Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Preatures Release Latest Single & Take on the World

Following up “Is This How you Feel?” was always going to be a big ask for The Preatures. That song was just so good. But I think they’ve made a good effort with their latest release “Better Than It Ever Could Be.”

This song’s got great energy and infectious hooks. I’m not sure if I like it quite as much as “Is This How You Feel?” but if you ask me again, after I’ve heard it as many times as that song, I might answer differently. Following up a track that’s done so well is always tough, and I think The Preatures have done a great job. It certainly sends the message that this band is no one-hit wonder.

They’ll cement their reputation as one of Australia’s hottest new acts with the following shows in Europe and the United States. If you’re living abroad, make sure you don’t miss them!

17 February 2014 – Water Rats, London
18 February 2014 – King Tuts, Glasgow
19 February 2014 – Bodega, Nottingham
22 February 2014 – Lido, Berlin
23 February 2014 – Paradiso, Amsterdam
24 February 2014 – Prinzenbar, Hamburg
25 February 2014 – Boule Noir, Paris
28 February 2014 – Night and Day Café, Manchester
4 March 2014 – 100Club, London
6 March 2014 – The Mercury Lounge, NYC
11-16 March 2014 – SXSW, Austin
11 & 18 April 2014 – Coachella, Palm Springs

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

RÜFÜS Get American Name Change

RÜFÜS fans in North America take note. In order to avoid a copyright lawsuit, the Aussie band will change their name for North American audiences to RÜFÜS DU SOL. They’ll still be known as RÜFÜS in Oz, but the North American name change will allow them to tour the US and release their album ATLAS there without infringing an existing copyright.

RÜFÜS DU SOL have also recently been signed up to Columbia Records, making them just the third Aussie act to join the legendary label after Men at Work and The Temper Trap. To celebrate, RÜFÜS DU SOL will play a string of shows including appearances at SXSW this March. Note the name change so you don’t miss their US and Canadian gigs!

7 March 2014 – Popscene @ Rickshaw, San Francisco
8 March 2014 – CYP2 @ Echoplex, Los Angeles
11 March 2014 – Bang Bang, San Diego
12-15 March 2014 – SXSW Austin
19 March 2014 – Commonwealth Bar, Calgary
20 March 2014 – Fortune Sound Club, Vancouver
21 March 2014 – Neumo’s, Seattle
22 March 2014 – Holocene, Portland
26 March 2014 – Highline Ballroom, New York
27 March 2014 – U Street Music Hall, Washington
28 March 2014 – Winter Music Conference, Miami
4 April 2014 – Bottom Lounge, Chicago
6 April 2014 – Venue TBA, Denver

Image used with permission from On the Map PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tales in Space Announce Single Tour

Sydney’s Tales in Space have given us a taste of their forthcoming debut album with the release of their new electro-pop single “All Messed Up.” I love the energy of this number and its classic pop-driven melodies. Just see if you’re not humming this song for the rest of the day.

To celebrate the release, Tales in Space will tour the east coast this March. Make sure you arrive early to see sets from up and coming indie acts Stillwater Giants and the Pierce Brothers. Tickets are available from Oztix for the following shows.

7 March 2014 – Alhambra Lounge,  Brisbane
8 March 2014 – Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast
9 March 2014 – The Brewery, Byron Bay
14 March 2014 – Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
15 March 2014 – Torquay Hotel, Torquay
27 March 2014 – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
29 March 2014 – Beresford, Sydney (FREE)
30 March 2014 – Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Image used with permission from 123 Agency

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tom E. Lewis Releases “Beneath the Sun”

The term legend gets bandied about a lot in the music biz, but it’s entirely appropriate for describing Tom E. Lewis. He was the star of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith in the ‘70s, a fixture on stage and screen in the ‘80s, and he travelled the world playing his unique blend of jazz and traditional didge music in the ‘90s. And today he’s releasing his new album, Beneath the Sun.

The album tackles big themes of identity, love, murder, and respect in the tradition of great singer-songwriters like Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, and Wilco.

“I survived the dark side, marrkap [mate, although like a lot of indigenous words its meaning is so much more],” he said in a press release. “Now I can sing about it, be the lucky one to come out the other side.”

Lead single “Can’t Change Your Name” gives you a taste of just how good this album is, and how incredible Tom’s backing band sounds. It’s hardly surprising though as it features Ross Hannaford (Daddy Cool), Michael Hohnen (Gurrumul), Tony Floyd (Black Sorrows), Stephen Teakle (Barry Morgan), and Craig Pilkington (The Killjoys).

Tom remains remarkably humble about the company he keeps and the quality of this album, simply commenting “I’ve been lucky, marrkap. Music, it heals. There’s medicine in art. I don’t know where this CD can go. I really don’t know. I’d like to write another one, yeah? I feel like there’s more coming.”

Image used with permission from SCG Media

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Calling All Cars Releases “Standing in the Ocean” Clip

Calling All Cars have released a hot new video for their new single “Standing in the Ocean,” ahead of the release of their brand new album Raise the People. I think this energetic number might be my favourite Calling All Cars song yet, and the sexy video capturing a blossoming love affair matches it perfectly.

Bassist Adam Montgomery said handing creative control to Melbourne director Timothy Melville was “amazing.”

“Every previous video we’ve made, we have been the ones calling the shots, from the original idea to the filming and to sitting in with the editor. Basically we are control freaks, but this time around we relinquished all (most) control and left it in the hands of our amazing director Tim Melville. We had a couple of meetings and were on the same page from the start. Tim’s original vision is basically what you see is the video. He really nailed the mood of the song.”

