Arguably best known as the frontman of renowned Melbourne, Australia-based act Boat People, multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter James O’Brien’s solo recording project Darling James has developed a reputation for locally and nationally for crafting thoughtful and sophisticated pop — with the first three singles off his recently released Theory of Mind EP receiving airplay from Triple J and Double J. And as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “God’s Graffiti,” O’Brien pairs tight and infectious pop hooks with thoughtful, metaphysical-leaning lyrics and a slick and atmospheric production that features cascades of twinkling synths and propulsive drum programming — and while sonically being reminiscent of Reptile Youth’s Away EP, the song manages to possess an earnest yearning for meaning, for more.
Directed by Luke Constable, the recently released music video initially had a completely different concept — but ended with Constable placing a camera atop an unnamed car rolling down a slight incline. And as they were shooting, the pair spent a great deal of time leaping into the moving car to prevent it from rolling onto bike paths and train tracks.
Live Concert Review: Xylouris White with Marissa Anderson at National Sawdust
November 11, 2016
Those who know me the best know that I lead an insanely full life. I commute back and forth between my apartment in Queens and my full-time day job as an Acquisitions Editor at a downtown Manhattan-based book publisher, run this site on the side as a mostly full-time effort, participate in a radio segment that airs Fridays on Norway’s P4 Radio and on occasion I even have time for a social life. And if I had a 40-hour day, I’d probably squeeze in even more that I’d need to do or would like to do! As you can imagine, with all of those various and competing obligations it can be difficult to spend some time to actually sit down and write in a way that I’d like; but as a wise man once rhymed “the hustle don’t sleep.”
Last month, I was at one of Williamsburg’s newest and most intimate venues, National Sawdust to catch the highly-acclaimed duo Xylouris White along with the incredibly talented Northern California-born, Portland, OR-based guitarist Marisa Anderson. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past month or two, you may recall that Xylouris White is comprised of Comprised of Melbourne, Australia-born, New York-based drummer Jim White, who’s best known as a member of the internationally acclaimed instrumental rock act Dirty Three and for collaborating with an incredible list of equally renowned artists including PJ Harvey, Nina Nastasia, Cat Power, Bill Callahan a.k.a. Smog and others; and beloved Crete-born vocalist and laouto player Giorgos Xylouris, best known as the frontman of Xylouris Ensemble and the son of legendary vocalist and lyra player Psarantonis Xylouris. The duo’s collaboration together can trace its origins back to the early 90s when the renowned Cretan vocalist and laouto player was touring through Australia in the early 90s. At the time, White was a member of Melbourne, Australia-based avant garde rock band Venom P. Stinger, when he met and befriended the younger Xylouris. When White along with bandmates Warren Ellis (violin and bass) and Mick Turner (guitar and bass) formed The Dirty Three, Giorgios Xylouris would collaborate with the band whenever he and his Ensemble were in town. Interestingly enough, the members of The Dirty Three have publicly cited Psarantonis and Giorgios Xylouris as being major influences on their sound and approach.
Although White and Xylouris have known each other for more than 20 years, it wasn’t until 2013 when they decided that should collaborate together, and it was accelerated when White played with both Psarandonis and Giorgios Xylouris at an All Tomrorow’s Parties Festival, curated by Nick Cave. Unsurprisingly, the duo’s long-held mutual admiration has deeply influenced how they write and perform music – and in some way, it sounds as though the duo is dancing, as at any given point they could be accompanying or leading each other and at any given moment and their live sound reflects that same mischievous fluidity while drawing simultaneously from both contemporary and ancient folk; in fact, during their National Sawdust, Giorgios Xylouris sang the lyrics of a song based around a 14th century love poem in his native Greek and the although the majority of the audience didn’t understand the words, we could understand the ache and longing within the song, punctuated by White’s jazz-like drumming. Several other ballads throughout their set evoked the imagery of herders and farmers singing around campfires with friends and family, before passing on the instrument to the next person.
While watching the duo playing “Black Peak” off their recently released Black Peak album, the stomping and rollicking song took on an improvisational and jazz-like feel as you can see both musicians practically having a non-verbal conversation with each other – in which at any given point White or Xylouris will say to the other “now, it’s your turn.” “Hey Musicians,” took on a wildly, mischievous, almost danceable feel; in fact, off to the corner of the room, I saw a few people dancing and stomping about with a joyous ecstasy while the rest of the crowd was enraptured by the old pros, doing their thing with an effortlessly cool, self-assuredness while walking a tightrope between an elegantly simple beauty and a muscular forcefulness.
