Indie
Track: Kaktus Einarsson – ‘Kick The Ladder’; Fufanu frontman steps out with intelligent, post-rock pop
YES, THERE are glacial guitars; deep, granular textures, broad-spectrum instrumental effects that see you soaring over the landscape in your mind’s eye; it would be all too easy to stop here and reference back to fellow countrymen Sigur Rós. But then the sweet male vocal makes itself known and the dramatic scenery of the song …
Track: Swimsuit Issue announce news of album and release soaring anthemic single ‘The Feeling’
Sunshine Coast band Swimsuit Issue pinned back our collective ears earlier this year with the thundering and visceral track ‘Addict’ (reviewed by me here). Now they are back with the announcement of their debut album for release later in 2021 and a new single, ‘The Feeling’. ‘The Feeling’ considerably pumps on the brakes and shows …
Track: Down for Tomorrow release the driving punk anthem ‘Good Person’: a welcome blast of positivity
Sydney-based band Down for Tomorrow have just released an anthemic and thundering single ‘Good Person’ that shouts a positive message in an effervescent quite/loud blast. It is a song of many parts – reflective verses that are smashed aside by a vaulting chorus and razor-sharp guitars. The track takes a massive turn half way through …
Track: Melbourne’s Tim Ayre launches low-fi dream pop delight ‘Mexican Holiday’ and announces news of EP
The story behind the new single, ‘Mexican Holiday’, from Tim Ayre has all the hallmarks of a Hunter S Thompson fable involving unhinged characters, consumption of illicit substances, wild journeys and all manners of excess. Appropriate, then, that the song and accompanying video has a bright effervescent indie pop low-fi vibe that exudes a whiff …
Track: marigolden unveils powerful track and video for ‘Just Like Smoke’, celebrating individualism and empowerment
The sultry, jazzy/soul style of marigolden (Mel O’Neill) is quite unique: with lyrics that half rap and glide with melody and an instrumentation that defies easy labelling. Her new track ‘Just Like Smoke’ is a powerful anthem for personal liberation and ridding ourselves of others’ expectations. marigolden’s voice is golden liquid and her defiance is …
See: Bill Callahan – ‘Cowboy’: a red-rimmed highlight from ‘Gold Record’ gains a visual dimension
WITH his fine and spontaneously realised album from the end of summer, Gold Record, now back in stock and available again on wax, Bill Callahan has stepped once more to the filmic breach with a brand new record for one of the most nuanced and moving nuggets sifted from that album, “Cowboy”. The song? Well. …
Album review: Ryley Walker – ‘Course In Fable’: Chicago baroque-folk genius brings the prog to his latest dazzler
TROUBADOUR genius touched by the hand of the Tim Buckley, collaborator on some very fine albums, sole architect of yet other records that fall very much in that same category, and one of the funniest and most candid tweeters in music: Ryley Walker is all of these. He’s set to release his new solo album, …
Scratch The Surface: The Jasmine Minks – Scratch the Surface (Creation Records, 1989)
Formed in Aberdeen in 1983 by Jim Shepherd (guitar/vocals), Adam Sanderson (vocals/guitar), Martin Keena(bass guitar), and Tom Reid (drums/vocals), The Jasmine Minks were a staple on the 80s indie scene, and after sending a demon to Melody Maker, were gobbled by Alan McGee’s fledgling Creation Records. From there they released four albums and four singles …
Track: Ya Tseen’s ‘Knives’ Works Towards Emotional Normality
Many of the day-to-day emotions we take for granted have been atrophied by the pandemic, and artists have begun to explore how we can return to emotional normality. In anticipation of his upcoming debut album Indian Yard, Indigenous Alaskan artist Ya Tseen released a teaser single “Knives.” Receiving support from fellow Alaskan rockers Portugal. The …
See: Dominic Breen releases evocative video for the glorious track ‘James Street Tonight’ plus announces live shows
Dominic Breens‘s track ‘James Street Tonight’, released at the beginning of March, was lauded by us for its chiming guitars and melancholia, lifted skywards by Breen’s gorgeous vocals. The song continues to haunt: a beautiful and enigmatic release that is growing in stature through time. Breen has also just announced a series of live gigs …