Tag: Bryon Bay Australia

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Aussie Punks Mini Skirt Share Bruising “Squeeze Down”

Bryon Bay, Australia-based punks Mini Skirt — Jesse Pumphrey (bass), Jacob Pumphrey (drums), Jacob Boylan (vocals) and Cam Campbell (guitar) — have received attention both nationally and internationally for a rough and tumble take on pub rock that capture the climate of present-day Australia. Their work focuses on the fact that things aren’t picturesque and idyllic; the vocals express frustration and urgency while their arrangements are melodic yet raw. But at its core, they paint a picture of hope through struggle.

The Aussie punks full-length debut, 2020’s Casino grabbed the attention of the global punk scene. Their long-awaited and highly-anticipated sophomore album, All That We Know is slated for a November 14, 2025 self-release in their native Australia and through Bad Vibrations outside of Australia.

Continuing a run of gritty, bruising punk, the album’s material is underlined by Boylan’s lyrics, which paint a picture of the modern social climate. Every verse and chorus is a well-crafted and concise assessment that ensures that the listener replays each line to make sure they didn’t miss a word.

All That We Know‘s latest single “Squeeze Down” is a bruising, mosh pit friendly ripper featuring scuzzy and wiry bursts of guitar, thunderous drumming and a chugging bass line paired with Boylan’s punchy delivery expressing pent up frustration, confusion and unease that feels sweaty, claustrophobic and inescapable in a way that reminds me a bit of Ex-Cult‘s 2014 effort Midnight Passenger.

“This track was written after our first EU/UK tour back in 2022,” Mini Skirt’s Jacob Boylan recalls. ““The lyrics are about the unshakeable sense I had of feeling isolated, misunderstood and defensive about my identity. It was the first time I realised who I am is so deeply rooted in where I am from. Cam had put the riff together for his other band Chrome Cell Torture, but they had decided it wasn’t tough enough for them, so us big whimps took it and ran with it.”

C.O.F.F.I.N.’s Ben Portnoy created the accompanying video for “Squeeze Down.” Shot on grainy VHS video, the video features live footage of the band playing in a shitty club that captures the sweaty intensity of their live performance and of their fans.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Babe Rainbow Shares Laid Back and Slinky “Like cleopatra”

For the members of acclaimed Aussie psych outfit Babe Rainbow — Angus Dowling, Jack “Cool-Breeze” Crowther and Dr. Elliott “Love Wisdom” O’Reilly — their character of their home, Australia’s idyllic Gold Coast permeates the dreamlike, joyful, psychedelic music they create together.

The trio grew up in Rainbow Bay and relocated to Bryon Bay, a breathtakingly beautiful place, where the waves are always strong, the magic mushrooms grow freely and old, abandoned farm buildings are plentiful. It’s the perfect locale for young dudes to play music as loud as they want.

The Aussie psych outfit jammed tirelessly in abandoned shacks, and as their sound began to develop, they booked shoes in Brisbane where they crossed paths with JOVM mainstays King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, who began to book the the band as an opener at their shows. The connection turned out to be fortuitous for the members of Babe Rainbow, who then signed to the Gizz’s Flightless label for 2015’s self-titled EP. 2017’s self-titled full-length debut, was produced by the Gizz’s Stu Mackenzie. The album established a loyal following for the band, one which has grown since its release.

Babe Rainbow’s sixth album Slipper Imp and Shakerator is slated for an April 4, 2025 release through King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s P(DOOM) Records. The album was recorded on an old banana farm, where they worked alongside friend and producer Timon Martin and Miles Myjavec on percussion and flute. The roots of the album’s material frequently lay in riffs and figures dreamed up by the band’s Jack Crowther,. “‘Cool Breeze’ has always got something going on,” Babe Rainbow’s Angus Dowling says. “He’s always keen to jam, and Timon’s so good with helping to realise the potential of a song.”

The key this time was not to overwork these early ideas, to give them space “to flow, to grow,” he continues. “Keeping a loose feeling to the music is so important. An idea develops together outside but it doesn’t take its wings until you take it into the studio. We experiment with synths and drum machines and overdubs, and we love that, but we never wanna escape too far from the hippie power of the music. We’re made of rainbow.”

Dowling jokes that Silpper imp and shakerator is a celebration of all the colors of the Babe Rainbow — the milk. “I love the fact that, with all the touring and the changing tides, and hair, the creative relationship within the band still feels so strong. I feel so lucky to have this psychedelic family, which is really the essence of the band. We’re just a bunch of laid back surfers, cattlemen’s sons.”

Slipper imp and shakerator may arguably be the band’s most “homegrown” effort to date. Sonically, the album is a bunch of breezy, acid-tinged pop that sees the band following their own North Star, chasing subtle, slippery, subterranean grooves. The album’s second and latest single “Like cleopatra” is anchored around a slinky yet laid-back, 1980s-era Prince/The Gap Band/The Whispers-like groove, complete with Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar lines.