Northern California-born, songwriter and composer Marissa Anderson is a classically trained guitarist, who dropped out of college at 19 to walk across the country and eventually settle in Portland, OR, where she’s currently based. Interestingly, Anderson is a classically trained guitarist, who has honed her skills playing in country, jazz and circus bands, collaborating with Beth Ditto, Sharon Van Etten, Circus Des Yeux and others, and has written the scores to a number of short films. With the release of her first solo efforts – namely, her 2009 debut The Golden Hour, 2011’s Mercury and 2013’s Traditional and Public Domain Songs Anderson has developed a reputation for a sound that channels the entire history of guitar-based music and stretches the boundaries of tradition, as many of her compositions are not only based upon the landscape of American music but attempt to re-imagine them as her work possesses elements of minimalism, electronic music, drone, 20th Century Classical Music, blues, jazz, gospel, country, folk and Americana – often simultaneously.
Anderson’s latest effort Into the Light has Anderson leaving the Appalachian folk and Delta blues that first won her attention from the likes of Billboard, Rolling Stone, NPR,Spin Magazine, Pitchfork and Wire among others – with Into The Light landing on Spin Magazine’s best of 2016 and her split LP with Tashi Dorji being named one of the best experimental records of 2015 by Pitchfork and The Out Door. Anderson’s latest effort Into the Light, has the composer and songwriting leaving Appalachia and the Delta Blues – with the album’s ten compositions written as though they were the soundtrack of an imaginary sci-fi/western in which she tells the story of a lost visitor wandering the Sonoran Desert. And as a result, the material on the album is naturally cinematic and anachronistic in a similar fashion to the night’s headliner – in the sense that the material manages to feel both contemporary and yet timeless.
Adding to a growing national and international profile, Anderson has made appearances at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Sweden’s Gagnef Festival, Fano Free Folk Festival, Le Guess Who and the Festival of Endless Gratitude, as well as opening for the renowned duo Xylouris White during their brief East Coast tour, a tour which also included a stop at National Sawdust last month. Accompanying herself with only her guitar, Anderson’s set further cemented her reputation for material that went across both the breadth and length of American music – briefly touching upon early Delta blues, folk, murder ballads and country but a with a uniquely earthy and post-modernist take, while being deeply contemplative. She’s been known to perform a version of “House Carpenter,” a title given to most American derivatives of the British folk song “Demon Lover,” a song roughly about a woman, who takes up a lover, has an affair and leaves her husband and kid – only to discover that she’s fallen in love with a demon/Satan; however, Anderson’s rendition, as she explained before she played it was meant to consider the woman’s perspective, which not only humanizes the song’s main character, but manages to be pensive and lonely in a similar fashion to “Make Sure My Grave Is Kept Clean.” Interestingly, Anderson has frequently played a medley of both songs – and it shouldn’t be surprising as the narrators of both songs wind up dead and in some way plead for forgiveness, understanding, empathy through the years.
The material off Into the Light manages to evoke natural phenomenon – a song inspired by Anderson’s time in the desert, observing harshly swirling and howling winds can make you picture people huddling in from dust storms or sitting around a fire, just listening and thinking. It was a song that possessed an elegant and deceptive simplicity. And the entire time the crowd was enraptured by this woman playing instrumental compositions that could burrow deep into the earth, yearn and arch themselves heavenward or just focus on the simple joys of being happy and existing in a particular place in time. Simply put it was a fascinating night of old pros capturing a crowd and taking them in challenging, new sonic and thematic directions.
“Lose Sleep,” Demons and Divas latest single is a collaboration with London-based singer/songwriter Jordan Rakei, and the single draws from Remi’s own experiences as a mixed race Australian man and artist. As he explains in press notes “Since our last record, a lot of young mixed race Aussie kids have come to me talking about how much they can relate to the racial struggle in our music. I don’t think that’s a good thing, but I’m proud that these kids feel a little less alone, because of some songs we didn’t think anyone would hear. It also became inspiration for me to continue opening up about my experience. Often you can feel like one crazy beige kid in a sea of ignorance shouting about equality. These kids helped change that for me.” Sonically, the single features Remi rhyming with an unvarnished honesty about not fitting in anywhere and of being reminded that your life doesn’t matter as much as others can drive some to hate themselves and feel as though they’re going crazy — while recognizing that as an adult, he has a responsibility to show the world that people like him do matter, and contribute so much to a larger story. Jordan Rakei contributes a silky and soulful hook about history’s ugly weight and how we need to stop our destructive ways to make it a better world. Both artists do their thing over an equally soulful and sinuous production featuring twinkling keys, stuttering percussion and funky guitar and bass. And much like the preceding two singles, the single will further cement the young artist’s reputation for relatable yet profoundly conscientious and thoughtful hip-hop.
