dream pop
Track: Ummagma – Caravan
Dreamy dream pop duo Ummagma take a surprising direction in their new single, ‘Caravan’. It’s a thumpingly percussive missile, tilted forward and racing like a sprinter in a 100m run. With a slight arabic air that is almost reminiscent of Remain in Light-era Talking Heads, there is a sparkling arpeggio with the intertwined vocals of …
Track: Nice Biscuit – Goodbye, Luya plus tour news
There’s something in the water up in the north of Australia and it’s not H2O. Brisbane’s Nice Biscuit have released a gorgeous psychedelic, jangly, kaleidoscope whirligig of a song in ‘Goodbye, Luya’. It is a hallucinogenic seven minutes of glorious harmonies from the two lead singers, Grace Cuell and Billie Star with a hypnotic drive …
Track: Underground Lovers – The Passer-by, plus album news
There can be no greater sense of excitement and anticipation than news of a new release from one of Australia’s best bands, the criminally underrated Underground Lovers from Melbourne. And so it goes a surprise new single has just been released – ‘Passer-by’ – as well as confirmation of the release of their 10th album, …
Track: Syrup, Go On! – Don’t Go (Riding Down The Cosmic Drain)
Yet another blast of creativity from Queensland gets launched to day with the release of the single ‘Don’t Go (Riding Down The Cosmic Drain)’ by the psychedelic upstarts, Gold Coast’s Syrup, Go On!. The title of the song tells you everything: this is a psych-infused stop/start sparkling brilliance surely fueled by substances you wouldn’t want …
Track: Crumb – Ghostride plus tour dates
If you’re in the mood this evening for a leisurely, almost lounge-esque track to ease you into the upcoming weekend, Brooklyn collaborators Crumb is exactly the easy, relaxed group of artists for that. Their single, “Ghostride”, is laid-back, dreamy number taken from their forthcoming album Jinx, scheduled for release June 14th. A sanguine piece from the quartet, the …
Track: Local Authority – Oil Rigs
Dripping with an early The Cure vibe but infused with a Ride-like wall of harmony and jangling guitars, the new single from Brisbane’s Local Authority, ‘Oil Rigs’, is an absolute delight. With a cold, clinical spine, the sound is leavened by the layered vocals that are haunting – distantly floating in a dream-like reverie. Apparently …
EP/Track: Fragile Animals – Only Shallow
South East Queensland’s Fragile Animals have recently released their new EP, ‘Only Shallow’ and it is an absolute shimmering delight. Infused with a dream-like melancholia and an antithetical summer sheen, this band has all the genetic makeup of classic shoegaze, but has evolved this into their own unique style. There is a developing sound from …
Album Review : Rev Magnetic’s ‘Versus Universe’
The debut album by quartet Rev Magnetic buzzes with light-headed glee. Versus Universe follows in the grand tradition of symphonic psych pop bands like Mercury Rev, Polyphonic Spree, the Flaming Lips, and to some degree Spiritualized. There’s a mixture of modern electronics with the hallucinogenic sweetness of acid-burnt pop. Rev Magnetic is the brainchild of …
New Track: The Raft – Xanadu plus album news
Xanadu, the new single from Liverpool’s highly talented The Raft is absolute shoegaze gold with a scouse glint that recalls all the pure pop glories of Ian Broudie’s The Lightning Seeds and an alumni of merseyside pop. The brainchild of Phil Wilson, The Raft has been an incredibly prolific source of shimmering glory – see …
Track: San Mei – Heaven
Following up on her debut single “Wonder” earlier this year, Emily Hamilton, working under the name San Mei, has just released a fitting follow-up in “Heaven”. This is a somewhat more poppy and less abrasive San Mei, yet it still has a spine of fuzz and understated distortion below the surface of synths. “Heaven” is …