“When our neighbor Tam’s cows dried themselves up, and we had to wait for one of the cows named Mary to have her calf to have fresh milk, we were buying ‘Cleopatra’s Bath Milk.’ This might explain the theme of ‘Like cleopatra.’ Drink deep or taste not,” says the band. “The song reminds us of the natural spring outside Julian [Abbott]’s studio where we’d naturally congregate when the sun was at its zenith early into a day’s recording session. We’d stretch; take coffee and fruit. It’s a sweet spot to enjoy the Nature sprites and spirits. Why is everything so nice? We found our Cleopatra in Camille [Jansen] who kindly sang backing vocals on the album. She has a definite ancient Egyptian aristocratic air to her coolness. Cheers to the rhythm of life.” 

The video by Sam Kristofski is split between footage of the band frolicking and enjoying nature around their hometown of Bryon Bay, the band jamming out in the studio — but with a fittingly trippy nature.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Aussie Indie Act Poppongene Returns with a Stop-Motion Animated Visual for Tense and Jagged “Don’t Even Know”

Over the past year or so, I’ve written quite a bit about the rapidly rising  Bryon Bay, Australia-born, Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist and JOVM mainstay Sophie Treloar, best known as the creative mastermind behind Poppongene, an Aussie dream pop project that finds Treloar performing both as a solo artist and as a full-fledged band featuring Skube Burnell, Gemma Helms, Justin Kuchel and Deanna Ramsey. Between 2016 and 2017, Treloar released three critically applauded singles in her native  Australia “Do It, Girl,” “Belgravey,” and “Esky” — and as a result of the growing buzz surrounding the project, Treloar and company opened for a handful internationally acclaimed acts during their Aussie tours, including  Lucy Dacus, Weyes Blood and Slow Dancer.

Now, as you may recall, Treloar’s Tim Harvey-produced EP Futures Unsure, which is slated for a July 3, 2020 release through Our Golden Friend reportedly marks a distinct step forward in the rising Aussie singer/songwriter’s artistic, musical and personal development: the material generally represents Treloar closing a difficult but rewarding chapter in her personal life, in which she comes to terms and embraces her identity as a queer woman. So far I’ve written about two of the EP’s latest singles, the shimmering and slow-burning, Still Corners-like “Not Wrong” and the ironic and jangling guitar pop ode to doing complacence and effortless hook ups, “Eternally Alone.” The EP’s fourth and latest single “Don’t Even Know” is centered around jagged guitar stabs, a propulsive rhythm section, Treloar’s plaintive yet punchily delivered lyrics, and a razor sharp hook. Although the single may be the most anxious and uneasy single the rising Aussie JOVM mainstay has released to date, it’s inspired by deeply personal experience: “‘Don’t Even Know’ was written in the midst of a relationship breakdown,” Treloar explains in press notes. “It follows the subtle observations of change and disconnection. It’s punchy and direct, both lyrically and tonally. I distinctly remember feeling particularly irked when I wrote this song, a feeling which translates suitably. It feels like a small step away from the usual dreamy nature of my music which is a refreshing change.”

Directed and animated by Carolyn Hawkins, the recently released video for “Don’t Even Know” features painstaking stop-motion animation using handcrafted from materials in Hawkins’ own home, and filmed  over many hours during Quarantine isolation. Throughout the video, evokes several different tensions happening simultaneously — human relationships, the relationship between the country and the city and how they shift and morph seemingly at will. “Being quite a labour-intensive technique, it was the perfect all-consuming iso project… The materials I used to create my hand cut elements came from sources I already had around the house, such as coloured card, wrapping paper, and an old book entitled The Earth and Its History,” the video’s director explains in press notes. “[Poppongene] and I spent a bit of time brainstorming and coming up with some imagery that related to the song, centering around the tensions between nature and the city, geological shifts, and how these things can act as visual metaphors for the changing nature of relationships.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Aussie Act Poppongene Releases a Hilarious Ode to Dating and Settling Romantically

Sophie Treloar is a Bryon Bay, Australia-born, Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist and creative mastermind behind the rising act Poppongene, an Aussie dream pop project that finds Treloar performing both as a solo artist and with a band featuring Skube Burnell, Gemma Helms, Justin Kuchel and Deanna Ramsey. Last year, Treloar released three critically applauded singles in her native Australia “Do It, Girl,” “Belgravey,” and “Esky” — and as a result of the growing buzz surrounding the project, Treloar and company wound up opening for Lucy Dacus, Weyes Blood and Slow Dancer.

