GOOD FRIDAY - SPICIEST NEW TUNAS OF 13 DEC 2019

Good Friday: The feature series that shines a light on our favourite new releases from around Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. All good things must sadly come to an end, and 2019 has been a beauty when it comes to the emergence of new artists. However, we’ve saved some of the slickest new tunes for last, so be sure to check out these exciting acts releasing music this silly season!

1.     ‘I’ll Believe It’ - Georgia Marley

We start with one of the smoothest tracks to come out of indie pop this year, from a blossoming Western Sydney Indie-pop artist named Georgia Marley. 

With appearances at The Plot Festival and working with the likes of Antonia Gauci (Kesha), Marley has already been turning some heads before she started to release music this year. 

Her debut single, ‘I Hope This Feeling Doesn’t Last’, which received acclaim from fans on triple j unearthed, however Georgia has struck gold with this gorgeous follow up. Looping guitars over one another, Georgia creates a smooth, silky atmosphere, and when the drums introduce themselves with backing vocals and subtle synths, the track becomes a sickly sweet affair, as Marley repeats the mantra ‘I’ll believe it when it see it.’

A must for any indie pop fan, here is someone you want to pay attention to.

2.     ‘Surf’s Up on the Galactic Tide’ - Slugpünch

Pulled straight from the old-school mindset of The Hives and AC/DC,  this rock metal group from Sydney’s inner west is a new discovery for any rock metal fan.

Their debut single, ‘Surf’s Up on the Galactic Tide’ sums everything up about this band: they rock hard, strong, and are utterly batshit insane. However, you cannot deny the awesomeness of what they’re reaching for. 

Opening with a dirty riff and vocal samples, the band explodes into a roaring chorus with glorious harmonies and a hell of swagger. This is a stonking rock track that is completely out of its mind, in all the right ways. Karnivool fans, you’ll want to get on this!

2020 is the band’s self-proclaimed ‘Year of the Slug’, and they’ll go far if this track is the first indication.

3.    ‘Slow Crawl’ - Doolie

A slick, indie electronic R&B artist from the Sunshine Coast, DOOLIE has been having a breakout 2019. Since teaming up with in-demand producer GXNXVS (Lastlings, Banoffee, OKBADLANDS), this collaboration has yielded several highly addictive singles.

However, this final effort of the year may just been DOOLIE’s best of her career so far. Collaborating with Cam Nacson, the track starks with simple kickdrums, but then DOOLIE hits a whole new level of slick on the chorus, with punchy synths and vocoder backing vocals making this track crackle with a nervous energy. 

Slow Crawl’ is “a very empowering song,” expresses DOOLIE. “It’s about one person breaking free from a relationship while their partner slowly realises how they’ve hurt them.”

“I feel like a lot of us allow ourselves to be treated like trash to make another person more comfortable, so this is a song for all of us.”

It’s a more low-key track, but one that has a great sense of soundscape. Those who love the sounds of artists like Running Touch will enjoy this latest offering.

4.     ‘Time Won’t Wait’ - In Eyes

A new punk rock prodigy from Queensland, three-piece In Eyes has been having a breakout couple of years with their fresh take on the punk formula. 

They are finishing the decade in some style with this emotional cut. Within all the pulsing, angsty drums and guitars of the track, the message delivered tells a story of lead singer Rosie Jacobson’s experience with trying to fight for her passion while faced with mental illness.

This latest effort from In Eyes is a glorious display on punk rock goodness, and a perfect gift for indie-punk rock fans this holiday season.

With more music scheduled in 2020, expect big things from this outfit!

5. ‘Hungry for Love’ - Chasing Giants

Finally, genre-jumping indie artists Chasing Giants are back with their first single of 2019, bouncing back after multiple lineup changes and their fun debut EP, ‘Dangerous.’ 

The four-piece have long been turning heads for their many unique approaches to music and their collaborations with multiple vocalists and artists, however their latest alternative effort sees them at their most angsty and unsettled.

