Releases are coming thick and fast as we travel into Feburary. New releases from Broods, Tiny Ruins and Gordi came out last Friday and they’re all releases I recommend you check out. As always, I like to dig a little deeper and find a few tracks that you may not hear on other new music playlists.
Again, I have gone almost exclusively Australian this week. Maybe I should just stick with it being all Oz every week? Would love to hear your thoughts. You can always hit me up on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook any time!
2018 was a quiet year for King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. After a crazy 2017 (five damn albums!), they released precisely nothing last year and instead toured those five albums around the world. So, maybe not so quiet! But they’re ‘back’ with a brand new track and it’s King Gizz all over. Cyboogie is groovy disco-tripfest and goes for nearly 7 minutes. Perfect! There’s also a cool little break-down in the middle with synthy vocoder vocals and delightful little sci-fi bling. It’s available as a single for sale up at Flightless Records.
I’m an unashamed fan of Haiku Hands and every release is like a little ray of sunshine in my otherwise mundane life. Their first track of 2019, Dare You Not to Dance again showcases just how damn fun this group is. With production from El Gusto (Hermitude) and Joelistics, the drop in this song is something else – turn up the bass to max and feel it hit your bones. The other great part is how this group inspires people to move, dance, cut loose and just not give a shit who’s watching. Case in point, last Friday night at the Oxford Art Factory. It was such a fun show. Get out there and enjoy the Haiku Hands experience as soon as you can!
It’s fair to say that the last couple of years have been a roller-coaster for Thelma Plum. Being in the media for the wrong reasons, going through personal issues, but coming out the other side stronger and better than ever. Clumsy Love was a pop hit of last year and new track, Not Angry Anymore continues her fine form. Indicating that “we can only take responsibility for our own happiness”, Plum aims to look forward, rather than back and with this track is setting a course towards beautifully produced songs that portray an honesty and personal edge that is sometimes missing from other pop tracks.
This Saturday, Australia gets to decide who will represent our country (continent?) at Eurovision 2019. We had Kate Miller-Heidke’s track last week and this week Electric Fields reveal their entry. The duo from Adelaide have been earning well-deserved attention for their electro-dance hits entwining Aboriginal culture with gay anthems. 2000 And Whatever aims to prove that this generation could be “the best yet” with a pumping pop feel that should fit perfectly into Eurovision’s genre. I’m still torn as to what to vote for…
We travel to Northern Ireland for the first time in my playlist, taking in the latest EP from Jealous of the Birds. This singer-songwriter, also known as Naomi Hamilton has come onto my radar with Wisdom Teeth, a really interesting and diverse little 5-tracker, including this one, New York Has A Lump In Her Throat. You can really imagine listening to this as you wander the streets of the great city, observing the life around you before the chorus speeds up and reflects the faster pace of the life including a really clever little spoken word section, highlighting Hamilton’s love of poetry.
The interesting part in all this is attempting to reconcile those two impulses
The impulse to impersonate and the impulse to invent
It seems as though being an artist involves maintaining that equilibrium
In a way that isn’t a detriment to you or your craft
The unassuming jayteehazard is one hell of a DJ, producer and all-round nice guy. When he’s not DJing around Sydney and Newcastle, he’s creating or remixing beats with Hermitude, Haiku Hands, Coda Conduct and Hilltop Hoods. His live shows exhibit his skills – mixing, morphing, and scratching his way through sets that will have the crowd bouncing. His solo projects have usually just been him and his beats, but for Flight, he teams up with a few legends. Hau Latukefu provides the lyrics, Meklit Kibret her buttery voice and Gareth Hudson his key skills. This ultra-cool track really sets him up for a new direction in his music and it’ll be exciting to see where he goes.
VOIID made a splash at BIGSOUND last year with their punky, thrashy sound and 2019 looks set to be a break-out year for the Brisbane four-piece. Vile is acerbic, intense and vital. I am loving the sound on this with the distortion, the backing vocals and punchy drums – it’s got everything that you’d want in a rock song along with relatable lyrics about growing up, dealing with friends, partying and trying to get through life in general/trying to survive! VOIID hit the road with A Swayze & The Ghosts and Crocodylus in March for a killer tri-headlining tour. Unmissable.
The most sensitive new song you’ll hear this week is from Kelso. Known for her (amazing) bass playing with the band Camp Cope, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich’s project takes personal and intimate music to another level. Combining with Japanese Wallpapers’s Gab Strum and Xavier Rubetzki Noonan, Kelso have released the delicate Oh God There Is So Much Love In Me. The track that “that takes place half on King St in Sydney, and half in a toilet stall in Austin, Texas” (hence the ‘Drivers around here are crazy’ line), is a perfect example of the sort of sound you’d expect from friends tinkering with genres, guitar and stories. Beautifully touching and emotive, but be sure to check out the much more filled-out Glitter from late last year too.
There’s a real noise coming out of Brisbane lately and Sweater Curse are leading the way. With slots at Falls and Laneway, this three-piece indie-rock group are exploding onto the scene and latest song (Hear You) is only going to speed up the process. Three minutes of perfectly presented indie rock with a thrashy little garage sound mixed in and the gloriously raw voice of Monica on top. The song dives into the world of “tumultuous relationships and in-depth emotional exploration” and will sit nicely amongst the already released singles on their debut EP, See You, out on 1st of March.
With a few line-up changes over the years, it’s been a little hard to keep track of Key Out, but this has never detracted from them making quality music. Now, with the trio of Patrick Haid, Rohan Geddes and Saskia Clapton, they’ve created a sublimely balanced record, delving into summer nights, city life and dreamy escapes. Lost is a perfect example of the ethos that the band are trying to project, letting your mind run free with possibility as the guitars and vocal swirl around you, although driven by a strong beat. The album, What (do) you see, sits very comfortably on the Half A Cow label (Art of Fighting, Sneeze, Crow, Smudge) and along with producer, J Walker (Machine Translations), they are onto a good thing – oh, and how cute is Frankie, the dog? 🐕
