Browsing Category Tracks

Alex McFarlane – “Event Y”

by on ·Bits & Pieces, Tracks

Always top quality out of Hobbies Galore and this time the latest down the chute is from label boss / ex-Twerp Alex McFarlane. With another limited release that blends his pop and experimental selves, McFarlane taps into cosmic pop and synth float over the course of ten new tracks. Standout “Event Y” pits his gnarled guitar against a fizzin’ set of keys. It’s a perfectly bent piece of pop that finds the niche between catchiness and cultured cool. The song swaggers then stumbles into melancholy. It’s a beautifully sighed and singed gem that proves McFarlane doesn’t just have an ear for some of the best Aussie artists, he happens to be one himself. The tape is out now and limited to 100.




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J.R. Bohannan – “Reflections of an American Dream”

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The first cut from the upcoming solo debut LP by J.R. Bohannon is a sparkling, dewy song that rambles down the countryside with sun in its soul. After years playing with Torres and Gold Dime, Bohannon follows his EP Recôncavo from April with a record that stretches through solo sunshine and jazz explorations, bringing experimental drummer in demand Greg Fox on board along and Luke Stewart on bass. For now, though, this one is all Bohannon – bare, but not dry, finding the beauty in running its fingers along the ridges of fallen trees and letting the mountain air fill every inch of it with a good humor. The record is out later this month and I’d recommend getting a bit excited about that.



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Je Suis France – “I’ve Got The Look”

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Georgia’s Je Suis France have amassed a fairly admirable catalog over the past few decades, keeping their output locked in short format EPs, a handful of albums, and a split with Acid Mothers Temple along the way. They’ve cooked up a new LP and it sees the band refining and re-ingesting their sounds for a new age. On the album they utilize the same set of lyrics and drop them against vastly different backgrounds. “Looking For Someone Like Me” takes the punk palette, while “I’ve Got The Look” slows those lyrics down and covers them in a miasma of sound – German-gelled bass, squalls of sax, hazed keys. Side by side they’d barely register as cousins, let alone twins in different garb. “I’ve Got The Look” wins the day for me, locking into some of the signals that give the band legs on stage. The new LP Back To The Basics of Love is out November 5th from Ernest Jenning. Lock into “I’ve Got The Look” below.


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House Deposit – “Reptiles”

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The shamble-down pop of House Deposit recalls the simple, yet bittersweet nook that The Feelies, The Chills, The Bats, or The Verlaines occupied. The band came together out of tragedies and friendship to create songs that are spare, but stacked with heartfelt melancholy. “Reptiles” has a darker streak than some of the other early singles I’ve heard from the band and it’s lonesome, lean sound walks the line between airy indie pop and a tense, bound post-punk sound that’s struggling to break through the jangles. Vocalists Meaghan and Sam bounce their vocals between them with an ease that cuts the tension, but the song is fraught and full of feeling. This one seems to be a low-key release, even by Aussie indie standards, though the initial tape is already hitting a second pressing. Gonna want to keep an eye out for this in the coming weeks.






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Lachlan Denton & Emma Russack – “Catch”

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Coming right off of a solo album and a new Cool Sounds LP, Lachlan Denton shows no signs of flagging in his output. He resumes work with his duo with fellow Osborne Again alum Emma Russack and the two update the pining swoon of young love for with a loping and rosy number that’s clipped to heartflutter beat and practically lounging in the dewy warmth of summer. The song is airy and verdant, just the kind of thing to brighten your day, but not completely lift your heart. There’s a kernel of sadness, but the outcome is sweet enough to brush off that pang. The pair embark on their third outing together, Take The Reigns next week.





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Failed Flowers – “Faces”

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Slumberland continues to keep their latest singles series sprinkled with compelling reasons to funnel $100+ bucks into their pockets. They announce two more this week including the reappearance of Failed Flowers, Michigan’s indie pop sweethearts. The band, which holds Anna Burch and Fred Thomas as members delivered a solid, Sarah Records-soaked debut in 2016 and has remained largely silent ever since. This is likely due to Burch’s own solo career and Thomas’ busy schedule, but they roar back with two sides of C86 jangle that should put a smile right across your sourpuss. “Faces” is bright and sunny, janglin’ in twin guitar glory and ringing with the autumnal vocals of Burch that seep under the skin. If there was any doubt that the band still had that magic spark, this is proof positive. Gonna keep this one on repeat for the rest of the day.


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Zachary Hay – “3”

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It’s always time to stop and listen when a new one rolls down the roster from Scissor Tail and today’s no exception. The label is releasing the debut from Zachary Hay under his own name. He’s previously stayed tucked behind the monikers Bronze Horse and The Dove Azima, but this time he’s stripping it all back and letting his own name hang on the door. The album is a sparse slice of American Primitive folk – cut from the cloth of Fahey and Basho, but tied tight with the discarded threads of Loren Connors, Tashi Dorji, Bill Orcutt, and Scott Tuma. There’s not the same type of fluidity that would befit a Fahey acolyte, but there’s more movement here than Connors usually lets take hold. Hay falls somewhere between the ripple-pickers and the 4AM dirge hunters. There’s a couple of tracks up now, all equally haunted and hollowed so it bodes well for the full release when it slips out on November 22nd.




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ARP – “Voices”

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Following on the success of his 2018 album ZEBRA ARP’s Alexis Georgopoulos put together a live ensemble to play Mexican Summer’s 10th Anniversary. The live setup netted a great response and Alexis and the band wound up in the studio working out an album with a five-person ensemble combing through material from the previous album and exploring new avenues in atmospherics and dub. The first track from the new Ensemble LP finds ARP diving through the kind of haunted ambiance that drew Georgopoulos to the sparse, yet affecting works of Finis Africae. It’s a slinking, saturated track, slicked with moss and seeping through the rocks. The new LP is out November 15th. It’s a new side to the ARP story and sounding pretty good at that.



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Cat Scan – “Lysol”

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Nice little tweaker from L.A. band Cat Scan who have an LP out now on Volar. The band swings wild through the punk and post-punk markers along the tail end of the ‘70s and on into the ‘80s but on “Lysol” they’re stretching the silly putty sound transfer from The B-52’s through to the squeak-pop of We Have a Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It. The track shreds the senses — built on a rubbery bass that seems like it might spill the bounds of its record grove and infect a few other tracks. The hand-off between the male-female vocals gives the track a spark, but like the ‘52s before them, what makes it tick is that they know when to let goofiness grind into catharsis in just the right way. The whole album’s got the spirit of the best ripped-shirt art-party rumblers and its a damn delight. Gonna want to get this one nudged on the volume and tapping at the window panes.



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Program – “Motorbike”

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A tightly-wound indie throwback from The Stroppies adjacent Melbourne crew Program is a real charmer with a classic sound and a damnable hook that keeps coming back for more. Twang-curdled guitars light up the the speakers while the band sings about the frustration of social stagnation. It’’s got whiffs of Yo La Tengo,The Go-Betweens, Flying Nun and something more ineffable — a classic rock root that’s leathered and lean giving it a tougher exterior than it lets on. The LP is out October 18th from the constantly consistent Anti-Fade Records.



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