You feel the desire on ‘Hungry for Love’, with some gloriously performed vocals, filled with personality. A smooth, groovy alternative track, it really gets going in it’s chorus with cheesy, fun harmonies, finger snaps, and subtle electric guitar and synths. 

Chasing Giants are pulling from the cheesiness of the Eighties, but what they deliver is so much fun! This is a track filled with personality, attitude, and you can tell the band had a great time making it. A song and band very much worth your time, especially if you love alternative rock. 

Tickets are selling fast for their single launch this weekend at Sydney’s The Vanguard, so be sure to get on it!

PREMIERE: Circle release smooth, ambitious 'Another 69 Love Songs'

Enmore-based genre jumping duo Circle are back! 

With multiple records and an EP under their belt, as well as airplay across Australia and the US, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Circle might be resting on their laurels and sticking to what they know their audience likes. However, with their latest record, ‘Another 69 Love Songs’, they’ve done the exact opposite. 

Clocking in at over an hour and containing twenty-three pulsing tracks, the duo have delivered a smooth, low-key, but super ambitious musical statement on love. Ranging from deep and meaningful tracks around broken relationships and confusing love interests to aloof, abstract musical jigs, those looking for an in depth experience in their music will find much to enjoy here. 

The opener ‘Ladies Night’ sets the stage beautifully, with smooth, low-key bass and drums, with the lyrics telling a story about it being ladies night on a Wednesday night, and relaxed vocals that suggest the character in the song is almost happy about being here. This is a secret to the album here: each song serves as a vignette around the experience of love.

The track ‘Tinder’ is a guitar driven, groovy affair backed by trumpets, with fascinating lyrics about a character who almost views the eponymous app as a romantic love interest, opening their heart to other people out there. Similarly, the track ‘I’m Sorry Baby’ is also a notable highlight, with a jazz-like quality to the production and lyrics centering around a confusing breakup, backed by glorious horns and pretty background vocals. The songs feel like tinkered, playful tracks, fans of artists like Gotye would appreciate. 

However, what is most impressive is that when the production doesn’t take a more indepth approach, the band still work in an interesting angle with every track, even when it’s a simpler affair: ‘Your Last Thought’ begins with a gorgeous uke, however the song becomes much more sinister when you find out it’s sung from the viewpoint of a guy who is creeping on a girl going to bed through the window.

Other favourites of the album include ‘My Biography’ when the duo enlist a guitar and backing vocals to tell a very aloof story about how the narrator’s lover wrote his biography, but left out so much stuff, or the quirky, upbeat ‘The Lourve is Calling’, the most Gotye-inspired track of the bunch. 

This is a fun, quirky and sometimes overwhelming project about love. But, fans will be rewarded, because despite it’s seemingly overwhelming length, Circle manages to cover the emotion in all its complexity and range. To say this record is ambitious is an understatement, and really plays to the musical abilities of the duo. A compelling, engrossing listen!

GOOD FRIDAY - SPICIEST NEW TUNAS OF 6 DEC 2019

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.     ‘Together’ - Waxflower

Brisbane’s spiciest pop-punk luminaries Waxflower are back with their latest track, ‘Together’.

The deeply personal third music instalment explores mental health and the controlling grip of one’s inner monologue.

Waxflower frontman Tristan says ‘Together’ is an important snapshot of a difficult period in my life.

“I needed that internal acknowledgment of what was happening to me… It's a kind of rally call to getting better by putting things into perspective,” he explains.

The hard-hitting band have spent most of 2019 touring with the likes of Sly Withers, Between You & Me, and The Dead Love, as well as local and interstate supports with The Maine and Stand Atlantic. They’re ending 2019 with a bang, announcing they’ll be supporting iconic US giants Simple Plan.

Produced and engineered by Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic, Yours Truly, Between You & Me), mixed by James Paul Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory, Underoath), and mastered by Alan Douches (My Chemical Romance, A Day To Remember, State Champs), the painstakingly candid effort is one to remember.