The recently released video consists of sequences filmed in London and Melbourne features the song’s two artists transversing the night — whether by cab or walking with a brooding loneliness while singing the song. And while possessing a relatively simple concept, the video manages to convey the uncertain and fucked up times many of us find ourselves in now.
Ravi Vithal is an up-and-coming Melbourne, Australia-based bedroom producer, best known as North Elements, who has began to develop a reputation across Australia for a creative approach that draws from his homeland’s vast beauty — and for a sound that aims to create a perfect aural compliment for those embracing their own awe of the elements that surround them. Already, some of his work has received more than 1.5 million streams. And although very little known about him, Wayfarer // is a Melbourne, Australia-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, who has developed a reputation for meshing dusty, old school soul samples with live instrumentation and synths, and for a sound that draws from J. Dilla and dubstep among others. The Australian producer’s debut single together “Break” can trace their origins to a more casual collaboration between producers, who mutually dug each other’s work and with a contribution from denitia and sene‘s Denitia Odigie. Sonically, the song pairs a production featuring chunky and blocky yet shimmering cascades of synths, finger snaps, stuttering drum programming, swirling electronics and an infectious hook with Odigie’s breathily sultry and coquettish vocals — and in some way, the song sounds as though it channels denitia and sene’s critically applauded work but with the sort of urgency that can come about when the world feels as though it’s about to end.
As Odigie explains in press notes “I’ve been feeling extra intense lately, and these days, the world feels like it’s constantly caving in… when I find something I really want, it feels fragile and urgent. The pressure and the need to live truly in the moment when nothing else is ever promised.. it’s beautiful and scary all at once.. To find someone to fall apart with, it’s good company.”
As the story goes, after spending several months the material, which would comprise their 2012 full-length debut Forever So, which Sub Pop Records would later release, the members of the band spent time researching and leaning how to soundproof rooms YouTube videos and other sources, found a bunch of old recording gear and set off to an abandoned bungalow that was located at the back of lead vocalist Husky Gawenda’s house to record their debut album. Interestingly, while Forever So came about from a lovingly DIY set up, the gorgeously lush material possessed the uncanny self-assuredness of old pros paired with Gawenda’s dreamy falsetto singing deeply introspective and thoughtful lyrics. As a critic, I’d argue that the band’s ability to sound both unlike anyone else while nodding at folk and 70s AM rock was what captured attention internationally across the blogosphere, including this site; in fact, I wrote about several singles off the album and the album itself landed at number 11 on this site’s Best of 2012 list.
Since then, the band has become something of a mainstay here as I wrote about several singles off Forever So’s follow-up, Ruckers Hill, an effort that further cemented the then-quartet’s burgeoning reputation for incredibly crafted songs that paired Gawenda’s introspective lyrics with uncommonly gorgeous melodies and anthemic hooks. However, some time has passed since I’ve last written about them. As it turns out, the band not only has gone through a massive lineup change from a quartet down to a duo featuring the band’s founding members Gawenda and Preiss, the duo of Gawenda and Preiss spent last year in Berlin. Upon their return to their homeland, the duo inspired by their experiences overseas began writing the material that will comprise their forthcoming third full-length album, slated for release sometime next year — and that material includes the duo’s latest single, “Late Night Store.” Interestingly, the new single reveals a change in direction thematically and sonically for the band. Whereas their previously released material was more acoustic and melody- driven, “Late Night Store” is subtly atmospheric and much more hook-driven with keys and electric guitar being prominent while thematically, the song captures the sense of danger, adventure, reinvention and loneliness that comes from being far away from home — and in some way, evoking wandering around day and night from café, to bar to club, observing everything, meeting eclectic people, falling in love and being lost and found, and lost and found yet again. And although about the duo’s time in Berlin, the song may remind some of the blur of activity and people that’s New York.
As Lucy McCallum of Third Ray Productions, the recently released video’s direct explains in press notes “‘Late Night Store’ feels to me to be about disconnection between inner and outer experience. The lyrics tell a loose story of a messy night out punctuated by moments of lucid internal revelations that are at times existential, then immediately personal and cryptic.
