Legendary Australian psychedelic alt-rock greats The Church toured the US this spring surrounding their appearance at Pasadena’s Cruel World festival, and their set often included a tantalizing new song “The Hypnogogue” That is now released as the band’s first new single in five years, a nearly seven-minute epic with a dark, futuristic theme. “I don’t think this song has any predecessor in our history at all,” frontman Steve Kilbey says.
“The Hypnogogue” is set in 2054,” Kilbey continues. “A dystopian and broken down future. Invented by Sun Kim Jong, a North Korean scientist and occult dabbler. It is a machine and a process that pulls music straight of the dreams.”
“The song is about Eros Zeta, the biggest rock star of 2054 who has travelled from his home in Antarctica (against his manager’s advice) to use “the Hypnogogue” to help him revive his flagging fortunes,” he continues, noting, “he also falls in love with Sun Kim and it all ends tragically (of course…as these thing often do).”
With a song this cinematic, it had to have dazzling, distopian video and that comes courtesy Australian filmmaker Clint Lewis. “I gave the director a lot of input into this video but he took my ideas and ran with them and came up with a fair bit of stuff I never envisaged,” says Kilbey. The Church appear on screens in “the Hypnogogue” as workers in the system translating the dreams of users into real time music.”
Australian psych-rockers Pond, have released the video for their brilliant new single ‘Take Me Avalon I’m Young’. In addition to the new offering, they’ve announced a string of UK shows for next Summer.
Filmed in Hastings on the Sussex coast of England, the grainy new video was directed by Bunny Kinney, and watches frontman and ex Tame Impala bassist Nick Allbrook attempt a multitude of sports. Allbrook admitted that the wholesome offering was “the most fun video I’ve ever been part of”.
He explained: “I spent two days rushing around Hastings running, swimming, shooting, fencing and playing terrible basketball,” he said in a statement. “It was a dream come true. The freezing sunrise yoga was magical in retrospect, even if I was a brat at the time (sorry Bunny). A perfect seaside weekend; I got to play, and Bunny got to create an ode to his favourite sport, the modern pentathlon.”
Additionally, the band’s five-date UK tour will kick off in June next year, after the band have completed their appearances at Barcelona’s iconic Primavera Festival.
‘Take Me Avalon I’m Young’ is just the latest single from Pond’s latest album “9”, Reviewing the band’s ninth offering in October, Bog Far Out said Even among a glut of Australian psych-rockers, Pond had distinction, none of which is sacrificed on the new record. Instead, it’s refined and weaponised, making 9 the band’s most accessible work to date.”
Album track ‘Take Me Avalon I’m Young’ taken from the new album ‘9’ out now.
Parcels have always been a band of extreme light and shade: they’re from surf hotspot Byron Bay in Australia but living in Berlin for years; their sweet-as-honey vocal harmonies rival the Beach Boys but their live shows can turn into slamming techno rave-ups. The band returns with an ambitious third studio album, “Day/Night“, a Double Record huge in scope and sound, whose hopeful messages of perseverance through difficult times are a balm for these uncertain times.
Navigating that second album hurdle can often prove to be one of the most challenging tasks for an artist. That sentiment was surely amplified for the trailblazing Australian disco gang Parcels after their 2018 self-titled debut, which took them across the globe and even saw them work alongside Daft Punk. It wasn’t hard to see why that record generated a tidal wave of excitement, Parcels have gone all in to produce a sprawling and inventive double album.
There are sonic worlds to be explored within each of ‘Day/Night”s 19 tracks. Opener ‘Light’ signposts this ambition by opening with a sparse meditative synth glow, before the song gradually wakes from its tranquil state to branch into shimmering jazz territory. Flowing straight into the spritely uplifting keys of ‘Free’, it quickly becomes apparent that Parcels are letting their musicianship shine with a more instant live feel.
The bond between the five-piece is evident throughout, with the tracks coasting from one to the next without losing sight of enjoyment and adventure. They’re unafraid to jump into the unknown, either. Crackling with ambient street noise, the orchestral ‘Inthecity’ comes as one of many thought-provoking moments for reflection.
There are shades of the immaculate disco jangle that won so many hearts on their debut as well. ‘Somethinggreater’ is a reclined and understated ‘70s anthem with a Chic guitar line and a bouncy bassline – they’ve come too far to completely cut loose from such a winning formula. Listeners who come for that liberating disco sound will undoubtedly stay for the reclined Thundercat-esque jazz that follows-up on ‘Daywalk’.