Waxflower have brought a genuine perspective on alternative rock within ‘Together’, give it a listen today.

2.     ‘Tied You Up’ - MAYAH

MAYAH has dropped her second release 'Tied You Up', and it’s a special one.

Opening with a gloomy beat, the musician’s hypnotising vocals build the track to a head-banging chorus which can only be described as strikingly powerful.

The Cairns-born artist says the new track is about tying loose ends, be it relationships, friendships or situations.

“It comes from a place of self-assuredness and personal growth,” she says.

Through growing up with Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson, TLC, Moby and Massive Attack, it’s no surprise MAYAH fuses R&B, hip hop and electronic sounds.

After taking a quick detour from music to study medicine, MAYAH has re-emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Her catchy debut single ‘Pray’ received an extremely positive response, and there’s no reason why it won’t be the same for ‘Tied You Up’. Bring on more songs and shows!

3.     ‘Insubordinate’ - alt.

Adelaide-based rock outfit alt. have unleashed their banging debut track ‘Insubordinate’.

Formerly known as After Change, the revamped band explore a completely different sound in the tune which is part of their forthcoming seven-track EP.

Vocalist Daniel Richards takes aim at the government in the track, voicing his stance on their inability to action a positive change towards a better future. He says the song tries to put encouragement out there to those who actually do care.

"For years our government has made decisions that negatively impact our country and planet and it's all based on their own greed, power and self-entitlement.

“Keep fighting it, keep standing up for what we believe in and protect our future,” Richards says.
alt. members Daniel Richards, Daniel Wells-Smith, Simon Aistrope, and Declan Fry know exactly how to create an addictive listen. The huge, flaunting riffs are bound to be stuck in your head before you know it.

After playing huge shows alongside Mayday Parade, Circa Survive, Hands Like Houses, We The Kings and The Getaway Plan, alt. plan on building their reputation in 2020 to leave their mark on Australia's alternative music community.

4.     ‘21 Orbits’ - Taka Perry

The 20-year-old music producer and multi-instrumentalist Taka Perry has released a diverse new tune, ’21 Orbits’.

The track started as a simple idea in the studio which evolved into an all-rounded musical banger. It captures what it is to be young and how it feels to be developing your own identity… without caring about others.

“I’d taken the idea as far as I could but felt it needed some strong vocals to take it where it needed to go,” says Perry.

After previously working with Yaw., Perry knew exactly who’d be the right fit. Though, he still felt the track needed more.

“I decided to link up with yergurl to write a hook together as I was a big fan of everything she had been putting out so far.”

Ghanaian born Yaw. brings coherent flare and style to ’21 Orbits’, while Victorian teen queen and Unearthed High finalist yergurl gives the track a raw, dreamy spin. Taka Perry’s past collaborations with Ruel, Mallrat, Woodes, and KLP have clearly had a big impact on the artist, as his new style sounds more refined than ever.

Taka Perry, Yaw. and yergurl perfectly encapsulate all that is fresh and exciting in Australia’s music scene right now, and we cannot wait for what’s next.

5.     ‘Manipulator’ - Lune

Australia's newest heavy phenoms Lune are back with second hit of pure musical brutality.

The refreshing combination of soaring melodies and exceptionally heavy grooves give a raw, urgent feel right from the start.

The high-intensity band is comprised of members from Melbourne’s I, Valiance and Newcastle’s Blind Oracle.
Manipulator is about recovering from experiencing domestic violence and escaping a damaging environment in order to heal.

“This escape comes with the realisation that family are sometimes the ones that hurt you the most and must be left behind in order to protect yourself… Manipulator is dedicated to anyone who has ever experienced or is recovering from any form of domestic violence," the band explain.

While they only have one song to date under their belt, their impact has been explosive.

Tickets are selling fast for their single launch on Saturday December 21st at Melbourne's Stay Gold, so get streaming folks!