Posts Tagged ‘Aussie Indie’

Popular Posts Tagged ‘Aussie Indie’

Premiere: Milk Teddy – “Rock n’ Roll Cretin”
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Ciggie Witch – “Shadow”
·301 Views
School Damage – “Scump Damage 1”
·291 Views
Mikey Young – “Socks”
·247 Views
Terry – “Bureau”
·225 Views
David West with Teardrops – “Swan’s Beat”
·208 Views
Wireheads
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Wireheads – “Indian Pacific Express’
·179 Views

School Damage – “Meeting Halfway”

by on ·Videos

School Damage swing in with their second single off of the upcoming A to X and it solidifies this as one of the top tier releases to get excited for this summer. The track’s a Jake-led ripper charging in high on a swell of keys and backup coos. It’s proof positive that the band has wrapped up post-punk and jangle into the perfect pop package for hot weather hi-jinks. Sweetening the pot is an excellent stop-motion video that’s an aesthetic match for the song’s off-kilter pounce. Much respect to the band’s Carolyn Hawkins for the time-intensive process it must have taken to get this together. If this record isn’t on your list of pre-Fall necessities then rectify that immediately. The LP’s out at the end of August on Chapter Music.

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Terry – “Bureau”

by on ·Videos

Have I been able to contain my excitement over the new Terry LP? Not quite. The band’s on a streak, with two great LPs under their belts already. The third LP shows no signs of flagging as they continue to mine a strain of post-punk peppered with twang and salt n’ honey harmonies that are soothing yet unpolished. The band let loose one of the album’s most ecstatic singles, “The Whip,” a few weeks back and now they follow it up with the cooler-headed “Bureau,” a stunner in its own right. Terry’s strength lies in an ability to push past any of the well-worn ruts of post-punk. They’re embracing the ethos of bands who were set free to run dub and punk and pop together into a caustic clash, but they’re not tied down to the set of stencils that so many modern makers seem to use.

They pair the new song with a grit n’ glare video that’s transportation heavy – grabbing the ‘70s aesthetics and pushing them through a DIY filter. Its all good fun and serves to further the excitement for the Upset The Rhythm release of I’m Terry at the end of the month. If you’re in the UK, they’re even trotting the show out live (lucky bastards) so hit that up to see how these songs shake out in the room.



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Moody Beaches – “Modes”

by on ·Videos

Moody Beaches debut, Weird Friends is a terse, nailbitten romp through ’90s stomp that’s built on muscular riffs and urgent vocals. The band knocks through a hit list of influences that scoop up Breeders (round about the Pod days), Green River and L7 vibes. The wax finally hit the shelves last week and in turn they release a third track off of the album paired with an occult-themed video that bottles up menace in the track. Definitely recommended if you’re knocking through essential Aussie releases this year.



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Loose Tooth

by on ·New Albums, Reviews

Melbourne’s Loose Tooth (not to be confused with the Father/Daughter band of the same name) had a promising EP out last year and with their debut for Milk! they more than make good on those promises. The full-length processes knotty post-punk bass lines and breathless jangles, then pastes them to wide-eyed indie pop for a record that’s constantly familiar and endearingly catchy. They’re passing over the threadbare fare that’s been popping up among their countrymen and instead pushing for a more polished sound that’s got its head in the past – think The Passions mixing it up with members Look Blue Go Purple and Close Lobsters – yet still winds up sounding timeless.

The crux of Keep On is the band’s ability to weave starry-eyed delivery with impeccable atmospheres. Snap on a keen use of three-part harmonies that never get syrupy and the makings of a damn fine debut begins to take shape. Their mastery of the moody vs. wistful approach to songwriting serves this up for fans of bedroom fare, with the band pining over an abundance of twisted love throughout the album’s eleven track run. They swerve from that humble pop path, though and the album elevates their love letters into a lush pop sound. There’s something sparkling happening in the details here – a hi-fi rumble, sax squawks, pillowy mounds of reverb. The deeper listeners get into Keep On the more it rewards with rippling subtleties and soft-touch hooks. While its definitely put together well, its not flashy and the band comes out all the better for it. Sadly, I feel that this one won’t get nearly its due on this side of the ocean, but for those paying attention it’s a lovely gem of a record.




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The Shifters – “Straight Lines”

by on ·Bits & Pieces, Tracks, Videos

Aussie scrappers The Shifters caught my ear with their first single, the rat race takedown “Work, Life, Gym, etc” and they don’t disappoint with another sneak peak into the workings of the upcoming Have A Cunning Plan. “Straight Lines” digs into the current OZ trend of shaggy indies that feel like kitchen sing-a-longs – true embracers of the slacker-pop ethos, the recline into the comfort of this track and can’t help but make the listener feel included in the camaraderie. The song is stuffed to the stitches with jangles and woozy keys and a low-key day in the life tale of taking the edge off and avoiding responsibility. The track’s a charmer, which could easily be said about the whole of their upcoming LP for Trouble in Mind. Don’t snooze on this one.




