The sounds of Africa have been explored, excavated and reissued with great enthusiasm in recent years – from the Soundways compilations to Soul Jazz’s Nigeria series and many more. The sound has filtered through into plenty of contemporary acts too – Goat come to mind with their mix of African, psych and Krautrock sounds and this Oakland CA USA group Orchestra Gold are another fine … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Orchestra Gold – Maribayassa
New York trio Gold Dime recently released this video for the title track of their new album My House. The sum of their parts but each distinctly carving their own niche in the band’s sound – Andrya Ambro (drums/vocals), Ian Douglas-Moore (bass), John Bohannon (guitar) all play with/off each other in a heavily rhythmic and mantra-like way. There are dense, pummelling sections, punctuated by squalls of … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Gold Dime – My House
A blistering sonic harmonic scree is the order of the day on this new track from the Southampton, UK band Burning House. You can hear the spirit and verve of bands like Swervedriver, Trail Of Dead, My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth as they careen across the speakers, leaving vapour trails of melody and distortion. ‘Her Vowel No’ comes from their debut LP … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Burning House – Her Vowel No
We posted another Charcoal Burners track earlier this year and this one also hits the spot with its warm buzz and jangle of guitars, interlaced with piano (that reminded us of Able Tasmans). I like that they reference the sound of the song in its title, you can definitely hear both bands that they mention, more so their Dunedin counterparts. I’d also throw in a … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Charcoal Burners – The Verlaines and Husker Du
“A stream-of-consciousness ramble of a day living in the inner-west” Hooks and riffs abound with laidback verve and hypnotic charm on this new single from Blue Mountains, NSW resident CJ Stranger. That’s the nom de plume of songwriter and guitarist Cameron James Henderson and on this track he hits a sweet spot between The War On Drugs and Kurt Vile with a cool blend of … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: CJ Stranger – Strange One
Underground Lovers A Left Turn Rubber Records ★★★★ Underground Lovers are back with their ninth studio album, their third since they reactivated after a hiatus through the first decade of the 21st century. That return showed they were still in fine form with their blend of psychedelic indie rock and electronica and they’ve again produced a strong album that brings those elements together in perfect … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Underground Lovers – A Left Turn
ACUA are a post-punk band from Cologne who sit somewhere in the sweet spot between the aforementioned genre and the more hypnotic side of dream-pop, shoegaze and indie rock. ‘Keep Spinning’ is the their latest single and finds the fairly new band blending synths and guitars into a really nice sound (reminiscent of RIDE), balanced between drift and drive, where texture is everything. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: ACUA – Keep Spinning
‘Being Human’, by Manchester songwriter and producer Caoilfhionn Rose (pronounced Keelin) is one of those tracks that combines mystery, beauty, lush production and a voice that possesses effortless melodic qualities. It comes from her debut LP Awaken, out now on Gondwana Records. Mixing pastoral folk, light psychedelia and indie sensibilities the song is a good reflection of the overall strength of Awaken as an album. Recommended! Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Caoilfhionn Rose – Being Human
Australian band Easy Street throw a Dylan-like urging vocal and some loose-limbed exuberance into the musical blender on this new track ‘Get On’. It’s one of those songs that feels purpose-built for the fast approaching warmer months. Hailing from Sydney, the quintet have a great carefree and melodic, garage psychedelia going on in their sound. We’re looking forward to hearing more from the band. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Easy Street – Get On
Here’s some cinematic, widescreen psychedelia courtesy of Federale, a seven-piece ensemble based in Portland, OR. Spearheaded by longtime Brian Jonestown Massacre bassist Collin Hegna, the band was conceived as an outlet to channel inspiration from 60’s & 70’s European soundtracks, particularly those from Italy made famous by the Spaghetti Western & Giallo genres. They certainly hit the mark on ‘Trouble’, a song that swaggers along … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Federale – Trouble
“Molly Ringwald was my saviour…” Gothic guitar pop with a post-punk twist is the order of the day on this new track from Vanessa Van Ness, a Melbourne-based guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer from Venice Beach, Los Angeles. There’s a roll call of influential women in the song, over a minimal backing of guitar and percussion. ‘True True Shot’ has a really nice mantra-like quality … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Vanessa Van Ness – True True Shot
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
Doubtful Sounds 