This video should generate a bit more buzz about the band before their latest album hits stores on March 7. To celebrate that release, they’ll play a stack of shows all around the country.

20 March 2014 – Manning Bar, Sydney
21 March 2014 – Amplifier, Perth
22 March 2014 – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
23 March 2014 – Indi Bar, Scarborough
27 March 2014 – The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
28 March 2014 – Beach Hotel, Byron Bay (FREE)
29 March 2014 – The Zoo, Brisbane
30 March 2014 – Solbar, Maroochydore
4 April 2014 – The Jack, Cairns
11 April 2014 – Fowlers Live, Adelaide (ALL AGES)
12 April 2014 – Waterfront, Geelong (FREE – ALL AGES)
17 April 2014 – Easter Festival, Bendigo (FREE – ALL AGES)
18 April 2014 – Mynt Lounge, Werribee
19 April 2014 – The Loft, Warnambool
20 April 2014 – Torquay Hotel, Torquay
23 April 2014 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
24 April 2014 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
26 April 2014 – Republic Bar, Hobart
30 April 2014 – The Crowbar @ Charles Sturt Uni, Wagga Wagga (STUDENTS ONLY)
1 May 2014 – Transit Bar, Canberra
2 May 2014 – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle
3 May 2014 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
4 May 2014 – Studio Six, Sutherland

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

No Second Single Syndrome for Bree de Rome

What do you get if you cross sixties soul with country vibes? “I Expected More” the stellar second single from Bree de Rome’s debut EP Bag of Bones.

I remember enjoying Bree’s spirit with her first single “Better Luck,” but feeling her songwriting skills needed work. So it’s great to see her honing her craft with this number co-written by the incomparable Sally Seltmann. If Bree keeps learning from such talented industry folks, the sky’s the limit for this endearing songstress.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Kate Miller-Heidke, Sallie Campbell and Friends Raise Funds for Orangutans

Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttal, Sallie Campbell, and more talented local artists have joined forces to help save the orangutans through the power of music. The team have released the single “Nightingale Floor” alongside two short films to raise funds for the Orangutan Land Trust.

The project is the brainchild of Sallie Campbell, who composed the song as well as playing mandolin, five-string violin, nyckelharpa, hammered dulcimer, and baritone bowed psaltry on the recording. She enlisted a bunch of friends to join her to raise awareness of the impact of palm oil production on the world’s orangutans.

“Nightingale Floors were cleverly built in ancient Japanese castles to creak and sing when walked upon to warn of intruders. Similarly, we need be the ‘new nightingales’ who signal danger to our fragile ecology,” she explained. “The situation is urgent; the last wild orangutans on the earth live in Malaysia and Indonesia and their habitat is being threatened by the development of palm oil plantations. Unsustainable palm oil is in 50% of supermarket items and if people knew the food and products they were consuming everyday were wiping out forests and all the beautiful creatures there, they wouldn’t buy them.”

Nightingale Floor is dedicated to those beautiful creatures, and being released as a three minute single and a twenty-minute string orchestra opus written for an 11-piece string section, featuring three soloists and those exotic folk instruments Sallie loves.

Visit the Nightingale Floor website to learn more about palm oil, make a donation, and download the song and short films. All money raised with benefit Orangutan Land Trust.

Image used with permission from On the Map PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Phoncurves Tug at “Heartstrings”

Sunday’s a funny day isn’t it? It’s still the weekend so you should be happy, but Monday’s looming like a raincloud bringing you down. What you need is some music to lighten your mood. Thankfully I have just the thing: “Heartstrings,” the latest single from Brisbane duo The Phoncurves.

This is the lead single from The Phoncurves second EP, and if it’s any indication the recording will be pretty enchanting. I love its angelic vocals and jazzy heart. The video, showing some happy music lovers growing away, is pretty fabulous too.

So, feel better about your Sunday? I thought so!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Katie Noonan Goes to the Circus

If you can count on Katie Noonan for one thing, it’s that you never know which musical direction she’ll head next. Her latest project sees her partnering with Circa for Love-Song-Circus, a fusion of song, circus, and history. Yep, you read that right.

Katie’s already roadtested the show, which pays tribute to Australia’s convict women, at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2012 and The Famous Spiegeltent in Melbourne last year. Now it’s Brisbane’s turn.

Katie was inspired to create Love-Song-Circus when she saw an exhibition called Love Tokens at the National Museum. It told the story of the way convicts would engrave pennies with messages and images for the loved ones they’d left behind.

“As a woman and mother I felt deeply compelled to explore these stories. I soon discovered that the lives of the first female convicts is a part of our history that has been explored by few,” she said.

She began researching these stories with trips all over the country, but felt her project needed a visual element. So she found Circa, a contemporary circus group that would help bring her dream to life.

This video gives you just a taste of what Love-Song-Circus is all about.

Love-Song-Circus hits The Cremorne Theatre at QPAC on March 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The soundtrack, Fierce Hearts, hits stores on February 28.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayden Calnin Impresses with “Comatose”


Hayden Calnin wowed me with “Coward,” the first single from Oh, Hunter last November. Now after many long months we finally get to hear another cut, which is a good thing too because the EP’s release is still a couple of weeks away.

“Comatose” is a little more sombre than “Coward,” but it resonated with me a lot more quickly. Hayden’s tone is just so beautiful, and this song is so perfectly crafted. It was also the last song written for the EP. I guess when you create something so exquisite, you know that you’re done.

“Comatose” is the second single lifted from Oh, Hunter, which hits stores on February 21. If you love it there’s good news, because you get a free download when you preorder the EP through iTunes or the Create/Control store.

Image used with permission from Create/Control