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Little Ugly Girls – “Jimmeh”

by on ·Bits & Pieces, Tracks

Chapter Music are doing the world a service and giving long simmering band Little Ugly Girls their due. The Tasmanian punks were a fan favorite and tore up the ‘90s around their homeland, but never issued a record until now. Given the quality of the material here, that seems almost criminal in retrospect. Along with the electric frontwoman Linda Johnston, the band included Mindy Mapp, from RSTB faves Fur (also desperately undersung, especially outside of the South Hemi). Fans of L7 take notice, you were definitely missing out without the strained stomp of the LUGs in your life. In advanve of the the album’s release this Friday take a first listen to “Jimmeh” – a heavily fuzzed assault, buttoned and bound to break by the time it gets to the final collapse. Johnston’s laryngitis growl gives the track urgency but the band holds their own in her wake with a simmering pot of noise that can barely keep from blowing its lid. For a band that shared stages with Bikini Kill, Fugazi and the White Stripes, it seems long past time that the world gets a proper intro to these vital cuts.

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Bloods – Feeelings LP

by on ·Bits & Pieces, Tracks

Great news for stateside fans of Aussie poppers Bloods. The band has signed to Share It Music, a new imprint headed by Sub Pop’s Cayle Sharratt that doubles as non-profit, splitting the proceeds between the artists and a charity of their chosing. The label is, naturally, distro’d by Sub Pop over here, making their new record a hell of a lot easier to get hands on than their last. Per the band’s direction, half the proceeds of Feelings will go to the Australian-based Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The sophomore LP will make it to shelves on August 17th and based on the first couple of singles (including the already loved “Feelings“) its gonna be a sugar shock of garage punk with a fuzz pop chaser. The record boasts a bigger sound than they’ve delved into in the past and a bleeding pop edge exacerbated by the production of Liam Judson (Cloud Control, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever). If you’re unfamiliar with the band, there’s no time like the next month to hunker down and get familiar.



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Mope City – “Medicine Drawer”

by on ·Bits & Pieces, Tracks

Aussie trio Mope City dig into ’90s downer rock on the first single from their sophomore LP for Tenth Court. The album, appropriately featuring a mix job from iconic ’90s producer Kramer (Galaxie 500, Low), is preceded by the slow burn single “Medicine Drawer.” The track indulges in the same mescaline aesthetics of many bands the producer would put his stamp on, dirging its way through a cloud of ’90s disaffection that brings back more than a tinge of high school hankering. The song is ringed by a halo of cold humidity and the guitars pull themselves tight around the hangdog vocals of the band’s Matt Neville. Interested to see how this fleshes out into a full length affair when the record hits in October.



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Primo!

by on ·New Albums, Reviews

Never a dull moment rolling out of the Australian scene these days and Primo are testament to that. The trio (recently expanded to a quartet with Amy Hill of Dick Diver) pins down a portion of post-punk that relies on sparse aesthetics, driving bass lines and a dash or two of jangle to get their message through. Their debut, Amici, focuses on rat race drudgery, as referenced cheekily in the band’s business attire on the cover. They posit another world for themselves where accounts receivable is the only option and office blocks spring up like prison walls. But the group knows that every suburb’s got an underground leaning back against that dreaded slide into routine. They churn their unrest into knuckle-cracking percussive snaps, guitar lines itchy as wool on a summer’s day and harmonies that band them together against the ebbing edge of boredom and rote living.

Even with its lyrical lashing of the system and perpetual pining for a life less taupe, the album comes off with a softer impact than many of their post-punk peers. They’re pushing back against the ballast of suburban expectations but the album lands with a collective sigh rather than a defiant scream. Where others are reaching for the acerbic trappings of Young Marble Giants, Bush Tetras or The Slits, Primo take a page out of twee and affix pillowy three-part harmonies to their twitching instrumentals. The approach lures listeners in before setting things straight with their screeds on societal weight.

At a scant twenty-two minutes the record is just a shot over EP territory, but the band makes good time out of their brief spin around the table. They aren’t tearing the system down outright, but they’re here for the rest of us work-a-day nobodies looking to break out of data entry and see who’s coming with us. In a year that’s been pock-marked by post-punk it’s a nice take on the genre that’s helped in no small turn by some excellent hooks and a good dollop of cheeky charm.



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The Goon Sax – “Make Time For Love”

by on ·Videos

For their sophomore album, Brisbane’s The Goon Sax have taken all the scrappy sincerity and stripped back brilliance of their debut and pushed harder until they’ve shined their sound into pop perfection. The band is till hitting on some heavy hitters from the new wave / post-punk grab bag (they cite time spent with Liquid Liquid and ESG on the speakers) and much of that era’s rhythmic jerk comes through on “Make Time For Love.” The song’s nowhere as dry as either of those would let on though, pinning those rhythms to the grandiose melodies of Talking Heads and Talk Talk, then flooding the track with sprightly horns and swooning strings.

They do the song one better by conjuring up a dazzling video that’s filled with fantasy, animation and stark black and white relief. If I weren’t already pretty damn excited for this follow up to their 2016 sleeper hit, this would likely be the kicker. The new LP is out September 14th and from all accounts this one’s going to be a high-water mark for the band and 2018.



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