In the words of Bendigo VIC artist Jakson, “this song is a call to arms against the world’s richest. Eat the rich.” In a colloquial accent he reels off some of the world’s richest and their associated estimated wealth.
Over jagged, scratching guitar and a dub-influenced post-punk rhythm section, the song builds intensity, bursting into see-sawing distorted guitars that sound like a cross between 3Ds and Jesus Lizard before it all collapses like a drunken game of Jenga. For fans of Squid, Black Country, New Road.
Pummelling is an apt description of this new post-punk track from UK duo Torrid Horror (Caine and Maud). Across seven minutes they dispatch frantic organ-led ‘carnival in hell’ riffs and rhythms while the singer howls and barks across the maddening crowds. At its mid point it pauses to get it’s sonic breath back, inhaling, hands on knees before the waves settle amid a spoken word passage. It’s only temporary though, things quickly ratchet up again – chopping, twisting and squealing before an exquisite saxophone-led section of heavy funk (courtesy of Pete Fraser) fills the room.
File these guys alongside Black Country, New Road, Black Midi and Viagra Boys.
This recently released track from Lu (a Colombia born drummer and electronic musician based in Philadelphia, PA) hits a fine line in dark Krautrock-flavoured electronic music. Heavily rhythmic and propulsive it gathers momentum and heads for the stratosphere on a psychedelic lunar mission.
For single #2 from the forthcoming new Dino Jr album, Lou Barlow takes centrestage with his song ‘Garden’. The video clip for the song was directed by Lou and Adelle Barlow, with illustrations by John Moloney and animation by Chloe Hemingway.
Of the song and video Lou says:
“Everyone seemed to want a disruption in the order of American life, it seemed necessary. Then it happened. It began as a bitter lamentation but as I was finishing the lyrics, singing over the instrumental version of the song while driving to J’s through the miles of farmland that separate his studio in Amherst and my home in Greenfield (Massachusetts), I saw a sign on a shed: Back to the Garden. I was looking for a resolution, where do we go when faced with such dramatic confusion? Back to basics, back home, back to the garden. Luckily I was able to complete the vocals and instrumentation for the song just before the quarantine.
There wasn’t a video planned for the song but since my wife Adelle and I had started making holiday ‘specials’ for my YouTube channel this past December, we thought we could knock one out for Garden. I wanted to capture the two of us holding hands on a levy overlooking a scenic bend in the Connecticut River (very close to where the first Dinosaur video, Little Fury Things, was filmed!). Adelle thought we should incorporate the whimsical paintings of Dinosaur Jr’s tour manager John Moloney. He routinely dashes off caricatures of J, Murph and I when we travel. I told John about our ideas and he thought it would be easy to video the band playing the song. So, John and Adelle quickly captured the band playing the song on their iPhones on a cold February afternoon and I edited it all together in iMovie. Then we had Chloe, the real vid expert at Jagjaguwar, put the paintings by John and Adelle into the mix, and that’s it! Thanks for watching.”
The new album Sweep It Into Space will be released April 23rd via Jagjaguwar.
Sydney band The Holy Soul are back with ‘747’, the new single from their forthcoming Robyn Hitchcock-produced LP Get Old! Coming six years after their superb album Fortean Times, the track has a heavy psych garage feel with a bassline that lurches and rumbles with melody and menace in the verses before the song blossoms out of the shadows into a damn sweet descending, jangly chorus.
See-sawing tension and a mix of post-hardcore and post-punk styles makes this new track from Chicago trio Nonagon a real delight. On ‘The Family Meal’ there’s the knottiness and angles of Fugazi mixed with the reaching melodies of Sunny Day Real Estate as the song lurches and churns.
This new single comes from their full-length LP They Birds, released on March 3rd, 2021.
UK avant post-punk group Squid have released another single from their forthcoming new LP Bright Green Field, out May 7th on Warp Records.
“Written from two different perspectives, Paddling is a song about the dichotomy between simple pleasures and decadent consumerism. Recounting a familiar scene from Wind & The Willows, the song reminds us that although we are humans, we are also ultimately animals that are driven by both modern and primal instincts and how that has led to vanity and machismo around us in the everyday.”
“We started writing it when we were but kids still living in Brighton. Last summer we really got into playing this together again. Straight away we started to work the tune into new places whilst we were writing at the Old Road in Chippenham, the track became an important part of Bright Green Field for us. Recording Paddling was great, it was quite hot so naturally the tempo was upped a fair bit too. Dan Carey’s modular synthesizer is definitely the 6th band member in this one, turning Louis & Anton’s guitars into racecars from about the 5 minute mark.”
Formed in Brighton, Squid is the brainchild of Louis Borlase (Guitars & Vocals), Ollie Judge (Drums & Lead Vocals), Arthur Leadbetter (Keyboards, Strings, Percussion), Laurie Nankivell (Bass & Brass) and Anton Pearson (Guitars & Vocals).
Endless Recordings has announced the signing of Australia’s Jack Ladder to its label roster.
2021 marks the 10th anniversary of his watershed album ‘Hurtsville’, originally released on the venerated Spunk Records. Recorded in the dead of winter in a rural NSW mansion, it left behind the shuffling soul of its predecessor (the Australian Music Prize shortlisted ‘Love is Gone’) for an austere chronicle of longing and loss. Produced by Burke Reid (The Drones, Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin), it also marked his first collaboration with backing The Dreamlanders – an idiosyncratic group comprised of Kirin J Callinan (guitar), Donny Benet(bass) and Laurence Pike (drums). The album achieved damning reviews and widespread critical acclaim, again being shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. It’s centre piece, the remarkable ‘Cold Feet’ was awarded Song Of The Year by Mess and Noise (RIP).
To celebrate the anniversary of ‘Hurtsville’, Endless is releasing a limited edition vinyl repressing of the album, out April 23rd 2021. This will be accompanied by ‘Hurt Book’, a collection of never before seen photos, lyrics and other ephemera, combined with essays and testimonials about the album from the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Lloyd Cole and Alex Cameron. The re-issue will also include Ladder’s original ‘Hurtsville’ demos, a intriguing document of the album’s genesis.
Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders will be revisiting ‘Hurstville’ for the first time since its release this May, taking you through the depths of despair, and lifting you into the great heights of self-actualisation. Featuring the original band members, this is a performance for return travellers and new arrivals alike. Special guest performing at both shows will be Sarah Mary Chadwick.
May 6th @ The Forum, Melbourne with Sarah Mary Chadwick
