again. What he does isn’t flashy, but it’s bloody good. His latest album Back Yourself, the follow-up to his sophomore release The Stars My Destination, will be released on September 1.
Ben made Back Yourself over 12 months at locations around Tasmania and Victoria, including time spent at producer Chris Townend’s picturesque White Light studio. The studio overlooks Tassie’s Huon Valley and I think it influenced this release. You just get a different sound when you leave the pace of the big city behind and retreat to rural Australia. There’s a calm that comes through the music, putting you at peace as you listen to it.
Back Yourself features the current single “Isolationism.” To call it a love song doesn’t really do it justice, because love songs are a dime a dozen, but at its core that’s what it is. It’s more than though. Take a listen and see for yourself.
If you like what you hear, make sure you check out Back Yourself. Ben is playing full band and solo shows in New Zealand and Australia in the coming months to support the album’s release. Tickets are available from his website.
3 September 2017 – Willie Smith’s Appleshed, Grove (FREE)
8 September 2017 – Golden Dawn, Auckland
9 September 2017 – Leigh Saw Mill, Leigh
10 September 2017 – Refreshment Room, Auckland
14 September 2017 – Nivara Lounge, Hamilton
15 September 2017 – Dome Bar & Cinema, Gisbourne
17 September 2017 – Rogue Stage, Rotorua
21 September 2017 – Sherwood, Queenstown
22 September 2017 – Grainstore Gallery, Oamaru
23 September 2017 – Dog With Two Tails, Dunedin
24 September 2017 – Blue Smoke, Christchurch
27 September 2017 – Mussel Inn, Takaka
28 September 2017 – Meow, Wellington
12 October 2017 – Grace Emily, Adelaide
13 October 2017 – The Barn, Aldgate (SOLO)
14 October 2017 – The Odd Fellow, Fremantle (SOLO)
19 October 2017 – High Tea, Sydney (SOLO)
21 October 2017 – The Flamin’ Galah, Brisbane
25 October 2017 – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra
27 October 2017 – Marrickville Bowls Club, Sydney NSW
28 October 2017 – Gooloogong Log Cabin Hall, Gooloogong (SOLO)
29 October 2017 – The Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland (SOLO)
2 November 2017 – The Eastern, Ballarat
3 November 2017 – The Tote, Melbourne
5 November 2017 – Castlemaine Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
9 November 2017 – St John Craft Beer, Launceston (SOLO)
10 November 2017 – The Wharf, Ulverstone (5 pm SOLO)
10 November 2017 – Mountain Mumma, Sheffield (8 pm SOLO)
19 November 2017 – MONA, Hobart
The Jezabels are one of those rare bands that never seems to show signs of fatigue. With the release of a new single “The Others,” they’ve left no doubt that they’ve got plenty of creative juices running through their collective veins.
Interestingly, “The Others” is a standalone track. It doesn’t come from an album or an EP. It’s just here for us to enjoy in all its glory.
“We’re revisiting our romantic roots in this new song, though with a newfound directness,” the Jezabels said in a press release. “Lyrically it’s a reflection of the kind of intense loneliness that makes simply being in ones own body feel painful. The unsolvable predicament of ones desire for another crossing over into a desire to lose yourself, where the body is both the blissful point of contact, but also, the thing which keeps you constantly separate. Musically we have tried to sit that on a soundscape that is both euphoric and melancholy, driving but pensive”
The Jezabels have just wrapped up seven sold-out nights at The Lansdowne Hotel. Fans get their next chance to see them at the Wildwood Festival in Port Macquarie on October 1.
Adelaide trio Wanderers blew me away with the single “Loco” in January. The EP Something of a Distraction came a month later, but I must have been distracted because I’m only just listening to it now. Just in time too, as it turns out, because after wowing crowds in Europe and the United Kingdom, the band is back on Aussie soil ready to kick off a New South Wales tour tonight.
If you’re not already acquainted with Wanderers, do yourself a favour. Their music is so much fun, soulful with hints of funk, gospel, and straight up rock and roll. This live clip of “Loco” gives you an inkling of what I mean, but you can see for yourself at the following venues.
17 August 2017 – Moonshine, Manly
18 August 2017 – Caves Beachside Hotel, Caves Beach
19 August 2017 – Gregory Hills Hotel, Gregory Hills
20 August 2017 – Headland Cafe, Valla Beach
23 August 2017 – Element Bar, Coffs Harbour
24 August 2017 – Moonshine, Manly
25 August 2017 – Black Duck Brewery, Port Macquarie
26 August 2017 – The Rails, Byron Bay
27 August 2017 – The Junkyard Hotel, Maitland
30 August 2017 – Oak Hotel, Double Bay
31 August 2017 – Moonshine, Manly
1 September 2017 – Aztec, Forster
Image used with permission from Little Acorn Music