Slated for a July 3, 2020 release through Our Golden Friend, Treloar’s Tim Harvey-produced Futures Unsure reportedly marks a distinct step forward in the rising Aussie singer/songwriter’s artistic and musical development. Now, as you may recall, EP single “Not Wrong”  was a shimmering and slow-burning, Still Corners-like track centered around Treloar’s achingly tender vocals that thematically focused on the initial pangs of infatuation, and of the equal thrill and uncertainty of attraction. And as a result, the song was imbued with equal parts blind hope and despair. The EP’s latest single “Eternally Alone” is a deceptively upbeat and dreamy ode to romantic and dating complacence and of hopes of effortless connections centered around jangling guitars, twinkling keys, an infectious hook, an infectious hook and Treloar’s coquettish vocal delivery. But the song is built with a playfully  ironic reasoning — that maybe being alone ain’t so bad. 

“It’s a humorous pop song about wanting warm connection without warped compromise,” Treloar explains in press notes. “It’s me daydreaming about a lovely shimmering romance the I don’t have time for. Less morbid than the title suggests, much more about poking fun at my priorities.”

Directed by Clancy Walker, the recently released video features Treloar heading to a speed dating event at local bar that quickly turns into a frustrating and unsatisfying nightmare that includes a selfie taking jock type, a paranoid spy, a pompous, wine drinking magician, an incredibly nervous woman, who laughs inappropriately, drinks too quickly — and spills a drink all over everything. And with each meeting, you can see Treloar’s character feeling as though her soul is being sucked away from her. “The video is a humorous depiction of the pure chaos faced when seeking a romantic human connection,” Treloar says in press notes. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Up-and-Coming Aussie Dream Pop Act Poppongene Releases a Coquettish and Playful Ode to 21st Century Dating

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Bryon Bay, Australia-born, Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist Sophie Treloar. Treloar is the creative mastermind behind one of Australia’s more buzz worthy and emerging acts — Poppongene, a dream pop act that finds Treloar performing as a solo artists and within a full-fledged band featuring Skube Burnell, Gemma Helms, Justin Kuchel and Deanna Ramsey. The past few months have seen the band release three critically applauded singles, — “Do It, Girl,” “Belgravey,” and “Esky,” which resulted in opening spots for Lucy Dacus, Weyes Blood and Slow Dancer.

The up-and-coming Aussie act’s forthcoming Tim Harvey-produced EP reportedly marks a distinct step forward in Treloar’s artistic and musical development. The Still Corners-like EP single “Not Wrong” was a glittering and slow-burning track centered around Treloar’s achingly tender vocals that thematically focused on the initial pangs of infatuation, and of the equal thrill and uncertainty of attraction. And as a result, the song was imbued with equal parts blind hope and despair. Interestingly, the EP’s latest single is the upbeat  “Eternally Alone.” Centered around jangling guitars, Treloar’s coquettish vocals and an infectious hook, the track is an ode to dating-complacence, of dreaming of an effortless connection — but all while reasoning that being alone isn’t so bad anyway. 

“It’s a humorous pop song about wanting warm connection without warped compromise,” Treloar explains in press notes. “It’s me daydreaming about a lovely shimmering romance the I don’t have time for. Less morbid than the title suggests, much more about poking fun at my priorities.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their full-length debut, 2017’s Take A Rest, the Bryon Bay, Australia-based electro pop act Tora, comprised of Thorne Davis (drums), Shaun Johnston (bass), Jo Loewenthal (vocals, guitar, samples) and Jai Piccone (vocals, guitar) quickly emerged into both their homeland’s national scene and internationally: the album was named one of triple j’s “Albums of the Week,” and album track “Another Case,” received regular rotation on the station.  The legendary Sir Elton John played tracks off the Aussie act’s debut on his Beats 1 Radio show — and Annie Mac did the same on her BBC Radio 1 show.  As a result, the act has amassed over 90 million streams globally. Adding to a growing profile, the members of Tora have toured nationally and across the UK and Europe with sold out sets in Melbourne, Paris and London, as well as playing across the international festival circuit with sets at Glastonbury Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Reeperbahn, The Great Escape, Best Kept Secret and others.

Building upon that growing profile, the Bryon Bay-based electro pop act released “Wouldn’t Be The Same,” a collaboration featuring Keelan Mak last year, which they’ve followed up with their first single of this year,  the slow-burning and atmospheric, Roy Kerr co-written and co-produced “Deviate.” The song is built around soulful and plaintive vocals, shimmering synths, twinkling piano, stuttering beats, a sinuous bass line and a languorous hook — and while sonically the song reminds me a bit of Lake Jons‘ impressive self-titled debut, the Aussie quartet’s latests single displays a considered and deliberate songwriting approach, while expressing longing for real and significant connection with oneself and with others. It’s written as a bit of a warning about how social media can distort your sense of reality, while making a great deal of your relationships frustratingly superficial and unfulfilling.

