Jordan Léser’s debut EP, ‘Just Like Autumn’, With a voice drenched in reverb supported by tiny fingers pumping an antique electric piano, Jordan Léser is a Sydney-based singer songwriter who draws on her enthusiasm for Massive Attack and Emmylou Harris.
Lisa Salvo describes her music as “folk-inspired pop music with engaging instrumentation and thoughtful songwriting”, which is a pretty good approximation of what listeners venturing into the sunny sounds that is her debut LP, I Could Have Been A Castle, can expect.
Meticulously crafted dreamy folk record full of sonic details, smart harmonic twists and lyrical turns – but remaining intimate in almost every moment.
The playful interaction between Salvo’s delicate, ethereal voice and her catchy, scintillating songwriting drive the record and keep you hanging on her every last, carefully considered word. One amendment: the instrumentation and arrangements aren’t only “engaging”, they’re a lot of fun too.
Quite potentially one of the most talked about and hyped new local artists on the Melbourne Australian scene Jaala was really only born about a year ago. Creating a buzz with the release of singles ‘Hard Hold’ and ‘Salt Shaker’ the four piece fronted by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Cosima Jaala (Manglewurzel) are wasting no time pumping out their debut full length also titled Hard Hold.
The outcome of a manic week writing and recording, this record was produced and engineered by the band’s good friend Paul Bender (Hiatus Kaiyote) it was tracked live with limited overdubbing keeping as close as possible to the live energy of the songs as they were first written and performed.
“Sentimental & Monday” is the brand new single from Holy Holy’s forthcoming album “When The Storms Would Come” Carroll, from Brisbane, and Melbournian guitarist/composer Oscar Dawson initially crossed paths as volunteer English teachers in Southeast Asia. They reconnected in 2011 while both again leading transient lives in Europe. Carroll, an acclaimed singer/songwriter, was living in Stockholm. Dawson had transplanted to Berlin with his then band Dukes Of Windsor. When Dawson traveled to Sweden, Carroll asked him to assist with some songs. They ended up with a “suite of demos”. The pair continued collaborating back in Australia. “At that stage we weren’t even really sure what the project was going to be,” Carroll admits. “We were just feeling our way through it.” Regardless, the duo began penning darker, more intense material. The newly anointed HOLY HOLY issued the psychedelic, if foreboding, Impossible Like You as their first single,
In 2014 the “project” morphed into a full live band, enlisting drummer Ryan Strathie (ex-Hungry Kids Of Hungary) and bassist Graham Ritchie (Airling’s collaborator). Their reclusive producer, Matt Redlich (Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, The Trouble With Templeton), also joins them as a “special guest”, hiding behind a Prophet-08 synth. “He’s a bit like our Nigel Godrich kinda character,” Dawson quips.
HOLY HOLY’s “music tragics” bonded over Neil Young (and Crazy Horse), Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits, as well as contemporary acts like Midlake, Band Of Horses and Grizzly Bear. And these myriad influences have fed into When The Storms Would Come. Indeed, though HOLY HOLY cherish “old, classic songwriting”, that nostalgia is juxtaposed with a modern aesthetic. In the studio the band recorded live onto Redlich’s two-inch tape, configured to 16-track. “You get this really warm, saturated colour,” Dawson enthuses. However, eschewing rigid traditionalism, HOLY HOLY occasionally utilised digital post-production. Redlich encouraged them to follow their instincts in determining the best approach, song by song. “He’ll be ballsy with his decisions,” Dawson explains. “He will make the decision in the moment as to what the sound is supposed to be… It makes the recording a whole lot more exciting because, as you’re recording, you’re hearing it as it’s gonna sound.” As such, When The Storms Would Come – led by the jagged single History – sounds “natural”. Dawson holds that HOLY HOLY’s unique sound has evolved into something that’s amplified, or “weighty” – their sonorous, sublime melodies augmented by “stronger, more powerful guitars and bigger vocals” and rhythmically-dense drumming.
Holy Holy are one of the year’s breakout stars in their native Australia, with debut album ‘When The Storms Would Come’ reaching No. 11 on the ARIA charts. A sensation Down Under, the band’s taut, emotive, and impeccably crafted songwriting was enhanced by the recording techniques used on their debut.
“House of Cards” is taken from Holy Holy’s EP The Pacific Laid down on two-inch tape, sessions were overseen by Matt Redlich and gave resulted in a fresh, natural sound throughout. Due to be released in the UK on October 30th, here is a new live version of ‘A Heroine’. Stirring, soaring songwriting, the live performance has an added sense of grit, with each flaw helping to spur the song on further.
