More wacky spellings but more great psychedelically-infused music from Australia. Dan Lean and Liam Eaton are the pair behind The Frownsss and ‘Zanatras’ (their second single) is a loping, loose limbed creature (or robot) of a song that has a twist of Link Wray guitar thrown into the mix. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Frownsss – Zanatras
Playfulness in electronic music can be a hard thing to capture, without sounding like pop music and lacking depth and nuance. Silvermannen (Sweden) have got the balance just right. ‘Gryning’ is light on it’s feet but still has a weight of gentle melancholy to it. It’s definitely more autumnal than summery in its vibe. There’s more than a whiff of nostalgia in the synth sounds … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Silvermannen – Gryning
Beauts hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia and on this track they’ve dialed into that melancholic indie rock vibe that hovers somewhere between The National, War On Drugs and the jangling insistence of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. It all flows effortlessly – maudlin yet gently propulsive and wistfully melodic. After releasing a couple of EPs, the band are working on their debut album, set for release … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Beauts – The City Loves Me (Radio Edit)
The wonderfully named Hail!Maggiedacat is a London producer and visual artist and this track, ‘Gemini Moon’, comes from her new EP Impossible Woman. It’s got a great, woozy 80s vibe about it like a lost video game or a soundtrack to a melancholic sci-fi TV series. The rest of the EP has a similarly dream-psych analog synth vibe to it too. Highly recommended. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Hail!Maggiedacat – Gemini Moon
Body Type EP2 Inertia Music / Partisan The Sydney quartet are releasing this, their second EP, on the eve of a UK tour, another sign of the band’s rising star status on the international stage. Of course, they’ve been the local talk of the town for a couple of years, building a solid following via their own shows and some fine support slots. If EP … Continue reading EP REVIEW: Body Type – EP2
New music this morning from the country of Greece, courtesy of gothic post-rock outfit τεφλόν (teflon) and their track ‘επίσκεψη’ (Episkepsi), the Greek word for visit. This track snakes along with just the right balance of gloomy melody and agile, detailed playing, building with orchestral urgency to a briskly curtailed climax. You can pick up the track as part of the Athens band’s two song EP … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: τεφλόν – επίσκεψη
Anonymous Friends – straight outta Somerville, Massachusetts with their debut EP Anonymous Friends Start A Band. Great sound too – shades of Fugazi, Polvo , Girls Against Boys, Bailter Space and the like. ‘Amos’ does the loud quiet loud thing well with a tight rhythm section and some noisy Pixies six-string racket smeared across the top of it all. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Anonymous Friends – Amos
We love metal – the chug and the thrash, the pure adrenalin and clinical precision of it. These days we don’t come across nearly enough new metal that hits our demonic sweet spot but Panic Room out of Dallas, Texas caught our ear with this hammering track that ticks all the boxes of aggressive and dynamic playing. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Panic Room – Cerebral Chasm
Some new sounds from teenage band Coyote Jungle from the South Coast of the UK. Nothing new here but the singer has a certain grit and edge to his voice that stands out. It’s a commercial rough and raw pop/rock sound but there’s something going on that singles them out as a band to keep an eye on. 60s riffs mixed with anthemic indie rock. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Coyote Jungle – Rain Call
It’s the tension and mood of this piece that caught our ear when we came across it online. The way that John Beltran sonically suspends the mood before introducing the tentative snippets of piano that flutter and suggest, like a butterfly unfurling wet wings. The back half emerges with greater weight on the back of swells of synthetic drift that rise and fall with heavy … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: John Beltran – Childhood Memories
Apparently Kevin Morby went into the studio and recorded this album two years ago, before he released his last record, City Music. It sounds quite different to that album, different to his breakthrough album Singing Saw as well. What came out of those studio sessions is a concept album of sorts, one that is tied into the theme of religion, by someone who states that … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Kevin Morby – Oh My God
Benefits is the musical project of Sydney songwriter Mason Lewtas plus Ben Cauduro (Keys), Matthew Bilic (bass), and Jordan Quilty (drums). Based on the indie rock hooks of ‘Strains’ he’s got a good thing going on in the songwriting dept. Guitars sparkle and charm over a relaxed vocal melody and a melodic set of finely balanced riffs that swing and hang in the air with tough nuance. This … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Benefits – Strains
Doubtful Sounds 