‘Shadow’ signals the transition from day to night as an operatic vocal beams down: “Lights out / Sun down.” The second half of ‘Day/Night’ feels darker and moodier, such as the glamorous piano-led ballad ‘Neverloved’, while the band start to dig deep into further opposing topics, like identity against anonymity and belonging against freedom. They never stray too far from their vintage stylings, though: ‘Famous’ comes with bags of disco flair to post a glitzy, neon-lit late-night cameo.
True to its core concept, the album is cyclical as the sweeping strings of closer ‘Inside’ roll back into the first track as soon as it’s over. It means you can jump in and out of Parcels’ vivid world any time you want – but you’re guaranteed to want to come back for more. This daring album sets yet another high bar for this band, and leaves us itching to find out where they’ll go next.
Sun drenched shoegaze doesn’t come any finer than the sweet sound of Australian band Flyying Colours. The quintet includes (songwriter/vocalist) Brodie J Brümmer, (guitarist/vocalist) Gemma O’Connor, (bassist) Melanie Barbaro and (drummer) Andy Lloyd Russell who shot to global attention with the release of formidable first album Mindfullness.
Residing on the legendary label Club AC30, a home for the most innovative acts and always a sure sign of quality, Flyying Colours have now returned with “Fantasy Country” – their first album release in five years which has reawakened the band’s passion with fans and critics calling it their best work.
Schoolfriends Brodie J Brümmer and Gemma O’Connor formed the Brunswick based band Flyying Colours in 2011, and immediately set about establishing themselves on the Melbourne gig scene by playing wherever and whenever they could. First single “Wavygravy” was soon followed by an eponymously tired debut EP in 2013, both of which proved the arrival of something truly special which began to gain traction throughout the rest of Australia and beyond.
Australian four-piece Flyying Colours release their sophomore album; taking inspiration from the early 90s UK psych / shoegaze scene, “Fantasy Country” is rich in sonic texture and shimmering atmospherics with a heavy dose of melody. From the swooning, sludgy ‘Goodtimes’ and urgent noise-fest of ‘Big Mess’, to the gorgeous melodic pop of ‘OK’, Flyying Colours look to redefine noise within the context of pop music. Elsewhere, ‘It’s Real’ is perfect, summery dreampop while the crushingly loud ‘White Knuckles’ and chugging ‘Boarding Pass’ is a hazy, echo-laden spaced-out affair. Having released their critically acclaimed debut album “Mindfullness” in 2016, Flyying Colours have spent much of their time on the road with headline shows across the UK and Europe.
Touring with such prestigious names aspinkshinyultrablast as well as Johnny Marr, Brian Jonestown Massacre and A Place To Bury Strangers; the band developed both the talent and the audience appetite for the release of album Mindfullness which more than met expectations when it dropped in September of 2016. The enormous international reaction to a record which wrapped gorgeous melodies and harmonious vocals inside indie, shoegaze, and psyche prompted a huge rise in profile and established them as one of the coolest cult bands of the current generation.
Despite riding high from their instant success, fans had to wait five long years for another full-length record – but “Fantasy Country” once again proved why Flyying Colours are so special. Featuring the singles “Ok” and “Big Mess”, their second album is gloriously radiant and is a culmination of all of their experiences travelling and playing all around the world.
“This album was supposed to now be 6-12 months old. We take touring and supporting our music live pretty seriously so it would have been very difficult for us to put out this album during the early stages of the pandemic. We are very lucky to be in Australia right now where shows are starting up again, and we of course hope to be touring internationally again soon” said Brümmer.
Fortunately, the time to tour will soon be at hand as Flyying Colours have now announced select shows in support of their essential “Fantasy Country” album. Released via Club AC30 and Poison City Records
07/05Flyying Colours – The Chameleon, Nottingham
Taking “Fantasy Country” on tour, Flyying Colours will be heading to the UK during Spring 2022
Canberra based band Moaning Lisa has been steadily releasing EPs and singles and collecting praise and prime live supports since 2017. This new single, along with the album “Something Like This But Not This” due out in October, will undoubtedly add to the ever-growing teams of allegiance.