“We took the dynamic range in this song to the extreme, with some moments being filled to the brim with sounds and other moments containing merely a single layer,” the Aussie band says in press notes. “In all its simplicity, this is one of the most considered Tora songs to date, a song we feel proud to have completed, with an important message that we hope people can feel a connection with.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Hazily Psychedelic Visuals for The Babe Rainbow’s “Monkey Disco”

Throughout the fall, I’ve written quite a bit about the up-and-coming Bryon Bay, Australia-based band The Babe Rainbow. And as you may recall, the act, which is comprised of Bryon Bay, Australia-born and-based founding members Jack “Cool-Breeze” and Angus Darling The Hothouse Flower with Venezuelan-born pianist Lu-Lu-Felix Domingo can trace their origins to when its founding duo started a songwriting partnership while in middle school; however The Babe Rainbow started in earnest in late 2015 when the founding duo met Venezuelan-born pianist Domingo while they were traveling in France.

The trio’s self-titled debut was produced by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie, and from album single “Johny Stays Cool,” the band specializes in lo-fi, off-kilter funk inspired by African Diaspora-like rhythms and breezy, Tropicalia-like melodies, while being reminiscent of The B52s. Interestingly, the album’s latest single “Monkey Disco” finds the Australian band meshing sweaty, tribal house, Afropop, psych pop and lo-fi New Wave in a way that’s reminiscent of Fear of Music-era Talking Heads and Zonoscope-era Cut Copy, but while possessing an off-kilter, quirky quality. 

The recently released music video was written and directed by S.L.Kristofski and The Babe Rainbow in conjunction with the Y.P.S.M.C (Young People’s Society of Music for Chameleons) and features hazily lysergic imagery and vibrant colors — and much like the sounds that accompany it, it manages to be mischievously anachronistic. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jono Ma’s Lysergic Remix of The Babe Rainbow’s Sweaty Dance Floor Friendly Single “Monkey Disco”

Earlier this fall, I wrote about the Bryon Bay, Australia-based band The Babe Rainbow. The up-and-coming act which is comprised of Bryon Bay, Australia-born and-based founding members Jack “Cool-Breeze” and Angus Darling The Hothouse Flower and Venezuelan-born pianist Lu-Lu-Felix Domingo can trace their origins to when its founding duo started a songwriting partnership while in middle school; however, the project started in earnest in late 2015 when the founding duo met Venezuelan-born pianist Domingo while they were traveling in France.

Now, as you may recall, the trio’s self-titled debut was produced by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie, and from album single “Johny Stays Cool,” the band specializes in lo-fi, off-kilter funk inspired by African Diaspora-like rhythms and a breezy, Tropicalia-like melody and much like The B52s, the song found the trio managing to mischievously evoke 60s psych pop and surf rock. However, album single “Monkey Disco” finds the trio nodding at sweaty, tribal house, Afropop and Fear of Music-era Talking Heads, with the Australian band pulling their lo-fi sound into the early 80s while retaining its off-kilter, quirky quality. 

Interestingly, Jagwar Ma’s Jono Ma recently remixed the song and while retaining the sweaty tribal house feel of the song, he adds thumping drum beats and extends the song’s infectious hook and driving groove, adding a lysergic sheen to an already dance floor friendly song. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 60s Inspired Sounds and Visuals of Melbourne Australia’s The Babe Rainbow

Comprised of Bryon Bay, Australia-born and based founding members, Jack “Cool-Breeze” and Angus Darling The Hothouse Flower and Venezuelan-born pianist Lu-Lu-Felix Domingo, the Australia-based trio The Babe Rainbow can trace their origins to when its founding […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially formed in Bryon Bay, Australia the members of up-and-coming synth funk/dance pop act Parcels, comprised of Patrick Hetherington, Louie Swain, Noah Hill, Jules Crommelin, and  Anatole Serret relocated to Berlin, Germany after they all graduated from high school to seriously pursue music and to hone their sound in one of the most culturally thriving and diverse cities of Europe. As soon as they relocated, the quintet quickly developed a reputation for a sound that paired slick studio production with deliberate attention to live performance, and as a result the act caught the attention of renowned Parisian electronic label Kitsune Records and the members of world famous electronic music production and artist duo Daft Punk, who caught the band play a set in Paris, and was so impressed by the Australian-born, German-based act that they decided to mentor the up-and-coming act.

Earlier this year, the members of Parcels along with the members of Daft Punk wrote and recorded their latest single “Overnight” in a secret location in Paris, and the single is a breezy, easygoing, summertime anthem that subtly reveals a careful attention to craft, as the band pairs infectious, razor sharp hooks with a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar and shimmering arpeggio synths — and while clearly nodding at Daft Punk’s “Get Ready,” the song possesses a mischievously sensual swagger.

The Bryon Bay-born, Berlin-based members of the band are touring throughout the European Union and the UK during the year and the tour will include two Glastonbury Festival sets this weekend.