Western Australia’s finest The Southern River Band continue to tease the release of their upcoming second album “Rumour and Innuendo” with the brand new single “Second Best” out now!
Showing their melodic side, “Second Best” is a hooky slice of 70’s FM rock with tight-ass harmonies and of course the band’s patented tasty guitar work courtesy of lead vocalist, guitar slinger and in-house stand-up Cal Kramer.
The song’s video, directed by Steve Browne and shot by Drew Kendell, features an amazing retro themed wrestling drama where try as he might, our hero Cal does indeed only manage to come off second best. As renowned Melbourne rock ‘n’ roll man about town and Cherry Rock impresario James Young attests, “Second Best has soul, swagger and power-pop sensibilities. Don’t let anyone say that The Southern River Band sound like The Darkness or Lynyrd Skynyrd. They don’t.”
With a video for “Second Best” due on release, more new music on the way and some big news to come SRB are stepping it up in 2019 and ready to take on the world. Young concludes, “When I think of Southern River Band I think of Countdown on the ABC in the 70s. Colour, movement, magic and a guaranteed global smash hit.”
From the opening seconds of Bananagun’s “Do Yeah” – which stirs to life in an intoxicating blend of 1970s afrobeat, fuzzed out psychedelia and immersive pop – this very much feels like the case of discovering something different. this track comes from a brand new Melbourne band. With the aim of merging the proto-garage rhythmic fury of The Monks with the tropicália grooves of Os Mutantes, the band soon forged a sound that was as loose and unravelling as it was focused and taut, with an aim of creating a real sense of place and environment. “We didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing,” the band say. “We wanted it to be vibrant, colourful and have depth like the jungle. Like an ode to nature.”
There’s a deeply percussive element to the band’s psychedelic ode to mother nature, touching upon Fela Kuti-esque repetitions, exotica, jazz and 1960s pop-rock. Much like a lot of the influences it filters into its own unique spin on it all, it’s intended as “music for the people” – a unifying groove that spans genres. Even the seemingly innocuous band name has an underlying message of connectivity that matches the universality of the music. “It’s like non-violent combat! Or the guy who does a stick up but it’s just a banana, not a gun, and he tells the authorities not to take themselves too seriously.” This extends to the underlying message of their debut single too: “try to love and not hate because you’re the one who has to carry it around.”
Hatchie is the world of Harriette Pilbeam. Step inside her mind; a dreamy landscape where cascading synths, jangling guitars, propulsive rhythms and white noise undulate beneath irresistible pop melodies. Rather than focusing on the external world of her life in Brisbane, Pilbeam turns her gaze inwards, making a soundtrack out of her daydreams, setting her emotional life to song.
Brisbane’s Hatchie, aka Harriette Pilbeam, has released her debut full-length, “Keepsake”. Available through Double Double Whammy.
Following up on 2018’s Sugar & Spice EP, Keepsake spans 10 dreamy tracks that bring in elements of shoegaze and danceable pop. Singles “Stay With Me”, “Without a Blush”, and “Obsessed” have hinted at the influence of the likes of Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star.
Speaking about the album title , Hatchie said of Keepsake,
“It was a word that popped up in one of the songs, ‘Kiss the Stars’. I talk about keeping a heart as a keepsake, and I thought it was really nice. I have a bunch of little keepsakes and mementos in a drawer at home. I thought that this album would be a keepsake, kind of like a time capsule of this time in my life. So, it just kind of makes sense. I didn’t put too much thought into it at the time, which is good because I was worried I would be agonizing over it. I really liked that it was an easy decision to name the album Keepsake.”
For more insight into Keepsake, Hatchie has broken the record down Track by Track.
“Not That Kind”:
I wrote this song in mid 2017, when I wasn’t intentionally working towards anything specific like, say, an album. I just wanted to write a fun, rollicking pop song so I started with the lead synth line and guitars. It came together really quickly and I don’t even remember writing the lyrics. It’s got one of my favourite bass lines on the whole album. I used an old multi-effects pedal to create a random rhythm for the guitar in the bridge. I always thought it would be the perfect opener for an album, so I’m glad it’s ended up that way.
“Without A Blush”:
I wrote this one in early 2018 when I was focusing on the more industrial, heavy sounds that I wanted on the album. I started with the bass line and worked on the verses for ages. I actually lost the original demo because my programs kept crashing, but it ended up being a bit of a blessing because the second time around I had a much more concise vision for the song. I agonized over the bridge for months, originally trying a bunch of different vocal lines before deciding it really just needed some breathing space, both for me as the singer and the listener. After all the touring I did over the past year, I realized most of my songs have no breaks at all, so I really wanted this one to have space to grow before coming back with a bang at the end.
