What at first sounds like a generic noisy indie rock song from New York psych-pop explorers Flaccid Ashbacks takes some really interesting twists and turns over its five minutes. From a Sunny Day Real Estate emotive outlay through to a mid section with sharper edges and into its contrasting country strum that sounds like Pavement. It adds up to a restless yet still captivating sound … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Flaccid Ashbacks – On and On
‘Pink Frost’ stands as one our favourite singles, certainly a contender for our favourite New Zealand song of all time. With that in mind we approached this cover by Mexican quartet Mercvrial with caution but they definitely pull it off. They retain that haunting, swirling melancholic mood, inject some electronic elements (sounding like mid-period Depeche Mode) but without sacrificing the sad heart of the song. The … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Mercvrial – Pink Frost
Melbourne post-punk trio Life Strike have a way of combining that genre’s obtuse angles and edges with a jangly lo-fi aesthetic. It positions them somewhere between the Dunedin underground guitar pop merchants of the 80s and a darker, more garage rock attack and smear. Here’s their brand new single and video from the album Primitive Future which came out last month. ‘Dear Life’ clears away … Continue reading VIDEO PREMIERE: Life Strike – Dear Life
There’s a sweet rambling tinge of Blur in the sound of this track from Ex Okays. It’s mainly in the vocal before the song gets all warbly and comforting like a woozy walk home from a late night bar on a warm summer night. The band have an EP out now called Good/Old Days. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Ex Okays – OGIES
Brisbane band Sunny Flynn Hugo first impressed us with their self-titled 2018 album which artfully and seamlessly blended Americana and indie rock sensibilities. Songs that sparkled and chimed with melancholy and warm melodies. Since then they’ve released the EP City Always lets You Down, which continues their exploration of introspective mood-driven songwriting. They recently played an in-store at the fine Sonic Sherpa record store in … Continue reading Sunny Flynn Hugo, live @ Sonic Sherpa
Ride @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW Sept 6th 2019 It’s been a long time between drinks for Australian fans of English band Ride but the timing felt just right with the band re-established for a couple of years now and with two solid new albums under its belt. It’s most likely that the members of openers Shiva & The Hazards were probably not even born … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Ride @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 2019
Some woozy, slow moving shoegaze sounds for you today. ‘Talking Secret’ is a new track from Milly, a Los Angeles band fronted by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Dyer. The song blends UK and US styles really nicely. There are echoes of post rock and grunge in the mix. I guess a band that you could draw some parallels with would be Swervedriver and the way … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Milly – Talking Secret
We’re very pleased to be able to premiere a stream of the brand new album from Fleeting Persuasion, the latest nom de plume of Melbourne songwriter James Spencer Harrison. He’s previously released music under the name J M S Harrison but now, with a richer and denser full band sound on Forever Caught he’s launched it under Fleeting Persuasion. Sonically persuading it is too, … Continue reading EXCLUSIVE ALBUM STREAM: Fleeting Persuasion – Forever Caught
Americana sounds are the order of the day on this lovely understated track from Chicagoans Jacob and Matthew Boll, under the name Edwin. There’s not a lot to find online about the American duo other than they’ve previously released two EPs. They’ve got a nice autumnal and melodic sound, reminiscent of Wilco, Elliott Smith and The Lemonheads. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Edwin – Lucky Penny
Struttin’, shimmering, hard-hitting, vocal shredding, pouting, soulful rama-lama rock ‘n’ roll of the highest form is the order of the day on this track from Johnny Conqueroo (a Lexington, KY trio). Riff rock, MC5-styled shakedown, funk and groove-laden garage rock are all thrown in the musical blender. There’s nothing intellectual about this, there doesn’t need to be. It’s ROCK AND ROLL. Johnny Conqueroo have a new … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Johnny Conqueroo – Rock and Roll
Rising out of the sonic mist come Holy Void (Canada) with this heavyweight piece of psych rock that lumbers and sways along. It’s heavy without being HEAVY, has melodies that drip from it like sickly sweet toffee and possesses enough rust and peeling paint to make it sound like it was beamed in from another time. Great stuff and an intoxicating introduction that will drag … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Holy Void – I Will Never Be Again
Recommended if you like The Verve, The Charlatans and Deep Sea Arcade. Melbourne/London four piece Shiva & The Hazards will be supporting RIDE on their East Coast Australian tour next month and on the sound of this single they’ll be a great sound to complement the headliners. They’ve got an assured UK indie rock sound – doused in the kind of dreamy psychedelia that bands … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Shiva & The Hazards – Angkor Wat
Doubtful Sounds 