Sydney artist Prudence releases his debut EP Major Tom tomorrow on Bandcamp and streaming platforms. Prudence is songwriter (and bassist for DMAs) Tom Crandles who also releases music as Au.Ra with Tom Jenkins. Major Tom’s six tracks were recorded in Margate, Kent UK, completed in Sydney and finally mixed in Auckland earlier this year. The results are a kaleidoscopic blend of post punk, new wave melancholia … Continue reading FIRST LISTEN: Prudence – Major Tom
‘Money From Home’ is the latest single from Gaswegian group Acrylic and what we like about his piece of indie rock is how it dials into a shadowy post-punk melancholy while still retaining a lightness and grace on the surface. You can hear shades of The National, and Midlake in the harmonies and sparkling, interwoven guitars. It’s a sophisticated sound and one that really gets … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Acrylic – Money From Home
‘TSINA’ has an unsettling start, it feels off kilter and slightly disorientating. Then things fall into place as guitars drench the song in warm and fuzzy distortion. There’s a really nice blend of styles going on in Bollard’s music. Part, jangly rock, part post-rock and post-punk deconstruction and the verve and carefree noise of 90s rock pioneered by bands like Swervedriver and Sonic Youth. The … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bollard – TSINA
Crawling out of the Sydney underbelly is 100, a tension-laden quartet with a brand new song to follow-up their EP Cortisone and a split 7″ with Nick Nuisance & The Delinquents. ‘Just Us’ lurches and staggers across the speakers with the creeping malevolence of Jesus Lizard and Nirvana. It’s unhinged yet the band are in full control as they delivered these monolithic crashing post-punk chords … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: 100 – Just Us
There’s a strong LCD Soundsystem sound on this track from the Chicago band Engine Summer. It comes from their recently released EP Indiana. There’s more than just that particular influence going on here though. Bits of post-rock and post-punk are built into the DNA. Skronking guitar notes warble and scatter and the groove is of the utmost importance, much as it is with other contemporary … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Engine Summer – Outside The Curtain
Here’s some psychedelic rock courtesy of Walking Bicycles out of Chicago IL. ‘ESP’ comes from their forthcoming LP Chooch (April 26th), their fifth album from a 15 year career. There’s a cool production approach to the track with an echo chamber kind of vibe giving it a noisey, hard-surfaced clatter that adds a post-punk tension which complements Jocelyn Summer’s anguished recitation. Great rhythm section too! Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Walking Bicycles – ESP
The Newcastle group Raave Tapes are back with a new track that hits a bristling post-punk streak of frenetic drums and some fine yelping from bassist Lindsay O’Connell. The guitar sweeps over the songs in washes of hazy distortion, punctuated by interjecting dotted notes. Great energy and a dynamic arrangement on this song that deals with the often crippling onset of anxiety. “We’re aiming to … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Raave Tapes – Stabs
We’ve been coming across a few new psych acts of late and this track by San Diego group Wild Wild Wets is one that caught our ears. ‘Now Wow’ rides a laidback rhythm with rolling bass and some widescreen guitar that bends and distorts through melodic squalls. Singer Mike Turi has one of those dark voices that recalls Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Verve with his … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Wild Wild Wets – Now Wow
This track from Las Vegas quintet Black Camaro kicks off with a mean streak of post-punk, tumbling and angular rhythms courtesy of a great bass-line. Things straighten up after that – more melodies, ringing guitars and atmosphere enters the fray. It’s knotty, dynamic and burns a hole in your synapses with its blend of dark vibes and the lighter elements courtesy of the guitar and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Black Camaro – Out In The Rain
UK group These New Puritans return with ‘Inside The Rose’, the second single (and NSFW video) from their forthcoming new LP of the same name, due out March 22nd. It’s their first album in six years and saw the band record in Berlin, London and Southend-on-Sea, before mixing it in Los Angeles. The group have reverted to the original duo of brothers Jack and George … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: These New Puritans – Inside The Rose
No Age, Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Arse, Basic Human Oxford Art Factory February 14th, 2019 Almost ten years to the day that No Age last played Sydney, at the 2009 Laneway Festival, the Los Angeles duo return on the back of their critically acclaimed album of last year, Snares Like A Haircut. A fine four-band lineup had been put together for the evening and all … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: No Age @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Courtesy of Greenland and producer Opeamp, here’s a nice piece of glitchy, industrial techno that inhabits some nice dark and dubbed out soundscapes. Think a less gauzy and smeared Burial and reminiscent of some of Photek’s work. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Opeamp – Swarm
Doubtful Sounds 