“I wanted to capture this feeling of disassociation by compiling found archival footage that was intimate and nostalgic with images that were more grandiose and universal. I tied the two themes together with abstracted overlays that contain both natural and artificial lights, particularly contrasting stars with fireworks; a kind of spectacular and tacky human imitation of cosmic magic that feels both beautiful and sad to me and gives the video a hazy and hypnotic feel. Hopefully there is a sense of subliminal narratives running concurrently through the video that can’t necessarily be pinpointed. The clips were all chosen carefully and they each mean something to me in relation to the song, but I definitely wanted to keep it a little messy and dreamlike so that viewers can interpret the images for themselves. ”
Splitting their time between London, UK and Melbourne, Australia and comprised of sibling duo Rebecca and Tom Fitzsimons, indie pop act Family Friends have received attention across the UK and Australia for a breezy, buoyant and hazy guitar pop paired with infectious hooks and a summery feel. And the duo’s latest single “Look the Other Way” will further cement the duo’s burgeoning reputation for buoyant and hazy guitar pop with an underlying sweet, wistfulness while gently nodding at early 80s New Wave.
Directed by Will Farrell and featuring animation from Charlie Pelling, the video as the sibling duo explains is a “tiny colourful story, featuring the lovesick offspring of national treasure Mr. Blobby” that “tries to get inside the heart of what it is to make a friend in the faceless urban jungle of today.” And as a result, the video further emphasizes the sweetness of the song while giving it a subtle swoon.
With the release of “Elisa Lam” off their recently released, self-titled full-length effort, the members of Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock trio Pure Moods quickly established a burgeoning reputation for crafting shimmering, moody and jangling guitar pop that sounded heavily indebted to 4AD Records and shoegaze. And with the latest single “Blurb,” the band will further cement the reputation for jangling, guitar pop; but in this case, thanks to the use of a delicate melody around the song’s hook, their latest single sounds as though it subtly nods at early R.E.M — in particular, I think of “Talk About The Passion” off Eponymous and The Smiths.
Comprised of Melbourne, Australia-born, New York-based drummer Jim White, who’s best known as a member of the internationally acclaimed instrumental rock act Dirty Three and for collaborating with an incredible list of equally renowned artists including PJ Harvey, Nina Nastasia, Cat Power, Bill Callahan a.k.a. Smog and others; and beloved Crete-born vocalist and laouto player Giorgos Xylouris, the son of renowned vocalist and lyra player Psarandonis Xylouris, best known for leading the Xylouris Ensemble, the world music duo Xylouris White can actually trace their origins to when the renowned Cretan and his ensemble was touring Melbourne in the early 1990s. At the time, White was a member of Melbourne, Australia-based avant rock band Venom P. Stinger when he had met and befriended Xylouris, who later would collaborate with the members of Dirty Three whenever he was in Australia –and interestingly enough, the members of Dirty Three had at various points have publicly cited the renowned Cretan and his father as influencing their sound and approach.
And although White and Xylouris had known each other for quite some time, it wasn’t until 2013 that they decided to collaborate as a duo, a process which was accelerated when White played with Xylouris and Psaradonis at an All Tomorrow’s Parties festival that was specially curated by Nick Cave. Interestingly, the duo’s long-held mutual admiration has influenced how they the write and perform music — and in some way, it’s almost as though the duo is dancing together, as at any given point, they could be accompanying and leading each other, simultaneously and in a very fluid fashion. Interestingly, the duo’s debut Goats was influenced by Xylouris’ poetic analogy for their creative approach “Like goats walking in the mountain. They may not know the place, but they can walk easily and take risks and feel comfortable. Really, the goats inspired us.”
The duo’s sophomore effort Black Peak furthers their goat analogy as the album’s title is derived from a famous Cretan mountain, and the album, which was “recorded everywhere,” as Xylouris says in press notes and produced by Fugazi‘s Guy Picciotto reportedly has the band expanding upon their sound while focusing even more on ancient traditional sounds while having a subtly modern take, as the duo pushes each other harder, as you’ll hear on the rollicking and stomping album title track “Black Peak.”
The duo will be on a Stateside and Australian tour throughout November and December, and it’ll include a November 18 stop at National Sawdust. Check out the tour dates.
