Happy New Year! And with a new year comes new music! We’re back!
Good Friday: The feature series that shines a light on our favourite new releases from around Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Make sure you check out all the artists that featured this week up the top of our weekly playlist, which also includes some other jams we've been getting down to during the week.
1. ‘Gates Of Hell’ - Antagonist A.D
Kicking off the year, we’re diving straight into the latest release from heavy metal screamo band, Antagonist A.D.
Opening with apocalyptic riffs, ‘Gates of Hell’ is a gloriously raging song, filled with roaring, dejected vocals and musical performances so tight it feels like a pin-prick. The musical chemistry between the band is twisted in all the right ways, and the musicianship is something to behold.
If heavy metal and thrash metal is your cup of tea, this band look to have something special about them: there’s a lot of rage in this track, with gloriously dark tones that are utterly ghoulish, but fantastic.
2. ‘The Way You Move’ - Victoria Altern
From one extreme to another, the new release from Melbourne-based South African electronic artist Victoria Altern is a real smooth, fun piece of EDM.
Filled with loads of live instrumentation that made the likes of Daft Punk’s latest releases so enjoyable, ‘The Way You Move’ sees Altern delivers a glorious electronic gem; pulling heavily from the dance and disco sounds of the Eighties and Nineties.
While a track like that may run the risk of feeling somewhat pastiche, Altern’s songwriting chops more than makes up for it, and she interprets the sound completely as her own. A strong recommendation.
3. ‘Light in the Lie’ - Steve Cousins
Based in the Gippsland area of Victoria, Steve Cousins has been grabbing a lot of attention for his stripped-back approach to pop.
His latest release, ‘Light in the Lie,’ sees him pulling clearly his influences like Matt Corby, the Jungle Giants and Tash Sultana, with fun scratchy production and a smooth groove built around guitar and kick-drum.
This is a fun summer tune, and one that sounds it’ll be a ripper to perform live. Can’t wait to see what this dude does next!
4. ‘Doppelganger’ - Crust
This garage outfit have just dropped a killer EP, and their low-key intro to it sounds like a cross between The Doors and The White Stripes.
The song is amazing because it is pure fundamentals, good old school rock and roll. The track is a hell of a lot of fun, and when it explodes into these gargantuan choruses and instrumentals it hits the listener with a feeling of satisfying euphoria. You’re going to want to pay attention to this band.
They are celebrating their new EP with a launch tonight, so be sure to get along to it!
5. ‘Bias’ ft. Chux - Five Coffees
Finally, bringing our first Good Friday of the decade to a close is Sydney hip-hop outfit Five Coffees, with their latest release featuring Chux. I say hip-hop, but the track is more a gorgeous blend of hip-hop, soul, funk and jazz. This is something fans of bands like The Cat Empire will lap up like crazy.
There are glorious guitars that permeate throughout the track, and synths on the chorus give it so much colour. This is a track that sounds like it’s having so much fun - and we haven’t even got to the saxophone solo that closes this track out.
If you know anyone who thinks hip-hop can’t blend with other genres, direct them to this succulent example. This track is so damn fun!