“Her Own Heart”:
This track is sonically more similar to the early Hatchie demos and the vision I had for the project back when I started it. As with the EP demos, the original version was also super washy, with 10 layers of guitars stacked up to make it as wet and verbed out as possible. At the time it was really irking me that so many of my songs are about someone else and how they make me feel, so with this one I set out to write about how I hoped I would react if I was suddenly completely on my own and forced to be emotionally independent — hence the cheesy lyrics about shooting your heart with your own arrow, and being your own muse. These are concepts I wish I’d been more aware of when I was younger. The original lyrics were far too long, telling a much bigger story that I wish I could have fit in. I wrote it in third person because I found it easier to open up and see it from a different perspective.
“Obsessed”:
I wrote this song more recently than the other tracks, a few weeks before we went into the studio in July last year. I wanted a super contained, compressed pop song with imperfections to balance out the sprawling, dramatic songs already written for the album. I started with the drum machine and layered up the synths before adding the vocals and guitars, trying to make them sound like samples. It makes me feel really nostalgic for when I was a teenager. It sounds like it’s a love song but it’s actually about my tendency to get obsessed with new friends to the point of pushing them away because I over analyze the relationship and ruin it. I wrote it in a few hours when I was feeling really down about not writing any new songs that I liked for a few months.
“Unwanted Guest”:
I probably shouldn’t say it, but this is my favourite track on the album. It’s exactly what I wanted the whole album to sound like before deciding it needed the balance of other more poppy, light, happy songs for it to work as a whole. I played around with the verse for months, really struggling to figure out where it should go after the spoken line. I just had two parts that I loved – the vocals and a bass line – and couldn’t decide on proper chords to fit under it. I had actually decided to shelve this song after a few different sessions working with Joe where we tried everything from changing the key to changing the entire chord structure. It was driving me crazy and I felt like we just kept getting further and further away from how I wanted it to sound. I gave up and started working on a brand new song, which I realized worked perfectly as a chorus after this original verse, so we put them together in a new session and it was a revelation. Recording all the synths in the outro was one of my favourite days in the studio. It’s an angry song about being dragged to a party you don’t want to be at!!
“Secret”:
This song was a surprise addition to the album in the final days of recording. We had some spare time after almost finishing all of the other tracks so decided to give something new a go. I had all the vocal and synth parts written, but like Unwanted Guest, I had no idea how to fit them all together and make something that sounded really different from the rest of the album. John Castle, who produced the album, sat down with the parts for an hour and came out with something way beyond where I imagined the song going originally. We were wary about the Robbie Williams piano line he suggested we add in behind everything in the second half of the song, but it’s my favourite part now. I wrote the lyrics last. It’s about confiding in a friend about your mental health.
“Kiss The Stars”:
This song is about seeing a childhood friend after years apart. I wanted to write something super nostalgic that looked back on a much simpler time in my life. I had the ‘kiss the stars’ line in my head for a while, having an idea of how I wanted that part of the song to go but not the rest. I tried adding it to various other tracks I was working on before realizing it worked best with this one. I love that the rhythm guitar and bass alternate between the same two chords for the entire song. In the demo I even just cut the progression in half and pasted the guitar and bassline in the opposite order for the change halfway through. The outro vocal part is such a special part to me, I love stacking up three or four harmonies to mimic a chord like that. It’s also when I reference the album title!
“Stay With Me”:
I heard Joe playing and singing this verse over and over from the other room and fell in love with it. We finished it together for fun, not as a song for any project in particular, aiming for a Kylie meets Trainspotting dance track. It was really exciting hearing it all come together though, and we agreed it was the perfect addition to the album. I love that it’s got a real a crying-on-the-dancefloor vibe.
“When I Get Out”:
This is another track that started off sounding completely different from the final product after merging multiple songs into one. I wanted something that reminded me of the The OC soundtrack that was so prevalent in my teen years.
“Keep”:
This is by far the oldest song on the album — it actually almost ended up on the previous EP. When deciding on the demos I was going to re-record for the album I skipped over it, feeling like I had outgrown the straight up pop sound and had better options. Once I had selected all of the other tracks though I felt like “Keep” would be the perfect connection between the album and the EP. I really like the simple, pop bookends of the album – opening with “Not That Kind” and closing with “Keep”.
Exclusive to Vivid LIVE, alternative British rock legends The Cure brought their magisterial, slow-burn masterpiece “Disintegration” to the Opera House Concert Hall for five shows to mark the 30th anniversary of their career-defining epic. This was the world premiere of these 30th anniversary performances, and their only Australian engagement. This live stream was directed by British filmmaker Nick Wickham, a close collaborator of The Cure’s who is known for his work with Iggy Pop, Joe Cocker, Annie Lennox and Madonna.