Tour Dates
Nov 15 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
Nov 16 – New Haven, CT – BAR Nightclub
Nov 17 – Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre
Nov 18 – Brooklyn, NY – National Sawdust
Nov 20 – Somerville, MA – ONCE Lounge
Nov 22 – Burlington, VT – Arts Riot
Nov 23 – Montreal, QC – La Vitrola
Nov 24 – Wakefield, QC – The Black Sheep Inn
Nov 25 – Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
Nov 27 – Detroit, MI – Third Man Records
Nov 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
Nov 30 – Washington, DC – DC9
Dec 1 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
Dec 2 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
Dec 3 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
Dec 4 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
Dec 18 – Melbourne, Australia – Melbourne Recital Centre
Comprised of long-time friends and Melbourne, Australia-based music scene veterans Adam Madrid, Wya Knowles and Alex Lashlie, all of whom have spent stints in a number of locally renowned bands including Bad Family and Closet Straights before the formation of their current band, Pure Moods. And with “Elisa Lam,” the latest single off the band’s recently released self-titled full-length, the Australian trio further establish themselves for specializing in a shimmering, moody and jangling guitar pop that sounds heavily indebted to 4AD Records and shoegaze.
Give Up On Your Health’s second and latest single “Turn Turn Turn” much like its predecessor is inspired by a painful breakup — and lyrically, the song is full of the bitter regret, uncertainty, self-deception and gradual acceptance that occurs in the aftermath of a breakup, while sonically speaking, the song draws from 80s New Wave, synth pop and the DFA Records roster. Or in other words, undulating and propulsive synths are paired with cowbell-led percussion, angular guitar chords in a sensual and slinky arrangement, along with an infectious, dance-floor friendly hook. And somehow, every time I’ve heard it I’m reminded of Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back” and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.”
The recently released video for the song turns the simple act of eating into something surreal, disgusting and detached and mechanical — and perhaps in some way, the video’s actors are deluding themselves into this being normal.
With the release of “Cold” and “Thread,” Melbourne, Australia-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Matt Connelly’s solo recording project Retro Culture went viral for a hazy, 80s synth pop that sound as though it could have been part of the soundtracks for the major motion picture Driveand Netflix‘s hit series Stranger Things — and as a result both singles received more than 1.2 million streams on Spotify , appeared on Spotify‘s New Music Friday playlist and others and have been championed tastemakers like Majestic Casual.
Connelly’s latest single “Fading” will further cement the Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer’s growing reputation for a retro-futuristic, synth pop sound as the single, which was co-produced by Jack Arentz, who has worked with Kult Klyss and I know Leopard and mastered by Huntley Miller, who has worked with Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso, pairs Connelly’s plaintive vocals with swirling electronics, shimmering synths, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, a sinuous bass line and an anthemic hook. Interestingly, the song sonically speaking will remind some listeners of St. Lucia and the Cascine Records roster, as the song manages to be danceable but just under the surface is a thoughtful, contemplative nature.
‘Fading’ builds on Connelly’s previous thoughtfully curious and hazy pop debut releases ‘Cold’ & ‘Thread’, which were released earlier in 2016 to early and unexpected international success. Full of fuzzy beats & shoe gaze sounds, both ‘Cold’ & ‘Thread’ went viral and achieved an impressive 1.2 million streams on Spotify, appearing on several Spotify playlists including New Music Friday and championed by tastemakers including Majestic Casual.
Brought to life by a kaleidoscope of inspirations and experiments with live-recorded drums, guitar, bass and synths, his new single ‘Fading’ finally took form as an ode to the nostalgic and 80-gazing soundtrack to Netflix TV hit ‘Stranger Things’.The single was co-produced with Jack Arentz (Kult Klyss, I Know Leopard) and mastered by Huntley Miller (Bon Iver’s, Slyvan Esso).
Influenced by the likes of Daft Punk and The 1975, Connelly describes the inspiration for ‘Fading’ as being inspired by, ‘The film Drive has played a big part in my musical inspiration recently so I guess that’s where that comes from. Also I was watching Stranger Things at the time of writing Fading and it has this really amazing synth sound track. It reminded me of Drive. That 80s sound is my current obsession. Lyrically, I tend to draw from what’s going on around me or from my own life’
Retro Culture will be coming over to the UK to debut live early next year. More info to follow.
