THE THE RELEASE NEW SINGLE AND ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘ENSOULMENT’

Fantastic news over the weekend that Matt Johnson’s THE THE are set to release their new album Ensoulment on September 6th 2024. This their first album since NakedSelf in 2000. Check out the first single ‘Cognitive Dissident’ with its dark, rhythmic and soulful groove and Johnson’s immediately recognisable vocal. Encompassing characteristic topics ranging from love & sex, war & politics, life & death – to … Continue reading THE THE RELEASE NEW SINGLE AND ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘ENSOULMENT’

TINDERSTICKS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SOFT TISSUE’

England’s soul/folk group Tindersticks return with their new, 14th album Soft Tissue on September 13th, 2024. Two tracks are available to stream now, the gentle undulations of ‘Falling, the Light‘ and an edit of the opening track ‘New World‘ where the band dig in to a deep and minimal soul/funk groove. A warm instrumental glow acts as a beautiful halo for Stuart Staples’ distinctive and … Continue reading TINDERSTICKS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SOFT TISSUE’

Brisbane’s Dumb Things release new single ‘Self Help’

Dumb Things first made a marker on the wider Australian indie-pop scene with their 2019 album Time Again and now the Brisbane/Meanjin group are back with the first single and title-track from their forthcoming 2024 LP Self Help (Coolin’ By Sound). The song’s wonderful laidback shuffle and strum harks back to the heyday of Flying Nun guitar pop and their trans-Tasman contemporaries such as The … Continue reading Brisbane’s Dumb Things release new single ‘Self Help’

VIDEO PREMIERE: Big League – At All

Melbourne band Big League released their brilliant single ‘Dine Out on the Subdivide’ earlier this year and now they’ve released the followup ‘At All‘. It’s another gem of hotwired fuzz and indie rock, a ragged rush of an anthem for the disaffected, with a streak of positivity woven into it. With a key carnivalesque guitar sound, it tumbles out of the speakers with an urgency … Continue reading VIDEO PREMIERE: Big League – At All

ALBUM REVIEW: Jamie Hutchings – Making Water

Like dust settling on the floor, disrupted by unruly primitive machines, the latest release from Jamie Hutchings takes shape and begins to gel and morph amid the clatter and klang of all manner of percussion. It’s never clear whether elements of a real drum kit have been sacrificed in the process of making this mostly instrumental album. A floor tom could be an empty container … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Jamie Hutchings – Making Water

NEW MUSIC: The Gin Palace – Unsettled

The Gin Palace, who include members of Crow, Glide, The Aerial Maps, Charlie Horse, Copperline, Joeys Coop, Caligula and The Finalists in their ranks, have just released the second single from their forthcoming album The Year Of The Dog. ‘Unsettled‘, written by Peter Fenton (Crow) and Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), is a dialogue with this country’s troubled past, an unflinching, poetic and honest look at a nation’s failings. An essential process required before all … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Gin Palace – Unsettled

NEW HEAVY BLANKET (J. MASCIS) LP OUT END OF JANUARY

Returning after a ten-year sojourn, freshly stewed from the mind of legendary rock outlier J Mascis, instrumental psych sideshow Heavy Blanket are back with the release of new album Moon Is on Outer Battery Records. Forever the creator and custodian of noise in all its inimitable forms, Mascis’ recent raid on a stash of unused riffs has yielded an exceptionally heavy trove of new tracks. Over six … Continue reading NEW HEAVY BLANKET (J. MASCIS) LP OUT END OF JANUARY

LO CARMEN GETS GLORIOUSLY DREAMY AND SWAMPY ON NEW SINGLE ‘HALF GIRL HALF BEAST’

Sydney songwriter and author Lo Carmen has been busy of late, on the promo trail for her excellent book Lovers Dreamers Fighters and a run of live shows with her band The Great Beyond. Now the recorded fruits of their labour has arrived with the new single ‘Half Girl Half Beast‘ which slithers from the swamp in a sultry and ghostly crawl – a long overdue … Continue reading LO CARMEN GETS GLORIOUSLY DREAMY AND SWAMPY ON NEW SINGLE ‘HALF GIRL HALF BEAST’

SONIC KICKS: Sam Shinazzi

Sam Shinazzi has been a stalwart of the Sydney indie scene for years – decades even! His slowburn career has been marked by consistency and a strength of low-key yet mature and heartfelt songwriting. His latest and his sixth album, Days I Won’t Forget (Stanley Records) is his best yet. He’s found a really wonderful balance between that lazy acoustic strum that forms the backbone of his songs … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Sam Shinazzi

THE DEBUT ALBUM BY SYDNEY TRIO OWO IS OUT NOW

oWo possess a dark and supremely catchy sound that casts a familiar shadow back to the 90s heyday of alternative Australian rock music while still sounding like a pure product of the bars and pubs of Sydney’s Inner West in 2022. In the immortal words of oWo, “Rock’s not dead. It’s just inherently unstable.” On the back of the well-received singles ‘Super Role Model’ and ‘Exit Plan‘, the … Continue reading THE DEBUT ALBUM BY SYDNEY TRIO OWO IS OUT NOW

ALANNAH RUSSACK’S ENTROPY BAND RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘TEND YOUR FIRE’

Following on from the shimmering pop delights of the first single from her upcoming album, As Memories Pass Each Other, much-loved Australian singer-songwriter Alannah Russack has today released her new song, the evocative and bluesy, New Orleans sound of ‘Tend Your Fire’. Fondly remembered from her days co-fronting greatly revered Australian guitar pop band, The Hummingbirds, Alannah has furthered her musical career as both a solo artist and as a key member … Continue reading ALANNAH RUSSACK’S ENTROPY BAND RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘TEND YOUR FIRE’

NEW MUSIC from noisy Chicago Krautrock/post-punk group Koalra

‘The Fires Burned‘ drops the gears and hits the accelerator, immediately levelling out at cruise controlled high speed sense of urgency, there’s a Krautrock insistency locked into the rhythm section – as much chug and churn as narcotised tunnel vision. Mantra-like vocals intone deep nothings across the pealing and swirling guitars. Distortion harnessed like a controlled back burn – where the forest meets the desert. This … Continue reading NEW MUSIC from noisy Chicago Krautrock/post-punk group Koalra