“Inadequacy” is the band in a somewhat measured mode. It’s a trampling rhythmic pulse thickened with muted fuzz and a drum feel whose restraint gives the verses an amiable sort of tension. The melodic structure from the outset is also controlled, allowing the straight meter to affect an adjoining sense of trickling heat. All the while, textures such as vocal harmonies and snippets of liberated guitar signpost what’s to come.
A post-grunge styled riff underpins a chiming melodic line. Its further sweetened by a suite of buoyant vocals and an overall souped-up energy flow. “Inadequacy” has two distinct sound identities. The verses intone a clear-eyed confession, with lines that reinforce this, such as ‘my greatest mistake is one I get to make’*. It then segues into choruses that don’t merely poke around the emotional centre but transmit directly from it.
The balance works. The shade before the avowing light carries the song right up the conclusion’s high harmonies and cloudburst guitar, wrapping up the exposed perspective with a seemingly impromptu edge. Moaning Lisa is composed of Charlie Versegi (singer/guitarist), Hayley Manwaring (singer/bassist) EllenChan (lead guitarist) and Hayden Fritzlaff (drummer). Renowned for creating an atmosphere entirely of their own, the band deftly combines a garage rock, grunge fantasy with ‘one massive, cosy, accepting love-fest’
Australian band Spacey Jane have shared their new single ‘Lots Of Nothing’, marking their first release since their 2020 debut album.
The song, which premiered on triple j also marks their first release since they came just one spot short of topping the 2020 Hottest 100 with ‘Booster Seat’ as the highest ranking Australian song this week. In addition to the new single, the band have also unveiled a Matt Sav-directed music video,
‘Lots of Nothing’ is about wrestling with the parts of yourself that you don’t like and how you can see those traits as a whole other person,” said frontman Caleb Harper of the song in a press statement.
“It’s about trying to accept all the parts of yourself, good and bad, before you are able to work on the person that you want to become.” While it’s unclear whether ‘Lots Of Nothing’ will appear on a full-length release in the future, SpaceyJane revealed in January that their songs for the second album was completely written.
“We’ve actually recorded a few tracks off it already, and we are about to start recording the rest of it,” Harper said to triple j at the time.
“As to when it’s coming out, I have no idea. I’m the wrong person to ask about that…”
The forthcoming album will follow on from 2020’s ‘Sunlight’, which was “huge” though “never at the expense of their heartfelt honesty”. “All the jagged edges of conflicting genres are somehow smoothed out under their command and there’s not a moment of their ambitious vision that feels uncomfortable,” he wrote.
Having just wrapped up a nationwide tour, the WA band will be returning to Sydney at the end of next month.
Australian heartland rock/alt-country-leaning punks Amends have shared a new single off “Tales of Love, Loss and Outlaws”, and this one finds the band harmonizing and duetting with Against Me vocalist Laura Jane Grace, whose voice is perfect for a song like this,
Starting in the mid 2010s as an emo-rock revival outfit, Amends have expanded to incorporate a sound more focused on alt-country, heartland rock and folk-punk. Building their style across EP’s and their debut album ‘So Far From Home’, led them to support acts such as Lucero, The Menzingers and Luca Brasi. The strong development of the band’s style and sound is evident in their new record, ‘Tales Of Love, Loss and Outlaws’.
Joining in on the record are Murder By Death Cellist Sarah Baillet and Against Me! leader Laura Jane Grace. The former contributes strings on the ballad “I Gave My Heart Away A Long Time Ago,” while the latter duets on “Walking Backwards.”
‘Tales of Love, Loss, and Outlaws’ demonstrates and solidifies Amends status as one of Australian music’s most unique and endearing prospects.
Taken from our album “Tales of Love, Loss and Outlaws” Out on the 23rd of April via Resist Records.
The Murlocs have announced their fifth studio album, “Bittersweet Demons”, to be released June 25th, 2021! On the band’s most personal and boldly confident work yet,TheMurlocs share a collection of songs reflecting on the people who leave a profound imprint on our lives, the saviours and hell-raisers and assorted other mystifying characters.
New Murlocs We are thrilled to announce The Murlocs will be released on June 25th on ATO Records. Watch the official clip for the new single “Francesca”, out now,
“Francesca” was written as a celebration of the life of frontman Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s mom. With music written by Murlocs’ keyboard and guitarist Tim Karmouche, Ambrose says of the lyrics, “The song is about my mother and how she had been lost for love since the separation from my father when I was 10.
