Fiercely independent, Alexander Biggs is an artist who plays by his own rules. His music doesn’t sound like anything on the radio. He takes his time releasing it, waiting five years after hitting my radar before unleashing his debut album Hit or Miss and another four years before following it up. But today, we get the opportunity to hear his sophomore effort Stay With the Horses.
Of course, when you’re self-recording, self-producing, and independently releasing your music as Alexander does, you have time. To experience life and find inspiration, to experiment with lyrics and sounds, to get it just right. I hear the benefit of time in these songs. They embody the elements that drew me to Alexander’s music years ago. The hushed vocals have such a quiet power, drawing in the listener and creating intimacy. The lyrics are beautiful, poetic, and authentic. The melodies are simple, allowing us to hear the words that Alexander almost whispers.
But don’t think Alexander’s simply delivered more of the same here. This is everything I love about his music, but better. The melodies seem more approachable and a little catchier. You’re still not going to belt out these songs at karaoke, but you might find yourself humming them unexpectedly. His songwriting has evolved too. I found myself marvelling at his way with words, admiring phrases that hit my ears and heart. Alexander has elevated his music without alienating his fans here. That can be a delicate balance, but he achieves it with these songs.
Stay With the Horses is a really special album. It’s music that matters from an artist that isn’t afraid to buck trends or reveal their heart. Listen to it on your favourite streaming services now or purchase a limited edition vinyl copy here.
There are few things I enjoy more than an angsty, female rock artist. So you can bet that I’ve got Hassall’s latest track “Dinner Table” on repeat. With its powerful vocals and vulnerable lyrics exploring her experiences with misophonia, this first single lifted from Hassall’s debut album sets a high standard.
“Ever since I was a young teenager, I’ve had a pretty severely negative aversion to the sound of people eating,” Hassall explained. “I would struggle to stay at the dinner table with my family and hated it when people got too close to me. Any kind of eating or loud breathing or sniffing sounds would result in me yelling or crying or leaving. I always thought this would be something that I got over, but the condition has only thrived over the years. This song’s about that, and any other of my traits I naively hoped would ‘just be a phase’. I’m always suspiciously appreciative of anyone who’s still willing to date me or be a close friend once they’ve uncovered this crazy-woman side of me, and the song is about that too.”
I can’t wait to hear more from Hassall when she releases her debut album Means More to Me Than It Does to You on July 3. Fans should get a sneaky listen to more new material when she launches “Dinner Table” at Persa Bar Fitzroy on February 22.
Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Jess Ball has really impressed me with her latest single, “Nightmare.” It’s a polished-sounding pop track with enough edge to keep things interesting. Perhaps that’s because Jess is more influenced by groundbreaking acts like Cigarettes After Sex and Massive Attack than the latest pop princesses.
“This track is more than just a viral hit; it’s a reflection of our shared experiences and the spontaneous magic that happens when Tom and I create music together,” Paulina shared. “It’s about finding solace in music and each other.”
Tom added, “Paulina and I have managed to find a synergy in our workflow and creativity that I only come across very rarely. I think the fact we both just want to be creative for the sake of simply enjoying the process, makes all of our ideas so far seem very natural. I think that’s why this song works, it was a fun, spontaneous seed of an idea that well and truly outgrew its pot very quickly.”
Eora/Sydney-based indie-pop artist Jessica Fortuin lays her childhood trauma bare with her breathtaking new single “The Devil.”
“I wrote when I was 16 years about sexual assault and how long-term, it can change a survivor’s life,” she explained. “For me, I felt like there was so much focus on the act itself, and that was kind of it. Not many people took into consideration how, after a trauma, you have to continue with a life that doesn’t feel right anymore”
Jessica said she was inspired by artists like Lana Del Ray and Chappell Roan to share her story in the hope it might connect with and help others who’ve endured domestic violence and assault.
“There are still so many places in this society where we have failed our women. But there’s power in sharing stories,” she said. “The amount of people who have come up to me after a live show or messaged me on social media about how they resonated with ‘The Devil’ is comparable to the amount that has told me they never even considered the aftermath or long-term how this affects someone’s life after the immediate danger is gone.”
Jessica’s next gig is supporting YAGKI at her Adults Back-to-School Party at The Lady Hampshire on February 22. Tickets are on sale now through Oztix.
Existential exploration isn’t the usual fodder for modern folk-rock songs, but I appreciate that Western Australian act Littlefair are willing to explore the big issues. Their latest single “Happy” has some heavy thematic content, but it’s balanced beautifully with their upbeat sound and sublime harmonies.
Lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Jessica Depiazzi penned “Happy” when she was feeling unsure of her purpose. She said it’s about “ticking off the goalposts of job, relationship etc. in life and then being like – is that it? And then venturing past those and finding your own meaning. This was one of the first songs where we started moving naturally away from the singer-songwriter folk feel to something a bit more up-tempo and fun.”
Littlefair were named best emerging artist at last year’s Nannup Music Festival, so they’re definitely an act to watch in 2025. Expect to hear a lot more from them when they release their debut EP in April. They’ll also return to the Nannup Music Festival stage on February 28 to March 3.
Damien Rice’s music captivated me from the release of his debut album O. Yet strangely, even though he’s a regular visitor to our shores, I hadn’t managed to catch him live. Those shows always clashed with others or came at the wrong time. So I made things right last night when he visited the beautiful State Theatre.
I thought I was in for a special night, but it exceeded my expectations. All too often musicians tour a set show. The songs mostly stay the same, they tell the crowd the same stories, simply subbing out city names where appropriate. The performances are carefully crafted to appeal to the masses, and to some degree it works. But when artists have such a clear plan, I think it can also undermine creativity, spontaneity, some of the foundations of music. So it was refreshing to see an artist like Damien Rice who throws out the rule book and gets back to basics.
Damien doesn’t use a setlist. Instead he relies on instinct and lets the evening play out as it’s supposed to. Sometimes he played the music that felt right for the moment, in others he agreed to the requests of his passionate audience or asked his talented cellist and vocalist Francisca Barreto what she felt like playing. He also doesn’t go for the usual staging either. There are no big screens behind him and lighting is minimal. That might not be ideal for photos, but I loved the intimate atmosphere these choices created.
I had my first inkling that this wasn’t any ordinary show when he played his first number, an unreleased track, on his knees hunched over a harmonium, a small light barely illuminating his face. I was mesmerised. He moved on to more familiar territory with “Delicate,” the opening track from O, but even though we all knew it you could hear a pin drop. It was almost as if we collectively worried that adding our own voices to the mix might break the spell.
It took until the eighth song for someone to yell out a request. “I Remember,” an excellent choice Damien was all too happy to oblige. This opened the floodgates for others to suggest their favourites. He was generous, delivering many songs the audience held dear. I’ve got to commend those vocal fans for choosing so beautifully. But all too soon he told us that he’d need to start wrapping up as people had work in the morning. How I love a musician who’s so considerate on a weeknight! And so, he gifted us with his breakthrough hit “The Blower’s Daughter” mixed with a little of Radiohead’s “Creep.” It was glorious from the start, but turning down all the microphones, so he was simply singing to us, made it magical.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected an encore. That song was so powerful, I wasn’t sure where he might go from there. But sure enough, he came back with Francisca and delivered a beautiful version of “Cold Water” silhouetted against the stage’s backdrop. I didn’t need to see them because I could feel them. Damien ended the evening with another unreleased track, bringing the evening full circle. On any other night these might have seemed like strange choices but on a night like this, which was more about appreciating music than singing along to it, it made perfect sense.
As I left the theatre, and again now as I relive it in my mind, one word echoes in my brain: transcendent. It means “beyond or above the range of normal or physical human experience.” That’s what this concert was for me. I see a lot of concerts. I love many of those shows. But I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a night quite like this. Thank you Damien Rice.
Damien Rice continues his Australian tour in Mulubinba/Newcastle. There are limited tickets for that show at the Civic Theatre tonight before he plays his final sold out show in Meeanjin/Brisbane on Thursday.
I love a good cover version. Covers have become a bit of a dirty word over the years, something reserved for karaoke nights or reality singing shows on commercial networks. But interpreting a beloved song and making it your own takes a real skill. So while the title gave me some trepidation, I was excited to discover Brave Mistakes new EP, Some Good Songs … Done Badly.
Brave Mistakes are a DIY band from Tarntanya/Adelaide. That city has always been a rich breeding ground for talent, giving birth to acts like Cold Chisel, The Angels, and Masters Apprentices. There’s an energy about these bands that I hear echoed in Brave Mistakes. The songs on this EP are pretty raw and unfiltered, but what’s more rock and roll than that?
