Tag: Brisbane Australia

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Kyle Fisher, Merrick Powell, Jonny Dolan and Michael Sacco, the Sydney, Australia-based indie rock quartet STUMPS formed last year and  the band quickly exploded into the national scene, “Piggyback,” “This Home is Mine” and “We’ll Do It Anyway,” off the band’s debut EP Another Stay at Home Son all received airplay on Triple J’s Unearthed.  Already, the band has gone on national tours with Dear Seattle and Maddy Jane, and building upon a growing profile, they played a sold out Sydney headlining show, as well as packed shows in Brisbane and Melbourne — and the band will be on another national tour with Trophy Eyes, Maddy Jane and Dear Seattle in October.

Not wasting time or momentum, the members of STUMPS wrote, recorded and released their latest single, the angular post-punk influenced “Conversation Conversation,” which is centered around four-on-the-floor drumming, angular guitar chords, a propulsive rhythm section and Fisher’s sonorous baritone punchily delivering the song’s lyrics, which are derived from painfully awkward and overheard conversations and interactions of first and second dates, text messages and dating apps – and while being an  ironic view of dating in our short attention span age, it also is an an incisive stab at masculinity and the pointless (and desperate) attempts people make at impressing others.  Sure, the hook-driven song is danceable and arena rock friendly in a way that recalls Franz Ferdinand, but it points a deeply universal and uncomfortable experience that we’ve all had at some point or another.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Time-Bending Visuals for San Mei’s “Until You Feel Good”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three years or so, you may have come across a handful of posts featuring Emily Hamilton, a  Gold Coast, Australia-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose solo project San Mei began humbly as a bedroom recording project; however, during that aforementioned three year period, Hamilton has seen a growing national and international profile as Hamilton has seen attention and praise from major media outlets, including NME, Indie Shuffle, NYLON and Triple J, as well as this site. 
Produced by Konstantin Kersting, who has worked with The Belligerents, WAAX, and Tia Gostelow, Hamilton’s first single of 2017 “Until You Feel Good” is a mid-tempo single that is a change of sonic direction for Hamilton, as her lilting and coquettish vocals are paired with a much more organic arrangement of fuzzy Brit Pop and shoegazer rock-like power chords and a propulsive groove, along with a soaring hook and a subtly moody vibe. And while being radio friendly, the song manages to evoke a complex array of emotions — desire and longing, frustration and the sense of something being unresolved, along with some self-assured and ambitious songwriting. 

Filmed and directed by Brisbane, Australia-based filmmaker Jennifer Embelton, who has produced videos for Babaganouj, Huntly, Good Boy and Jeremy Neale, the video is follows a young woman’s time-bending journey across the present, the past, the future, the real and her own dreams when she encounters a boy from her past, who suddenly returns to her life. And as soon as he appears, he’s gone. The harder she tries to find the boy, the quicker he slips away. Is he a ghost of her past, haunting her at an inopportune time? That remains to be seen; but it further emphasizes the sense of things being unresolved within the song. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their earliest singles and their debut EP Anonymous, the Brisbane, Australia-based sibling duo Niterunner — comprised of Daniel and Andrea Suesskow — received quite a bit of attention nationally for the sort of soulful yet dreamy electro pop production and anthemic hooks that’s been compared favorably to the likes of M83, Phoenix, Moonbabies, Cut Copy, and others. Interestingly, the Suesskows’ latest single “Out of Your Hands” is reportedly a reworking of a single the duo released earlier that received some 16,000 streams upon its release and was recorded and reworked in their family’s home studio — and was produced by Daniel Suesskow.  And sonically speaking, the single will further cement their burgeoning reputation across Australia and elsewhere, for crafting summery and dreamy pop that’s both wistfully nostalgic and achingly earnest paired with a soaring hook and shimmering synths.

As the Suesskows explained in press notes the song’s lyrics reflect on moments of symmetry, a singular way of thought and reaction, a cycle of repetition and a struggle to cope but offering a moment of self-realization and reprieve, in which one learns how to counterbalance their internal process of self-doubt and self-flagellation with the realization that there’s only so much you can control. And as a result, all anyone can do is let go of the things that are completely out of their hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Kacee Hedit, Benny Tamblyn and Oli Kirk, Adelaide, Australia-based indie rock/indie electro pop trio Flamingo have developed a reputation both locally and nationally for a sleek, downtempo electronic sound with the release of their first two EPs, with their second EP Drip Drip being released to widespread critical praise. And as a result, the trio not only embarked on their first national tour with stops in their homeland’s largest cities — Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and their hometown — they’ve found their profile growing opening for Bonobo, Rüfüs, Giraffage and The Kite String Tangle, as well as appearances at Splendour on the Grass and Groovin’ the Moo.

Interestingly, the trio’s latest single is about a topic that has been in the international spotlight for some time — refugees, who arrive by boat to a new and perhaps unforgiving and unwelcoming land. And as the band’s vocalist Kacee Heidt explains “Leaving your home and everything you have ever known to travel to the other side of the world in search of a life free from tyranny and devastation with nothing but your family and the clothes on your back. This is one of the hardest things a person can possibly go through and something most Australians couldn’t possibly imagine.”  And as a result, the song portrays refugees with a profound sense of empathy — an empathy the the members of the band feel has long been missing from their national conversation on the issue. Sonically speaking, the trio pairs shimmering guitar chords, skittering beats, gently undulating synths and Heidt’s plaintive vocals singing lyrics that point at asylum seekers’ plight with a bitterly sarcastic irony at its core, opening suggesting that those who were desperate enough to risk everything for the chance at asylum need not just the most empathy but the most assistance.