Released in 1989, Disintegration peaked at No 3 in the UK album charts, making it the band’s highest-charting record. Songs such as Lullaby, Lovesong, Pictures of You and Fascination Street cemented the band’s success in the United States too. By 1992, the album, described by this publication as “exquisitely morose”, had sold more than three million copies worldwide.
The Cure played the record with a full band, featuring lead singer Robert Smith alongside Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell and Reeves Gabrels.
This will be the second time the Cure have played Vivid Live after 2011’s Reflections shows, at which the band played their first three albums in full: Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith.
This time, the band will play Disintegration along with other tracks from their back catalogue.
Today marks 30 years since the release of the Disintegration album – and we are very pleased to announce to Cure fans around the world that we will be global live streaming our final performance from the Sydney Opera House on 30th May, where we will be playing the album in its entirety – plus extras! – at Vivid LIVE. We look forward to celebrating the anniversary of this special album with you all… …And remember: this album was mixed to be played loud… so turn it up!” — Robert Smith, 2nd May 2019.
The Cure’s fifth and final performance of “Disintegration” at Sydney Opera House on 30th May 2019
Setlist:
B-Sides and Demos 1. Delirious Night 17:20 2. Fear of Ghosts 23:44 3. No Heart 30:54 4. Esten 34:20 5. 2 Late 38:17 6. Out of Mind 41:10 7. Babble 44:45 Disintegration 8. Plainsong 49:15 9. Pictures of You 59:31 10. Closedown 1:06:44 11. Lovesong 1:11:00 12. Last Dance 1:14:40 13. Lullaby 1:19:54 14. Fascination Street 1:24:46 15. Prayers for Rain 1:29:47 16. The Same Deep Water as You 1:35:34 17. Disintegration 1:44:47 18. Homesick 1:53:10 19. Untitled 2:00:18 Encore 20. Burn 2:10:55 21. Three Imaginary Boys 2:17:52 22. Pirate Ships (Wendy Waldman cover) 2:21:30
In keeping with the way Russack recorded her two 2018 albums she made with fellow Melbourne musician and great friend Lachlan Denton, over a year with Liam Halliwell and Dylan Young on hand, each track on the album was recorded in one take and live to tape at Phaedra Studies and mixed immediately thereafter by John Lee. Hence, not only its rusticity and fragility but also its immediacy and authenticity.
Emma gave us a taste of the album in the single What Is Love? late in 2018. Recorded for the short film An Athlete Wrestling a Python, Emma writes about the simplicities of love, asking “What Is Love?”. During the song she asks, “is it borrowing a t-shirt?” or is it “reading over shoulders?”. It is many things! Apart from the personal lyrical content, the other prevalent thing in the song is the piano taking the lead. It also does soon the new single Winter Blues. The four-and-a-half-minute single is the album’s centrepiece. Incredibly subtle and incredibly beautiful, the song floats in a sombre key, intermittently dotted by Russack’s contemplations, “blame it on the winter blues”.
The piano is also showcased on the album’s quieter moments: Like the Wind, Horses and the album’s stunning finale Never Before.
“What to do with a spud like you?” Melbourne post-punk wags Terry return this summer with their new EP ‘Who’s Terry?’ (July 19th). You can just make him out in his hobnail boots, peering from behind the sandwich board, wink, wink. Following on from last year’s huge-sounding ‘I’m Terry’ album, this third EP from the band brings you right up to date with their wobbly politico-pop.
Single from upcoming 7″ out through Upset the Rhythm soon..
If Jess Ribeiro can make a dud record we’re yet to see it. On this her third album, the darker, Australian gothic reverberations of Kill It Yourself are mostly gone, Ribeiro appears to be moving towards pop to detail the life cycle of love. Ribeiro’s first two albums, My Little River (2012) and Kill It Yourself (2016) received a great deal of critical warmth but not a lot of exposure. The first was a dark acoustic folk-blues record with a minimum of instrumentation. Kill It Yourself, produced by former Bad Seed Mick Harvey, added strings and percussion, but still, the songs stood almost alone.
That they did is a testament to Ribeiro’s talent. But whereas those records are sepia-toned, Love Hate is an all-electric technicolour lunge towards pop, backed by guitarist Jade McInally and drummer Dave Mudie (the latter a member of Courtney Barnett’s touring band). The results are vibrant and clearly aimed at introducing the Melbourne singer-songwriter to a bigger audience.