Comprised of Mino Peric, Tierney Miekus, Siahn Davis and Murray Coggan, the Melbourne, Australia-based no-wave/post-punk quartet No Sister have started to receive a bit of international attention for a tense, abrasive and frenetic sound as you’ll hear on “Overpass,” a single consisting of angular, clashing and jangling layers of guitars, an undulating and forceful bass line, stuttering four-on-the-floor-like drumming, shouted, non-sequitur-based lyrics that capture the frantic, disconnected and vacillating thoughts of the anxiously neurotic. Sonically, the Australian quartet aim to put the listener on edge, to evoke a growing and enveloping sense of dread and uncertainty of our current age — all while nodding at the righteous fury of early Gang of Four.
Earlier this summer, I wrote about the Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock quartet Teeth and Tongue With the 2014 release of Grids, the band comprised of New Zealand-born, Melbourne, Australia-based Jess Cornelius (guitar, vocals), Marc Regueiro-McKelvie (guitar), Damian Sullivan (bass) and James Harvey (drums) received attention across Australia for an ambient-leaning sound that paired textured and layered vocals with lyrics that thematically focused on the intricacies of romantic relationships with an unvarnished honesty. And as a result of the attention they’ve received across Australia, they’ve managed to tour with internationally recognized indie rock sensation and fellow Australian Courtney Barnett, which has helped raised their profile internationally.
“Dianne,” the first single off Teeth and Tongue’s recently released album Give Up On Your Health revealed a band that has gone through a change in sonic direction and songwriting approach, with the band taking up an angular, dance floor friendly New Wave/post-punk sound reminiscent of Blondie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ It’s Blitz! and Dirty Ghosts. Give Up On Your Health’s latest single “Turn, Turn, Turn” much like its predecessor is inspired by a painful breakup — in particular, the song lyrically is full of the bitter regret, uncertainty, self-deception and eventual acceptance that occurs in the aftermath of a breakup. Sonically speaking, the song sounds as though it draws from 80s New Wave, synth pop and DFA Records as you’ll hear undulating and propulsive synths, cowbell-led percussion, angular guitar chords in a sensual and slinky arrangement, along with an infectious, dance-floor friendly hook. Somehow, every time I’ve heard it I’m reminded of Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back” and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.”
Earlier this summer, I wrote about Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock/shoegaze act Flyying Colours and if you were frequenting this site then, you may recall that the the Australian band was initially formed by its founding duo, childhood friends Brodie J. Brummer and Genna O’Connor. And with the release of their first two critically applauded EPs, the act received national attention for a sound that possess elements of shoegaze, psych rock and grunge. After recruiting new members Melanie Barbaro and Andy Lloyd Russell to flesh out their sound, the members of the newly constituted quartet went into the studio to write and record the material that would eventually comprise their forthcoming full-length debut, MINDFULLNESS, which is slated for a September 23, 2016 release through Club AC30 Records.
Over the past year or so, the Australian shoegazers have seen a growing international profile as “Not Today” and “Running Late” off their second EP ROYGBIV received airplay from several renowned radio stations across the globe including KEXP, BBC Radio 6, RRR and FBi among others, and as a result, they landed at number 47 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 and Amazing Radio charts, as well as praise from the likes of Clash, 405, Stereogum, Wonderland and NME. And adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Flyying Colours has toured with Pinkshinyultrablast, Johnny Marr, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and A Place to Bury Strangers.
Whereas MINDFULLNESS‘ first single “It’s Tomorrow Now” was a noisy and towering squalor sound that had the Melbourne, Australia-based quartet pairing buzzing power chords, some incredible guitar pyrotechnics, a propulsive motorik groove and an anthemic hook in a song that sounds as though it were channeling The Jesus and Mary Chain, the album’s latest single “Long Holiday” is a hazily, expansive song in which shimmering guitar chords played through reverb, delay and other effect pedals are paired with a propulsive rhythm section and a rousingly anthemic hook while sonically sounding as though it were indebted to RIDE, A Storm in Heaven The Verve and The Smiths.
Comprised of Phoebe Lou and Joey Clough, the Melbourne, Australia-based duo Two People‘s debut single “Falling” received over 700,000 streams, was on regular rotation on renowned, Australian radio station Triple J and reached the Top 10 on Hype Machine‘s Popular Charts. Building on the buzz they’ve already received, the duo’s second and latest single “If We Have Time” pairs Phoebe Lou’s aching vocals with an atmospheric production comprised of swirling electronics, stuttering drum programming, twinkling keyboards and guitars played through reverb in a song that manages to be simultaneously intimate and cinematic in a way that reminds me quite a bit of both Portishead and Goldfrapp‘s gorgeous Tales of Us.