In the last year and a half or so, she’s found love again, with a very close family friend of ours, someone who has always been a godfather and mentor to me in many ways. This has changed her spirit immensely for the better. You can really see the pop in her step as this enormous weight has been lifted off her shoulders.” Citing some of his favourite songs as being odes to impressive women―like Van Morrison’s “Gloria”― Ambrose explains, “Francesca is my mother’s middle name and I’ve always loved it so much.” Of turning his song writing lens to his mother, and celebrating her rediscovered joie de vivre, he adds, “It’s probably the most positive, feel-good song we’ve ever done. It’s also the closest we’ve ever come to having an 80s phase.”
Directed by Alex McLaren, the “Francesca” video was shot at the end of April 2020. The band’s hometown of Melbourne, Australia was coming out of one of its first COVID lockdown periods and restrictions had eased for a short period of time. The band and director quickly jumped on the opportunity to shoot while they had the chance.
Says Ambrose, “I remembered being at a festival and bumping into our longtime video-clip collaborator and friend, Alex Mclaren. I had brought him back to our campsite and he played the song “I Love LA” by Randy Newman which ultimately brought the tents down and got the party started.” Newman’s 1983 classic soft-top music video informed “Francesca”, with the car footage being shot along Ivanhoe Boulevard in Melbourne where Ambrose’s mom grew up.
“Bittersweet Edition”•Limited-edition of 500••Tangerine, black and white colored vinyl. A-side/B-side effect• Blue Eyed Runner Edition” White vinyl with baby blue splatter, Custom inner-sleeve and lyrics insert
Empowering Australian indie punk trio Camp Cope have announced an 11-date UK tour this September. Last September saw them play a sold out Tufnell Park Dome at their first ever London show, having upgraded from the smaller room after they sold it out in a matter of hours.
Camp Cope have become somewhat of a force in music since forming in a Melbourne backyard over home job tattoos a few years ago. They’re a band whose work far extends that which happens on stage, or in the recording studio. They use their resilience and strength to fight for the betterment for the music industry and related communities, and have proven that they aren’t afraid to put their heads on the chopping block to do so.
They share this experience on their acclaimed second album ‘How to Socialise & Make Friends”, which was released in 2018. It features the standout opener ‘The Opener’, a rally cry which called the music industry to task on its sexist and inequitable structures, and ‘The Face of God’, a harrowing account of sexual assault at the hands of someone whose art you admire.
On ‘How To Socialise…’, Sarah Thompson lays powerful drumlines that rise steady, laying a foundation for Kelly Hellmrich’s driving, winding bass riffs (that exclusively centre around the G and D strings – much to the dismay of men in basements around the world). Their watertight rhythm provides the platform from which singer and guitarist Georgia McDonald stands with strength and ferocity, taking listeners on a trip through the pages of a personal diary, thriving in the uncomfortable and the unspoken.
The energy at a Camp Cope show is rare. Not just because they write good songs that have the audience on their feet. They’re a band that takes action – they say no, they stand their ground, they take up space, and the audience can feel the power from those words. They unite in a space that is truly equal as they scream back every word, arms in the air, veins pulsating. You can feel it in the air. It doesn’t just feel a show – it feels like an uprising.
Eight years after Stone’s last solo record, Sixty Summers arrives as a powerful rebirth for one of Australia’s most prolific artists. Emerging from the wildernesses of folk and indie-rock, with “Sixty Summers”Stone dives headfirst into the cosmopolitan, hedonistic world of late-night, moonlit pop. The stunning album brings us the grit and glitter of the city, with all its attendant joys, dangers, romances and risks.
It is Stone at her truest, brightest self, a revered icon finally sharing her long, secret love affair with this vibrant and complex genre. Recorded sporadically over five years from 2015 to 2019, Sixty Summers was shaped profoundly by Stone’s key collaborators on the album: Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, and Annie Clark, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer known as St. Vincent. Bartlett and Clark were the symbiotic pair Stone needed to realise her first pop vision.
A wizard of production and song writing, Bartlett helped coax Sixty Summers’ independent, elemental spirit from Stone, writing and recording over 50 demos with her at his studio in New York. Itself a thoroughfare for indie rock luminaries, some of whom, such as The National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner, ended up on the album, Bartlett’s studio was perfect fertile ground for Stone’s growth.
Julia Stone’s forthcoming album ‘Sixty Summers’, released 30th April:
The Fat Angel Sings 