‘Dear Liars’ is a new track from Melbourne post-rock duo Champion Motorist. Andrew McLaughlin (guitar & synths) and Paul Shea (drums) are clearly at the atmospheric post-metal end of the post-rock spectrum and this track, from their new EP Slight Return, travels a magnificent arc from the scene-setting tension and slow build dynamics through to the four minute mark, where that dissipates into the aether before returning with even more crunch and muscular intent.
McLaughlin spent a decade treading the boards with Melbourne group Radiant City after having played in band with Shea when they were younger. Reconnecting after twenty years, these songs apparently came quickly. You can hear it too, in the way they favour simplicity and a steady sense of order and control in their compositions.
Bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Mogwai and Russian Circles come to mind when listening to Champion Motorist. Check out the full EP over on their Bandcamp page.
On the back of a wistful, Krautrock beginning, with a spoken word introduction, ‘001‘ swells and swerves into full view with a shoegaze surge.
London duo Wings Of Desire blend the sound of early New Order with a noisier textures and a grand, widescreen melodic sound. A great anthemic, swinging-from-the-rafters, post-punk track.
Straight out of the gate this one hits you with its widescreens wall of guitars that phaser and shimmer like a slow motion glitter explosion. Total Rubbish is an all-female trio from Philadelphia who claim they’re inspired by disappointing relationships, new beginnings, odd-end jobs, and their Chicago & California garage rock roots. You can hear everyone from L7 to The Primitives, Veruca Salt to The Dandy Warhols in their bittersweet, heavy-haze grooves.
Total Rubbish are signed to Born Losers Records and are planning to release a debut EP, Triple Negative on November 20th.
Cosmic psych pop is the order of the day on this new track from Melbourne artist Wilding. He’s got a brand new album called The Death Of Foley’s Mall out now on Half A Cow Records and ‘Swipe Right‘ is one of a series of character-study songs Wilding wrote about people who live in his neighbourhood of Coburg, Victoria.
This single has a a brilliant build and momentum through it and guitar and synth layers that fold in and on top of the track. Fizzing melodies and an infectious thread run through the song, recalling British acts like Blur and Supergrass. There’s also a jerky undercurrent that brings to mind Talking Heads.
We’re excited to be premiering the brand new single/video from New Zealand legends The Bats. The track comes from their forthcoming album Foothills, out Nov 13th via Flying Nun Records.
There’s a warm and heavy-lidded dreamy quality to ‘Gone To Ground’, in large part courtesy of the use of EBow on the guitars and the way drummer Malcolm Grant gently propels the song along. A rich atmosphere pervades the song, perfectly capturing a wistful sense of retreat.
Robert Scott on ‘Gone To Ground’ — “Hide and seek, do we want to be found…. maybe not. Many people have gone to ground in these tricky times. A slight sense of unease pervades the song with the spooky strains of an E bow filtering through the trees. You could walk the marshes and go far. It’s funny how you can draw connections between a fictitious tales and present day life.”
The video clip was created by Sports Team and Annabel Kean has said on the ‘Gone To Ground’ video, “This is by far the longest we’ve spent on a video. We started about a year ago when we heard an early mix of the song, but the discovery of perpetual motion by way of spinning veges really opened a can of worms. Then it took us three attempts to pluck up the courage to light a guitar on fire.” Co-director Callum Devlin adds, “It was a total collaboration, and a very instinctive process. We wanted to try and capture what we felt listening to the song. There’s an uncertainty and a mystery to the lyrics that I feel lead us somewhere a bit more conceptual.”
Foothills is the band’s tenth album, on top of their many singles, EPs and compilation releases and over 35 years they’ve never put a foot wrong. The new album was recorded in Spring 2018 at a country retreat pop-up studio. At that time, 15 songs were captured and immortalised in the Canterbury foothills of the Southern Alps, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Only too well, The Bats know the possibilities, potentialities and sonic vistas that arise when one takes the reins for the recording process in a beautiful place that’s on home turf.
Robert Scott, on the making of Foothills has said “Time marches on… finally, we found a gap in our busy lives and chose a week to convene. We found a house that is usually inhabited by ski field workers — Kowai Bush, near Springfield about an hour west of Christchurch and of course nestled in the foothills of the mighty Southern Alps. The songs had been written, demo’d and arranged for some time, but still with a little room for trying things out in the studio. Many carloads arrived at the house, full of amps guitars and recording gear, we set up camp and soon made it feel like home; coloured lights, a log fire, and home cooked meals in the kitchen. We worked fast, and within a few days had all the basic backing tracks done, live together in one room, the way we like to do it – it’s all about ‘the feel’ for songs like ours.”
Jessica (one half of Jep & Dep) has just released her brand new debut album The Space Between on Bandcamp and ‘Pictures’ is the second single from to be drawn from what is a beautifully ethereal and immersive collection of songs.
‘Pictures’ rides a hypnotic guitar line reminiscent of Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood before Jessica’s vocal takes centre-stage, unfurling and overlapping with itself as she wanders a shopping mall before taking refuge in a dreamy and futuristic karaoke bar.
We’ve got a full album review coming soon but for now, dive in for yourself over at Bandcamp.
We loved ‘Blue State’, the first new single from the band and this one kicks with the same dark intent. Choppy verses that emerge into a widescreen rock chorus that swings like a heavyweight. Shades of QOTSA with a side serving of Fugazi just below the surface.
“’Close to the Edge’ is a commentary on a communication breakdown” states Joel Byrne, “it’s essentially the soundtrack to a really bad argument, in particular the kind that tend to be carried out over social media. The main riff (and overall track) is intentionally a bit nasty and vulgar because it represents the uglier side of people’s personalities that tend to come out in the heat of the moment, particularly when their opinion or ego is challenged.”
The track comes form their forthcoming new album NIL which is set for release on Friday 20 November via Part Time Records / Remote Control.
Pascal Schumacher is a Luxembourgan composer and vibraphone player who’s built up an impressive resume playing with quartets through to orchestras.
This new release comes from an EP Tropismes (The Mudam Session)where he performed at Mudam, the contemporary art museum in Luxembourg, and you get a real sense of how he operates at the nexus of classical and minimal electronic composition. The lightness and beauty of his playing is hypnotic, like a dreamstate transmission. Heavy-lidded yet full of life and verve, fragile yet full fully-formed. Beautiful stuff indeed.
Check out his full-length 2020 release SOL for a full and immersive deep dive into his work.