A mess of emotions fuse together within love and hate, and Ribeiro has the scope to tackle all of them. Love Hate starts with the excitement and tension of a new crush, moving down through lust and contentment, anger and grief, detachment and acceptance. Each is examined through Ribero’s killer lyrics and an almost dissociative cool that only magnifies the peaks and troughs.
It’s not a strictly autobiographical album, but it is very true.
Named after opposing ends of emotional states, Jess Ribeiro‘s third album is however dedicated to extrapolating the in-betweens and nuances on which relationships can be built.
There are haunting shades and enticing textures which throw light on the side glances, sweaty palms and nervy awkwardness we sometimes wrestle with when a deep connection strikes.
Guitars waver and warble before joyously lifting off in ‘Stranger’, there’s the pulsing pensiveness of ‘Chair Stare’ and the expectant beat and sinewy synths of ‘Young Love’ make for a heady hormonal haze. Ribeiro easily jumps from sounding forlorn to alluring, from devotion to dejection, but always able to spare us a sly wink of the eye.
At all points LOVE HATE feels like a collection of characters and their tales of romantic intrigue told with a cinematic eye.
The bright spangles of guitar that burst through the dream-pop haze of opener (and single) Stranger, indicates Ribeiro is out to get your attention. Produced by New Zealander Ben Edwards, who has worked with Aldous Harding, Marlon Williams and Julia Jacklin, Love Hate is arguably more immediately arresting than any of their records.
While I Know Leopard may wear their sequinned influences on their sleeves with pride, “Love Is A Landmine” has more than enough personality and promise to make it an exciting listen, rather than just a nostalgic one.
Sydney’sI Know Leopard have been around the block with their ‘70s-inspired synth-pop tunes but something seems to have clicked with their latest album Love Is A Landmine.
The 11 songs here impress as a debut and offer something new without falling into a rose-coloured nostalgia pool. Warm, catchy and damn-near irresistible, just like Heather, it makes us want to get our shit together.
Melbourne-based indie rocker Alex Lahey wasted no time on small-talk pleasantries with the release of her promising 2017 debut, I Love You Like A Brother. The Australian singer-songwriter’s follow-up, “The Best of Luck Club”, and it’s accompanied music video for lead single “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” to usher in the good news.
The Best of Luck Club, was released May 17th on Dead Oceans Records, picks up where Brother left off, returning all of the sardonic lyricism Lahey charmed listeners with before, but this time, with a more refined finish—think of it like a backhanded compliment with a really good beat. (Okay, maybe not backhanded, but definitely charismatically sarcastic. )
Citing inspirations ranging from Paramore to Bruce Springsteen, Lahey’s sound is something that hinges on the sunshine-y rhythms of surf rock with a ‘90s riot grrrl-inspired edge, producing anthemic pop-punk not meant for sitting still to. Whether she’s singing about self-doubt and breakups, mental health and moving in with a girlfriend, or vibrators and generational ennui, Lahey’s attention to detail zeroes in and locks a moment in place with self-assured precision.
Lahey notes that the dive bar scene in Nashville was her inspiration for the album’s catchy title. “Whether you’ve had the best day of your life or the worst day of your life, you can just sit up at the bar and turn to the person next to you —who has no idea who you are— and have a chat,” she says. “And the response that you generally get at the end of the conversation is ‘best of luck,’ so The Best of Luck Club is that place.”
Lahey released a music video for its peppy and optimistic title track, “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself,” which features a return to her saxophone roots. If album #2 delivers anything like her latest single … consider us already dancing in anticipation.
Alex Lahey – Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself taken from ’The Best Of Luck Club’, the new album ,
Small Pond Records are delighted to announce that they have signed Sydney, Australia-based art-folk virtuoso Bonniesongs, aka Bonnie Stewart, and will release her debut album “Energetic Mind” in the UK on 6th September 2019.
Bonniesongs the project of Sydney, based art-folk musician Bonnie Stewart, who will release her debut album on September 6th earlier this month she shared the album’s first single Ice Cream and today we hit back with her new single, “Barbara.”
Stewart shows a different side to her songwriting craft her, with a dark brooding atmospheric beginning that paves the way for her haunting folk vocals. This atmosphere makes sense when you learn a bit about the mindset she was in when writing the track as described by her below:
This track was inspired by re-watching the original 1968 Night of the Living Dead at a household movie night. I love zombie movies. I noticed how the main woman’s character was a weak crumbling mess that was almost completely useless in the chaos that was happening. Meanwhile, the men were pulling it together and saving everyone. This sort of inequality is typical of this era I guess, but is still annoying! Anyway, the song is mostly told from Barbara’s perspective…”
The Fat Angel Sings 