This EP definitely has some good songs, as its title suggests, and while the delivery’s probably not what you’re used to it’s far from bad. Actually it’s pretty amazing. Brave Mistakes have made some really clever song selections here. Frontman Garrett R. Cooper has a rich, resonant voice that lends itself perfectly to these diverse numbers. Darker material like Chris Isaak’s haunting “Wicked Game” and Iggy Pop’s tortured “Candy” are natural fits. But Brave Mistakes brings out the yearning in Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.” This is no slick, matinee idol performance; it’s much more interesting. Their version of “Who Do You Love?” reminds me a lot more of The Doors’ sexy take than Bo Diddley’s rockabilly original. Brave Mistakes take their biggest left-turn with the closer, “Be My Baby.” I’ve never heard a male-fronted band deliver this Ronettes’ hit, let alone one that’s so unpolished. But there’s a retro charm about Brave Mistakes that makes this work too.
Leave your preconceptions at the door. Brave Mistakes don’t sound like so many other rock outfits that record their music in high-end studios with acclaimed producers. They’re doing it their way, and that’s a big part of their appeal. Some Good Songs … Done Badly is out now. Brave Mistakes will play the following festivals in the coming weeks:
I love musical theatre, but it doesn’t seem like the nation as a whole embraces my enthusiasm. More often than not, major theatre promoters seem unwilling to try anything new. They give us the same old hits or jukebox musicals they know will fill seats. And I don’t blame them. When they do take a risk, as Michael Cassel Group did recently staging Dear Evan Hansen, the reception is so lukewarm that whole runs outside Eora/Sydney and Naarm/Melbourne get cancelled. But I learned a couple of years ago that musical theatre nerds like me have options. There are passionate community theatre groups all over the country committed to bringing a greater variety of productions to fans. I’ve raved about the Hayes Theatre in Eora/Sydney before, but I’m lucky to have a fantastic community theatre group closer to my home in Darkinjung Country/Central Coast. On Sunday I headed to the Art House to see Curtain Bounce’s production of Heathers: The Musical.
The Art House has staged major concerts by everyone from Macy Gray to Anthony Callea in their main 500-seat theatre, but they also have a smaller studio that’s ideal for productions like Heathers. It holds just 130, but every one of those seats was occupied on Sunday, as they had been all weekend. I love being a part of audiences like this, a small group where you know that everyone cares. They’re attentive, they radiate warmth and the players feed off it.
Those actors and actresses are not household names … yet … but they’re every bit as talented as the stars I’ve seen in major local productions. I worried that they may pale a little bit in comparison to the actors from the original 80s film I fell in love with as a teenager. Christian Slater was one of my big crushes of the period, largely due to his turn as JD, but I was impressed at the way Kane McCarthy made it his own. Winona Ryder was the It girl at the time, but Teaghan Thompson’s Veronica was perhaps even more compelling. I appreciated the way the musical made more of the character of Heather Chandler, and Jacqui Grunden rose to the challenge of playing the ultimate queen bee. Every time she stepped on stage I could barely take my eyes off her. What a superstar she is. But the entire ensemble never put a foot wrong. Everyone was right in their performances, and it was a joy to watch.
Looking around at audience members with their plaid skirts, blazers, and bows in hair, it was clear that many were already fans of the musical. But I appreciated discovering it for the first time on the stage with this incredible production. Curtain Bounce presents Heathers: The Musical until February 8. There are still some tickets left for the February 6 evening performance and February 8 matinee, but they won’t last long once word spread. Snap them up at the Art House website.
Canadian indie folk duo The East Pointers are heading to Australia on the back of their recently released single “Anniversary.” This beautiful song honours their late bandmate Koady Chaisson, who died suddenly in January 2022.
“When Jake [Charron, keys, guitar, and vocals] and I sat down to write, ‘Anniversary’ was the first song that came out—it was as if Koady was in the room with us, it flowed so fast,” said Koady’s cousin and East Pointers vocalist, fiddler, and guitar player Tim Chaisson. “We want this song to give anybody permission to give themselves a pat on the back, for any of the wins or positive changes in their life. A celebration you continue to honour, especially when times get tough.”
“‘Anniversary’ is a song about how making one positive decision can change the rest of your life,” Jake added. “11 years ago today (on his birthday) our late band member Koady made some major changes to his life to improve his mental health, one of which was becoming sober. This is a song to celebrate fresh starts, milestones, and the wins that we have along the way, big or small.”
The East Pointers will play some of the country’s leading folk festivals and headlining shows in the coming months. Tickets are on sale now for all the following shows.
