Tattoo – Tuka
Tuka stepped up and produced a brilliant album in 2015. ‘Life, Death, Time, Eternal’ was a huge step up for the member of the Thundamentals and he has been touring solidly on the back of it.
Having seen his live show four times in the past couple of months, I have a huge appreciation for the hard work of this artist. Tattoo stands out for me as the track that shows off Tuka’s song-writing and vocal skills in one.
River – Leon Bridges
The rebirth of the blues, or did it never leave? Texan, Leon Bridges, has come out of nowhere this year with a beautiful soulful album, ‘Coming Home’, that contains hit after hit. He sounds like the reincarnation of Sam Cooke and has the swagger to match.
I saw this song performed live at his show at the Metro recently and it was just him on guitar with a backing singer. So perfect.
Go! – Public Service Broadcasting
This is one of those tracks that I discovered via 2ser. With a huge 2015, these guys come out of the UK and produced a whole album containing samples of audio from the Apollo missions in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s unique and beautiful.
Go! has a pulsing adventurous feel to it. I love the driving rhythm baselining the spacey riffs. Such a sweet little tune and an excellent idea.
Dog Whistling – Super Best Friends
In a time of political conservatism and fear, artists come into their own. I attribute this, Super Best Friend’s debut album with a new lineup and a idea in mind, as a direct product of Tony Abbott. It gave us a chance to scream, “We are not full” and mean it. A’la “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” from 1992.
Dog Whistling stands out for me on their ‘Status Updates’ albums for it’s anger, it’s power and it’s message. Johnny Barrington tells it like it is. Listen to him. He knows stuff. (except for maybe his sporting allegiances)
Life Gives You Lemons – Citizen Kay
Another artist out of Canberra, but completely different to the last. Citizen Kay really stepped up a gear in 2015, but one gets the feelings he is still only just beginning. His album, With The People, is a triumph from this young artist who delivers music as passionate as he lives.
Life Gives You Lemons gives the facade of being an upbeat funky ripper of a track, but underlying it is the serious nature of the lyrics about the racism that Kay has encountered in his life. The lyrics, the funk and that damn sax make this one of my rippers of the year.
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