Four piece musical family from Melbourne Australia, SMILE are the result of two years of monday night coconut slabs. Delicious! SMILE sophomore LP released earlier this year on SMOOCH RECORDS.
There’s an underlying political thunder rumbling through the clear skies. Quoting the Australian anthem the new track from the Melbourne band comes as a hint towards their native country’s response to the refugee crisis with the aptly-titled “Boundless Plains To Share”.
Twangs that are so ’90s they could have been plucked from under the nails of Liz Phair initiate the song, whilst steady percussion and guitar layers follow in the most gorgeously melodic of fashions. with textured vocals , unfolding chant-like as though the lyrics could be as easily be sung by 10,000 people as they could be by five.
There are moments of dynamic, fire fuelling excitement and endless momentum, and it’s hard to avoid being engulfed entirely. Unsurprising when you think about it, Smile are a seriously good band.
“Boundless Plains To Share” features on the band’s forthcoming second album, Rhythm Method.
The first single from Greta Stanley’s debut EP, ‘Bedroom City’. There’s been a lot of buzz around Queensland based singer-songwriter Greta Stanley since she released her EP “Bedroom City” back in May. With a sound that’s reminiscent of Lisa Mitchell or Julia Stone it’s no wonder Stanley is connecting with audiences.
A dash of guitar, a bit of something sweet, a touch of folk, a sprinkle of pop, mixed with captivating vocals and clever lyrics, Hailing from Mena Creek in FNQ, 20 year old Greta Stanley is fresh out of the oven, and one to keep an eye (and ear) out for.
2014 saw the songstress land support gigs for the likes of British India, Kingswood & The Beautiful Girls, to taking out a readers poll vote to play local festival Sunnydayz (The Preatures, Violent Soho, Allday), and after submitting an original song, winning a government funded scholarship to attend BIGSOUND in Brisbane.
Greta has also seen her tracks in rotation on triple J unearthed digital radio and played on Sarah Howell’s Roots’ n’all program. She has recently supported Mahalia Barnes and topped the Balcony TV’s Global rumble charts with a live version of ‘Lakes’ which is one of the tracks from her upcoming EP. After completing a successful crowdfunding campaign the six tracks were recorded at Big Sister Studios with Producer Mark Myers ( The Middle East, Emma Louise, Passenger, The Starry Field) .
With an EP Launch coming up along with more festival appearances, a nation wide publicity campaign, and a tour later in the year – expect big things in 2015 from this enchanting new talent.
Holy Holy have announced the release of their debut UK album ‘When The Storms Would Come’.
Recorded on 2-inch tape and produced by Matt Redlich, the album is due for release on November 6th.
In support of the album release, the band will perform three shows in the UK including Liverpool Music Week and London’s Lexington.
You can listen to the band’s latest single ‘You Cannot Call For Love Like a Dog’
Australian Garage rockers White Bleaches have just dropped their new single ‘New Age’ and it’s a fuzzy psych rock pearler. Ragged whirling guitar, chugging drum lines and reverb filled vocals these guys are the epitome of what’s so great about local Aussie psych right now.
Recorded by Stu Mackenzie in an old shipping container on a farm out the back of Winchelsea, ‘New Age’ sees the guys straddle the line of producing new forward thinking dream psych rock while still paying homage to their garage roots.
To celebrate the release of the single, the band will be playing a new shows around Melbourne, Australia in the coming weeks as well as a slot at Lawsfest Festival in November.
The Citradels are a band of Melbournites who defy time and space. Sitars, handheld shakers, rattlers and rollers, open-D fuzz jams and unstoppable feedback driven 3 guitar odysseys that force unwary listeners to stare deeply into the depths of an infinite nothingness, The Citradels make some of the darkest, most intense drone music I’ve heard in a long time and make The Black Angels look like a pop group. “Droned and Rethroned” is the latest release from the Geelong five piece, drawing on all the regular spaced out influences from The Velvet Underground to the jesus and Mary Chain.
Drone music uses the interplay of different musical tones and timbres to create interesting music. In doing so, it fervently avoids things like key changes, melodic riffing or even chord changes in some instances. This means that listening to a drone album is like stepping into a black hole – the lack of chorus-verse-chorus structure makes it impossible to understand fully how long the album has been spinning. After what seemed like an hour of listening time, I realised that I had only reached track three – about 15 minutes into the album.
The band have been launching their LP relentlessly all over the east coast and have already cracked out the 12 string acoustics, the teardrops and the sitars to start production on their fourth album. If you’re into prolific psych jams, check em out and pay some money for their album
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