Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The “Tallest Teepee in Town” Soothes the Soul


After a festive season filled with too much family drama, I needed to hear some great music today. Thankfully I found it in the form of Melbourne’s Pierce Brothers and their single “Tallest Teepee in Town.”

The duo’s name should give you an idea of their complete lack of pretension. There are no bells and whistles here, just good honest, organic, foot-stomping folk music. They’ve started to create a name for themselves here and in Europe, but they continue to busk in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall as they have for years. It’s little wonder that they’ve sold more than 12,000 EPs from busking alone.

Like a breath of fresh air, this is exactly the song I needed to hear today.

Image used with permission from 123 Agency

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Sunnyboys Bassist Releases Kids Cookbook

Sunnyboys bass guitarist Peter Oxley shows he’s a man of many talents with the release of his brand new book Teenage Kitchen Rampage. This cookbook would make the ideal gift for those notoriously tricky teens on your Christmas list.

It covers the basics like boiling an egg and mashing potatoes and shows teens how they can use these simple techniques to whip up tasty salads, pastas, and desserts.

Peter should know about this kind of thing, as he left home at the age of 18 with nothing more than $10, his bass guitar, and his mum’s recipe for lamb shank soup. He also opened Newtown’s Wedgetail Woodfired Pizzeria in 1994.

Teenage Kitchen Rampage is available for $24.95 through good bookstores and the Love Police online bookstore.

Image used with permission from Shows in Space

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Anna Smyrk and the Appetites Anticipate the Apocalypse

Can you believe it’s one week until Christmas? I hope most of you aren’t working as hard as I am. It’s a time of year when we should all be winding down, yet it seems so many people I know are operating on hyper speed.

If you’re feeling a bit ragged, give yourself just a few minutes to listen to “Apocalypse,” the sublime debut single from Melbourne’s Anna Smyrk and the Appetites. She’s got the voice of an angel and it works so beautifully in this moving song. And isn’t it wonderful to hear a modern song with a saxophone in a starring role?

Anna will launch the single with a string of intimate shows dubbed The Garden Party at the End of the World. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but at least there’ll be good music at the end, right?

22 December 2013 – Open Sesame Festival @ Bar Open, Melbourne (4 pm til midnight)
3 January 2014 – Treehouse, Byron Bar (FREE @ 7:30 pm)
4 January 2014 – Sol Bar, Maroochydore (FREE @ 6 pm)
5 January 2014 – Queen Street Mall (FREE @ noon)
6 January 2014 – The Cave, Gold Coast (8 pm)

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

King Colour Go Retro with Break the Ice

I have had one of those weeks. There seems to be far too much to do and nowhere near enough time to do it. That’s why this blog’s been a bit quiet, but I was determined to carve out a bit of time this afternoon to listen to some music and kick back.

Happily the first song I fired up with “Break the Ice,” the delightfully upbeat new single from Sydney band King Colour. It takes us back to the surf rock’s heyday with its strong bass line and crunchy electric guitars. It’s a real charmer and perfect for summer.

“The best thing about ‘Break The Ice’ is how simple it is,” says the band’s drummer Josh Pearson. “It’s cheesy, its naïve, its ridiculously poppy, and people get really into it at shows. We wondered what it would sound like if we put a modern spin on all the cool 60’s pop stuff like the Beatles, Beach Boys, Animals, etc, and it came out sounding pretty sweet.”

Indeed it did! If you get your skates on, you can see the King Colour launching the band at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory tonight.

Image used with permission from the A&R Department

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Taylor Henderson is at Number One

Taylor Henderson has done the unthinkable, knocking boy band of the moment One Direction off the top of the charts and claiming the number one spot with his self-titled debut. His single “Borrow My Heart” is also at number ten this week. I’m also pretty sure it’s the first time an X Factor runner-up has gone to number one on debut, so he deserves serious props!

His X Factor competitor Dami Im continues to sell truckloads with her self-titled debut. The platinum-selling album sits at number seven this week.

Billy Birmingham’s also doing big business with his latest effort. Willy Nilly – The 12th Man’s Biggest Hits climbs one position to land at number three this week.

