WADE JACKSON CROONS A DREAMY LOVE SONG DEDICATION

NSW artist Wade Jackson‘s voice always conjures so many wonderful reference points every time I hear it. Following his album Sensationalized, ‘The Sweetheart‘ (Broken Stone Records) is the next opening chapter of his always fascinating musical journey. Rich and evocative, the song possesses a sublime sense of restrained grandeur. Swelling synthetic strings, melodic bell-like intonations and a wide open stereoscope provide the perfect backdrop for … Continue reading WADE JACKSON CROONS A DREAMY LOVE SONG DEDICATION

Sonic Kicks: Damien Binder

Perth-based New Zealand songwriter Damien Binder has just released his fifth solo album Bright Side. It’s a widescreen indie pop-rock vista populated by sparkling guitar lines, the warm glow of synths and Binder’s astute take on the world around him. Damien first came to fame in the late 80s and through the 90s on the alternative rock scene in Auckland, NZ, as frontman for the … Continue reading Sonic Kicks: Damien Binder

CABLE TIES DIAL UP THE DECIBELS ON BRILLIANT NEW SINGLE ‘CHANGE’

Ahead of their new album All Her Friends (Friday 23 June via Poison City / Merge Records), here’s single number three for strident Naarm/Melbourne post-punk rock trio Cable Ties, who have just been announced as international tour supports for Superchunk and Amyl and the Sniffers. ‘Change’ is relentless, a churning mix of pounding drums and bass, and guitars that careen between the speakers like incessant sirens. Over the top … Continue reading CABLE TIES DIAL UP THE DECIBELS ON BRILLIANT NEW SINGLE ‘CHANGE’

BEN LEECE COMES OUT SWINGING WITH STRIDENT NEW 2023 SINGLE

Newcastle’s Ben Leece is back with a brand new single featuring his band Left Of The Dial and guest vocals by William Crighton, Liz Stringer and Julieanne Crighton. Following his recent Marrow Gold/Skywatching double EP release he’s put a stake in the ground with the visceral polemic sound of ‘Big Black Red‘ (Stanley Records). It’s important nation healing stuff he’s addressing as he sings “The … Continue reading BEN LEECE COMES OUT SWINGING WITH STRIDENT NEW 2023 SINGLE

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

WADE JACKSON STEPS INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH NEW SINGLE

NSW songwriter and filmmaker (WAITING: The Van Duren Story) Wade Jackson has released his new single ‘Limelight’ (Broken Stone Records), his first new music since his 2020 album Sensationalized. ‘Limelight‘ emerges twitching, writhing, pulsing and electronically convulsing. Like Bowie and Suicide in hi-fidelity 4K, ‘Limelight’ is hypnotic, with waning vintage synths and tribal-esque drums, the latter evolving from the coal freight trains passing through regional NSW. The middle … Continue reading WADE JACKSON STEPS INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH NEW SINGLE

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

SYDNEY BAND THE FRAGMENTS RETURN WITH FIRST NEW SINGLE IN NEARLY 20 YEARS

The Fragments are an indie rock band from Sydney, originally active from 2001 to 2006, and reformed in 2022. While active, The Fragments only put out two singles! So, in 2019, they released ‘Transporter Volume I’ and ‘Transporter Volume II’, a double album compilation of music recorded in the 2000s. The two volumes are available on Bandcamp and streaming services. In 2022, the band set up a mobile recording studio in a … Continue reading SYDNEY BAND THE FRAGMENTS RETURN WITH FIRST NEW SINGLE IN NEARLY 20 YEARS

DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE SEDUCE AND HYPNOTISE ON NEW SINGLE ‘TANG’

Dave Graney / Clare Moore will release their new album In A Mistly next Friday (Nov 11th) and the first single from it is the intoxicating pulse and seductive fuzz and croon of ‘Tang’. Like a wonky version of Stereolab in a psych-pop and krautrock altered dream-state, the single beautifully blends an insistent rhythmic undercurrent with Graney’s sartorial and poetic eloquence in free flow, urging … Continue reading DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE SEDUCE AND HYPNOTISE ON NEW SINGLE ‘TANG’

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’

ITALY’S LEATHERETTE CREATE A FRANTIC AND ANGULAR WASH OF DISTORTION AND MELODY ON NEW SINGLE

In little more than one and a half minutes, Italian post-punk band Leatherette create a consummate serving of post-punk imbued shoegaze. Brittle yet warm, like cascading sheets of distorted rain and melodic vocal anguish, ‘Sunbathing’ is an urgent dispatch, an existential howl and yelp over glorious harmonic noise that ends too soon, yet delivers all that’s required. The group are based in Bologna, but all … Continue reading ITALY’S LEATHERETTE CREATE A FRANTIC AND ANGULAR WASH OF DISTORTION AND MELODY ON NEW SINGLE

Mess Esque Release New Single ‘Armour Your Armor’

They’ve been recently touring American and now on the eve of a European tour, Mess Esque, the duo of Mick Turner (Dirty Three) and Helen Franzmann (McKisko), have released the first part of a new double single – ‘Armour Your Armour’ on Milk! Records. The song follows their dreamy, interzonal template of wandering rhythms (courtesy of Jim White), Mick’s gently tidal guitar musings and Helen’s … Continue reading Mess Esque Release New Single ‘Armour Your Armor’