Here’s some super-impressive skronking, jerky, No Wave-indebted funk and art-punk from this quintet out of New York. Gustaf‘s debut album Audio Drag For Ego Slobs was released on October 1st through Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Alvvays, Mac DeMarco). Like Talking Heads collaborating with James Chance and ESG, the group have distilled their sound to taut and nervy rhythms with the bass leading the way. … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Gustaf – Book
Animal Collective return with their brand new single ‘Prester John’, the first taste of their new album Time Skiffs and the first new music from the band since Painting With in 2016. The song retains the band’s signature psychedelic and kaleidoscopic sound, loping along on a trip-hop beat and a warm synth and bass propulsion. It reminded me of Clinic in parts but still with … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Animal Collective release the clip for their new single ‘Prester John’
Richard Cuthbert (he of Cuthbert & The Night Walkers fame), recently released his new single ‘Tomato Plants’, the second taste of his new album Daydreaming which is due out on November 5th. Now we get to experience the juicy video clip for the song. The new single ‘Tomato Plants‘ is another slice of concise and super-catchy indie guitar pop from Richard. The song ebbs and flows … Continue reading VIDEO PREMIERE: Richard Cuthbert – Tomato Plants
Melbourne artist Alex Watts has a brand new single called ‘Moving Borders’ set for release next week and we’re very pleased to be able to premiere the track here on DS. It follows Watts’ previous 2021 singles ‘Overnormal‘ and ‘Damage‘ and finds him diving headlong into kaleidoscopic art pop where strings collide with glorious synths and crisp beats under a glittering mirror ball. Duran Duran … Continue reading SINGLE PREMIERE: Alex Watts – Moving Borders
Sydney songwriter Bryan Estepa has just released his brand new Josh Pyke-produced EP Back To The Middle, including its title-track single. The song kicks off like an 80s Springsteen outtake before settling into an irresistible head-nodding rhythm and a super-catchy chorus that swells with an Elvis Costello organ and a Beach Boys-sounding pop exuberance. ‘Everything You Wanted’ changes gear into a wistful Americana-tinged power pop … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bryan Estepa – Back To The Middle
A Place To Bury Strangers are no strangers to noise, distortion and heavy effects. Sometimes it’s used for abrasive purposes but here those elements are like a warm sonic cocoon. Tendrils of electricity embrace the listener, pulling them up into the clouds on a dreamy bed of splintering guitar notes and gauze-like feedback, while the vocal and bass hold the centre in a zen-like state. … Continue reading Listen to A Place To Bury Strangers’ ‘I Need You’ from their Hologram EP
2021 sees the return of Sydney group North Arm, four years since the release of their sophomore album. ‘Bring The Daylight’ is the first single and title track from the band’s brand new album, due out on October 15th via Broken Stone Records and Remote Control. The song gently sways and pulses with a warm and encompassing sound built on swooning strings by J Walker (Machine Translations), economical guitar and rolling bass. It’s … Continue reading NEW SINGLE/VIDEO: North Arm – Bring The Daylight
Missing new sounds from Jesus Lizard, Black Flag, METZ etc? Lock your clock on Chicago band Work Party and their new track ‘NFG’ (No Fucks Given). It swings like a sledgehammer or an executioners axe – rough and raw, grinding and irreverent, this is post-punk meets noise rock par excellence. The middle section with spoken word is unsettling and humorous before the song lurches back … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Work Party – NFG
Hard-Ons, with their new line-up configuration including Tim Rogers of You Am I, have released the video for their second single from their forthcoming new album I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken. Another surging melodic punk, power pop track, the song kicks like a euphoric mule, with an anthemic quality, that sounds like it could spiral on and on. One of those songs that … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Hard-Ons – Lite As A Feather
Shihad, New Zealand’s greatest rock band, have released the third single from the forthcoming tenth album Old Gods (Sept 24th). It’s a clever clip for ‘Feel The Fire’, from lockdown webcams to the great outdoors, the band capture the feeling of the light at the end of tunnel of all things pandemic. Continue reading NEW VIDEO: Shihad – Feel The Fire
Coming on like an even twitchier, surging version of The Saints with horns and punk-edged rock n roll, Mallwalkers mix up a really nice sound on this new single. That cascading sound juts up against stop-start sections where things get jerky in a post-punk way. It’s a thrill a second from the Buffalo, NY band. ‘Get Yr Cake’ was the first single released from their … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Mallwalkers – Get Yr Cake
Like David Byrne jamming with The Strokes on a coastal beach holiday or Parquet Courts and RBCF on a musical exchange program, Sydney / Eora via Dharawal / Illawarra group Bored Shorts cut some fine indie rock and slacker pop shapes on their excellent new single ‘Common Connections’. The song comes from their new album Way Off! which will be released Sept 3rd via Spunk! … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bored Shorts – Common Connections
Doubtful Sounds 