 

 

 

 


Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Brisbane, Australia-born and Houston, TX-based Andrew Bower (vocals, guitar), Bower’s Brisbane, Australia-born and based brother Sean Bower (bass), along with Dan McNaulty (drums), The Valery Trails are a Trans-Pacific trio that over the past couple of years have received national attention for a sound that owes a major debt to early 90s/120 Minutes-era MTV rock, as previously released singles have managed to channel the likes of R.E.M., The Church, The Psychedelic Furs and others.

Now, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve actually written about them; however, the Trans-Pacific trio’s forthcoming album Chameleon Bones is slated for an August 5, 2016 release and the new album was recorded in a similar fashion to their two previous releases — with Andrew Bower recording demos in his home studio in Houston, then sending along his demos to bandmates Sean Bower and Dan McNaulty, who would then track bass and drums before returning the files to Andrew, who would then record guitars and vocals in a local commercial studio. As you can imagine, each song went back and forth to Brisbane for final overdubs, which created a variety of issues in the recording process. And as Andrew Bower explains in press notes, “The major obstacle, or more of a disadvantage, really, is that we don’t get the benefit of everyone being in the room together to agree on decisions that come up during recording.” Sean, Dan and the recording engineer had to commit to bass and drums sounds and arrangements without Andrew being able to weigh in — and without having a budget to re-record if he didn’t like it either. However, interestingly enough, this process also helps a band avoid the temptation of overanalyzing and obsessing to death over a minor issue at the expense of the overall freshness of the songs.

 

Chameleon Bones‘ first single “OK” is comprised of an anthemic hook paired with a jangling alt country/alt rock sound — in other words, slightly fuzzy guitars fed through subtle effects pedals, thunderous and propulsive drumming along with a throbbing bass line in a song that sounds as though it was channeling Big Star, The Smithereens, Murmur-era R.E.M., Dinosaur, Jr., The Church and others, complete with a radio-friendly, arena rock friendly air. But what distinguishes The Valery Trails from those familiar sources is that this particular single also manages to channel shoegazer rock and 90s Brit Pop in a way that puts a subtle new twist on a beloved sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Dave Groszek is a Brisbane, Australia-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer and his solo recording project, Groszek specializes in a very deliberate, ambient yet cinematic electro pop. His latest single “Your Eyes” is an eerily sparse and slow-burning track comprised of twinkling keyboard chords, stuttering and skittering percussion, swirling electronics paired with Groszek’s plaintive and soulful crooning. But underneath the song’s icy surface layer is an urgent, aching desire at the song’s core — and in some way the song is reminiscent of the work of Beacon, Seoul and others, thanks to its plaintive and thoughtful nature.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: London Punk Trio Feature’s “Wisdom Teeth” and “Tourism Fiction”

Originally starting as a duo comprised of Liv Willars (guitar) and Jen Calleja (drums), best known as a member of Sauna Youth and Monotony, London-based band Feature started receiving attention nationally for a drone pop/power […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Chet Faker’s Reworking of “1998” Features Guest Vocals by Indie Pop Sensation Banks

With the release of his full-length debut, Built on Glass, the Melbourne, Australia-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Nick Murphy, best known as Chet Faker quickly became an international sensation for a silky smooth and soulful electro pop/electro R&B sound that […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Over the past thirty or so years, several Australian artists have become internationally-known sensations including Men at Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, The Church, Cut Copy, Tame Impala and several others. Last year, the Melbourne, Australia-born, […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Flynn Cock (drums), Kerley Cock (bass) and Murphy Cock (guitar), the Brisbane, Australia-based trio Bottlecock describe their sound on their Facebook Fan Page as “Big, loud, noisy, thrusty rock.” And as a result of […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

As I’ve frequently mentioned here, I’ve received an increasing number of emails from a number of labels. PR firms, band managers and artists from all over the world – and it makes my endeavors to […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Spencer White, Jackson White, Steve Kempnich, and Lewis Stephenson, the Brisbane, Australia-based quartet Morning Harvey have developed a reputation in Brisbane for a breezy, psych pop/shoegaze sound based around shimmering reverb-y guitar lines, […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Some time ago, I interviewed the Brisbane, Australia-born and now Houston, TX area-based guitarist and vocalist Andrew Bower of the intercontinental collaboration the Valery Trails which features Bower’s Brisane-based brother and bassist, Sean and drummer […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their debut effort, Bloodstreams, the Brisbane, Australia-based duo of DZ Deathrays won the attention of bloggers and media outlets both in their native Australia and other places in the world, thanks to their […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Consisting of three siblings Daniel, Luke and Sarah Spencer, along with Luke Walsh, the Brisbane, Australia-based quartet, Blank Realm have developed a reputation for their ecstatic live performances and the amiable way they manage to […]