NEW MUSIC: Grand Sun – Go Home

Here’s the debut single from the Lisbon, Portugal quartet Grand Sun. ‘Go Home’ is a sunny psych pop trip built on bouncing rhythms, quirky diversions in chants and handclaps and, aesthetically speaking, one foot in 90s England and the other in 60s California. A wonderfully infectious track. Hit up their Bandcamp page below to buy the track at a ‘name your price’ and find links … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Grand Sun – Go Home

NEW MUSIC: Straight Arrows – 21st Century

Sydney band Straight Arrows return with a new slice of ramalama garage rock ‘n’ roll called ’21st Century’. Killer breakbeat, rolling bass and guitar chops! It comes from their forthcoming new LP On Top, due out October 21st. Look out for a 7″ 45rpm single release coming soon. Hit the Bandcamp link to hear the single (plus ‘Out & Down’) and preorder the album. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Straight Arrows – 21st Century

NEW MUSIC: Silent Feature – Stiffs And The Saints

A recently released single from Brisbane band Silent Feature. ‘Stiff And The Saints’ careens along on pop’ish hooks and some fine indie rock guitar. They’re a tougher take on the sound of The Shins, echoes of country rock bouncing off their walls… power pop too, particularly 90s glam sound that Redd Kross were mining.   Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Silent Feature – Stiffs And The Saints

ALBUM REVIEW: Roadhouses – Roadhouses

They say that it is harder to play music slowly than it is to play it fast. Things fall apart and momentum is lost. In the case of Sydney trio Roadhouses, sedated rock music is their calling card. They deal in drifting, alt-country-imbued, slowcore torch songs where heartache is just a tear away. If you got Lucinda Williams to front Spain, at the Twin Peaks … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Roadhouses – Roadhouses

NEW MUSIC: Old Faith – Landing

Though Old Faith are only releasing their debut LP, the post-rock quartet have previously released a couple of EPs under another name. This finds them realising a sound that harkens back to the golden era of post rock when bands such as Mogwai, Isis, Pelican and Tortoise were regularly releasing music that wove epic dynamics, hypnotic guitar-led incantations through sonic peaks and valleys. For more … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Old Faith – Landing

NEW MUSIC: Bad Sav – Hens Teeth 

The wonderfully named Bad Sav are releasing their debut album on September 21st via Fishrider Records in New Zealand. The trio is comprised of Death And The Maiden guitarist/vocalist Hope Robertson and bassist/vocalist Lucinda King, plus Shifting Sands guitarist Mike McLeod (on drums here). We’re digging the blend of chugging rhythms, dreamy vocal delivery and guitars that jangle in a distant fuzzed out way – like Dinosaur … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bad Sav – Hens Teeth 

NEW MUSIC: Loomis – Deep

New music today from musician and songwriter Loomis who hails from New Orleans. There are some great moody, gauzy textures going on in this song ‘Deep’ that remind me of New Zealand band JPS Experience filtered through Chicago post-rock. The circular nature of the way he arranges the instrumentation is great on this track. You can check out his album Shark Water on Spotify and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Loomis – Deep

ALBUM REVIEW: Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog

They were one of the heavyweights of the 90s metal/grunge scene, successfully blending melodic, down-tuned riffs and harmonies with crunching distortion and classic rock elements. Of course theirs is a tale of tragedy with the drug issues and subsequent death of singer Layne Staley curtailing them for a decade, but it is also one of resurrection, determination and integrity.  Recruiting vocalist William DuVall 12 years … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog

NEWS: J Mascis Announces New Solo LP ‘Elastic Days’

J Mascis will release his new solo LP Elastic Days via Sub Pop Records on November 9th. Here’s the first single from the album, ‘See You At The Movies’. Preorder the album HERE About Elastic Days: Near the end of Reagan’s first term, the Western Massachusetts Hardcore scene coughed up an insanely shaped chunk called Dinosaur. Comprised of WMHC vets, the trio was a miasmic tornado … Continue reading NEWS: J Mascis Announces New Solo LP ‘Elastic Days’

TOUR DIARY: Mark Moldre

TOUR DIARY: MARK MOLDRE PROLOGUE Sleepwalker, I feel my way through forest and gorge Fantastically around me a magic circle glows Not caring whether I courted or cursed I follow truly my inner calling – Herman Hesse I’ve never had any delusions of grandeur about my musical place in Australia I’ve struggled to make any kind of mark In my last 3 decades of making … Continue reading TOUR DIARY: Mark Moldre

INTERVIEW: Harmony

THE HAZARDOUS TERRAIN OF LOVE It’s been four years between albums for Melbourne’s Harmony, with members focusing on other projects and babies entering the frame. As Tom Lyngcoln explains to Chris Familton, this time around there were changes in both the recorded sound of Double Negative and the way he approached the writing of its songs. “Alex [Lyngcoln, drummer] and I had a baby daughter … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Harmony

ALBUM REVIEW: Deaf Wish – Lithium Zion

Straight out of the gates the Melbourne quartet lock into a relentless distorted churn of guitars that sounds like 90s era Bailter Space sharing a practice room with Blank Realm. The guitars never let up but the lazy vocal smears a dull monotone melody across the surface of the song. It’s a wonderfully hypnotic and mildly unsettling start to an album that has a real … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Deaf Wish – Lithium Zion