Human Nature have also jumped one position. They sit at number five with their festive offering, The Christmas Album.

Guy Sebastian is the best of the Aussies on the singles chart this week. “Like a Drum” is holding steady at number six. Justice Crew also haven’t budged. “Everybody” sits at number nine.

Continue reading “Taylor Henderson is at Number One” →

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Midnight Juggernauts Release Catty Clip

I can’t say I’ve ever really gotten Midnight Juggernauts. Maybe I never will. But I’ve come close watching the video for their new single “Systematic.” I actually don’t mind the song, and the clip is a stroke of genius. It really does prove that everything online is better with cats!

“They had an idea to throw dozens of cats around and we were curious to see how they could do that without offending animal cruelty groups,” explained Vincent Vendetta. “My initial reaction to the video was to laugh throughout—and obviously no animals were harmed.”

“Systematic” comes from the EP of the same name, which is in stores now. Midnight Juggernauts will promote it as the headliners at Siberia Presents: A New Year’s Eve Party at Melbourne’s Prince of Wales on December 31.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Meet The Night

In the tradition of hot indie acts like Arcade Fire and Bright Eyes comes The Night, a Sydney band that makes music that’s epic and really interesting.

The act began as one songwriter’s attempt to pen tunes that “would bridge the gap between good music and good storytelling, by allowing one to complement the other.” The band formed in mid-2011, and they’ve been working slowly and steadily on music that’s worth hearing. “Like This” is out first taste of The Night’s EP I Am and Say, which is scheduled for a December 23 release.

This soaring single proves The Night are a band with a lot of potential.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

South Africa’s Mango Groove Head to Australia

Like everyone across the world it seems, I was saddened to hear news this morning of Nelson Mandela’s passing. I thought about writing about it, but then decided that others probably had more to offer on the subject than a music blogger from Australia.

But then I came across an e-mail telling me Mango Groove are heading to our country next year. I must admit, I hadn’t heard of them, but then I read through their list of achievements and it seemed fortuitous that I stumbled across them today. They played at Freddie Mercury’s tribute. They played at the Hong Kong reunification concert, and at the Paris SOS Racism concert. And perhaps most importantly, this South African act played at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration.

And so I watched their performance from the Montreux jazz festival in 1992 and marvelled at their joy and positivity. It was a similar energy to the one which radiated from Mr Mandela. I remember being a young girl and not really understanding who he was, but loving his big wide smile. I’ll bet he liked this band.

So have a listen and remember the joy, and if you like what they do consider checking out Mango Groove when they visit Australia next year.

21 February 2014 – Red Hill Auditorium, Perth
23 February 2014 – Forum Theatre, Melbourne
28 February 2014 – Big Top Sydney @ Luna Park, Sydney
1 March 2014 – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
4 March 2014 – Norwood Concert Hall, Adelaide

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Darren Hanlon Plays Christmas Shows

Darren Hanlon will ring in the festive season once again with a string of Christmas shows. For the eighth year running, Darren will play solo, intimate shows in the major capitals, culminating with a set of shows at the Woodford Folk Festival.

The gigs are a kind of homecoming for Darren, who’s been spending time writing and recording his next album in the American South. He’s promising to play some of those new tunes as well as favourites from his back catalogue at the dates ahead.

Tickets for the following shows are on sale now.

21 December 2013 – St Stephens Anglican Church, Newtown
22 December 2013 – Northcote Social Club, Northcote
23 December 2013 – Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
27, 29 & 30 December 2013 – Woodford Folk Festival, Woodfordia

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Thom Lion Impresses with “Folk Divorce”

I was a bit slow to get around to checking out the video for Thom Lion’s new song “Folk Divorce”, but I figure sometimes it’s a case of better late than never. Happily this is one of those times.

This ticks all the boxes for me. The music is stellar. I find Thom’s voice so compelling, a little rough around the edges and oozing honest emotion. The music’s organic and perfect in its simplicity. And then we’ve got this clip which is colourful, quirky, and so much fun.

Adelaide’s Thom Lion’s definitely one to watch.