Track: Dear Doonan’s new single ‘Papaya’ is a scintillating slice of world music
‘Papaya’s is a fascinating new single from the Sunshine Coast (Queensland) band Dear Doonan – it has a world music tone delivered in a mostly instrumental bed with a melodic and effervescent flow. A song of many movements, there is an Indian flavour to the sounds with the use of Sitars, and vocals mixed with …
Track: Musical prodigy flowerkid’s single ‘Miss Andry’ is an epically beautiful and deeply personal reflection on childhood pain
At only nineteen, Sydney musician flowerkid‘s single ‘Miss Andry’ shows a power and stature way beyond his age. Imbued with a sense of deep pain, there is a sweeping dream pop element that is underpinned by deeply personal struggles evinced in the lyrics and emotive vocals. Flowerkid is the nome de plume of Flynn Sant …
Track: Giant Sky release ‘Snow’, the dreamy paean to human connections in the face of adversity
‘Snow’ was written in tribute to the care and love given to London band Giant Sky‘s singer during the trials and tribulations of lockdown – it is a deeply romantic declaration of eternal love in the face of adversity. The delivery is cinematic and monumental: walls of crashing guitars and mountainous melodies. There is the …
Album Review: Huck Hastings unveils a sparkling and gorgeous album ‘Cheers to Progress’, draped in love, loss, longing and optimism.
Huck Hastings is a Sydney based singer/songwriter whose new album ‘Cheers to Progress’ is a cinematic sweep full of longing, love and loss – a vivid and beautifully expressed series of personal vignettes that are endearing, optimistic and heart-breaking at the same time. This a collection of beautiful personal observations on relationships and love, floating …
Track: Belgian’s Whispering Sons issue forth scything double single ‘Santantango’/ ‘Surgery’ and announce new album ‘Several Others’
The raw and visceral ‘Santango’ from Belgian post punk outfit Whispering Sons has the same sort of ominous and threatening pace of anything by The Birthday Party, with a Rowland S Howard level of scything guitar. There is an anxiety, a restless energy that is unnerving and disturbing. It’s brilliant. According to the band, …the …
Track: Swimsuit Issue unleash dynamic single ‘Addict’ – a brutal and cathartic portraiture of dependence
‘Addict’, the new single by Australian band Swimsuit Issue has a dynamic quiet/loud ethic popularised by the Pixies, mixing a reverb-soaked dreamy reflective verse with an angry blast of thundering guitars in the chorus. The unashamedly and very welcomed Australian diction shines through before the gut-wrenching chorus kicks in. A song about, as the title …
Track: Liam Turner’s ‘Face the Music’ is a laid back cool breeze.
‘Face the Music, from Queensland native and Melbourne resident Liam Turner, is a laid back cool breeze that manages to meld a jazzy, louche air with an indie sensibility. Turner’s musical proficiency is clear with the intricate guitar chords and pacing, but above all he has a voice that delightfully croons and swoops – soft …
Track: Brisbane’s Syrup pour out a tasty disco treat ‘Catch Your Flow’
Funking along at a frenetic pace with a bubbling bass and chunky guitars, ‘Catch Your Flow’ is a sparkling and bright piece of electronic disco from Brisbane duo Syrup. Mixing an indie sensibility with something that traipses along with an electronic hum and catchy refrain, this is energising stuff. And it’s not all superficial hedonistic …
Album Review: Underground Lovers surprise again with career collection of B for brilliant B sides in ‘Others’
Not that long after releasing a superb collection of remixes spanning their career (reviewed by me here), Melbournes Underground Lovers have sprung another surprise album on the public entitled ‘Others’. This album has collected seventeen tracks of what are labelled B sides from singles, EPs and giveaways. Given the standard of output by this band, …
Track: Offshore Projects’ new single ‘The Way I Fear’ is a mesmerising indie pop delight.
Sydney singer-songwriter Jonas Nicholls, formerly of indie pop outfit SURES, has continued down this path with the release of the shimmering track ‘The Way I Fear’, under the name Offshore Projects. The chiming, bubbling guitars form a lovely circular and chunky base up on which Nicholl’s voice soars – melancholic and heavenly harmonies form a …