This has been a big week for Australia music. How big? Well, when you get new tracks from Flume and Tame Impala, that’s a pretty huge week – internationally – for Australian music. It would be easy to put both of them in this list, but hell, you’re already listening to that, so instead I hope you can discover a few new artists in this playlist.
Also, I’ve been pretty bummed this last weekend over the state of my home state. The NSW election has been run and won and it’s not looking promising for the arts and culture scene in the upcoming four years. All I can say is – if you live here – don’t give up. Make that effort to go out, see a band, support the arts and make sure that the government sees that they can’t kill the culture of a city if people are still going out of their way to appreciate it.
I nearly didn’t include this song because, in my mind, they are already pretty damn popular and deservedly so, but I just loved it so much, it had to be included. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard had a decidedly quiet 2018 by their standards, but with this, the second track from their forthcoming 14th album (😳), Fishing for Fishies is pure joy. As always, there’s the hooky, almost atonal chords that we know and love and the boogie-blues theme drives this song along with it’s cutesy lyrics. I don’t know how they keep creating wonderfully fresh music, but please don’t stop.
Ali Barter has been rocking us out for over 5 years with her pop-tinged rock that hooked me from the beginning. Her 2017 album, A Suitable Girl, was a fantastic debut and just two years on she’s released the first taste of her next album with Ur A Piece Of Shit. The fast-paced perky, yet vocally-viscous track sees Barter once again not afraid to delve into personal stories about her best friends. “Ur a piece of shit and so am I”. Self-deprecating perhaps, but honestly a rocking little track and a glorious return.
There is something about The Kite String Tangle‘s musical creations that just scream. “This guy is bloody genius”. Over the years, the man known to his mum as Danny Harley has been more down the pop path than this, his definitely darker and more moody new track, P()L4R. Inspired by British garage inspired beats, this track – whilst still a huge banger – feels huge. Big blocks of bass, driving synthy hooks, but a drop that rattles the bones. Love it.
When we talk of big, The Chats went huge with the lead track from the 2017 EP, Get This In Ya. Sitting at over 3.5 million plays on Spotify, Smoko has been the impetus for huge supports, including Queens of the Stone Age last year. New track, Pub Feed, is a a succinct 2 and a half mins of roaring pub-punk about get a schnitty down at ya local. Their sound harks back to a simpler time in Aussie music. When you could go to the pub on the weekend, grab a rump steak and a pub band. The trio get loose on stage and just wanna play fast and hard and the crowd love them for it.
Coming in just 20 seconds longer than the previous track, this glistening little collaboration from Didirri and Ro is the polar opposite. The warm voices of the two vocalists are the highlight here, weaving in and out of an ode to a tipple in Tea Stains. Written over 18 months ago, the pair have since gone on to build small but quality bodies of work and this sweet little track is a great way to highlight the trajectories of these promising artists.
One of the hardest working bands in Australia had to be the pair that makes up Polish Club. Their new track, We Don’t Care, is their first release of the year and comes off the back of a self-proclaimed dry spell of writing. It’s a huge song that puts a stake in the ground declaring the start of the next chapter of this much-loved duo’s journey. Rock out, don’t give a shit too much and we’ll love it. We already do.
Good Pash is a good Australian band name and also a good Australian band. The four-piece from Sydney have launched into 2019 with this new track and it’s a beautifully frank storytelling indie tune about living with an ego in a share house. A Yacht in Sydney Harbour has a DIY feel to it, a damn cool tambourine and some quaint, but witty lyrics. I think it’s best you learn about this band now cause I reckon there’s a damn good future to come
If my name was Beau Lightning, I’d be releasing shit-hot rock music too. Don’t Get Bit is the new release from this Adelaidean. There’s a touch of old school in here, pumping riffs and pulsing drums and a vocal that soars. Yes, it’s hard not to mention the similarity to Wolfmother, but we all know they borrowed their sound from the ’70s and that sound is all over this. Rough, tough, big and exciting.
Speaking of rough, Synthetics take no prisoners with their new EP, CRUX. Nowhere To Go is so loose you’ll be looking for a belt to hold your dacks up. It’s relentless for the whole 1:51 it lasts, with vocalist, Emma Dunstan, holding nothing back. This is perhaps one of more melodic tracks in the EP, but if you sell that crunch, that raw sound, but thoughtful ideas behind the tracks, dive into this debut EP from the Melbourne quarter.
I love that bands aren’t afraid to portray their Australianisms nowadays. Gone are the days that the Aussie accent was avoided. The Spring Peaks sing of VC Commodores, dance halls and Coming of Age in this uplifting little track. The twangy guitar is quaint, the talky-singing is easy to listen to and the lyrics are positive. “I know that things will get better, but if you stick with me, well then we’ll do it together.” We can learn a lot from this West Australian group. Things will get better.
(Spotify playlist updates with the latest week, each week)
(click on album art to view videos of tracks)
(Click through to Spotify profile for all monthly playlists)
