Tag: Melbourne Australia

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Melbourne, Australia-born and-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harmony Byrne grew up in a Mormon family, the third of seven children. Early on, she was instilled with a love for church hymns and rock ‘n’ roll, both of which would heavily inform her own life and later, her own music. After enrolling into Melbourne’s Waldorf School of the Arts, Byrne devoted her time to learning guitar and piano, eventually developing her own original material.

Slated for a Spring 2020 release, the Melbourne-born and-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s Jim Eno-produced, 10 song full length debut Heavy Doors reportedly features material that evokes the work of Jeff Buckley, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin. Although to my ears, the album’s latest single, the incredibly cathartic  “Come Down vs. Calm Down” manages to bring John Lee Hooker, The Black Keys, PJ Harvey and Heartless Bastards‘ Erika Wennerstrom to mind, as the track is centered around a looping and shimmering 12 bars blues guitar line, simple yet forceful percussion and Harmony’s expressive and searing wailing, which effortlessly evokes heartache and triumph within the turn of a phrase. It’s a song that comes from lived-in experience, so the hurt and the catharsis at its core are familiar and real.

“In essence it’s a song about mental health,” Harmony says of the track. “It started as a cathartic vocal improvisation, allowing whatever came to mind to be sung. Through this process, words that kept reoccurring later became lyric. I feel there is darkness hidden in our minds that often engulfs us, which although hard to talk about, is important to express. 

“I wanted to convey this in the song and for it to feel like a victorious roar of will, showing that through really digging in and knowing who we are and how we deserve to be treated, that we can overcome our monkey minds. It may seem like it’s an angry break up song, but really it’s about the different voices in our heads that we battle with every day.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially formed in 2007, as the solo recording project of Melbourne, Australia-based DJ and producer Benjamin Plant, Miami Horror eventually expanded into a full-fledged band with the addition Josh Moriarty (vocals, guitar), Daniel Whitechurch (bass, keys, guitar) and Kosta Theodosis (drums) and with their earliest releases — 2008’s Bravado EP  2010’s full-length debut Illumination and 2015’s sophomore effort All Possible Futures —  the Aussie act established their own sound, which drew from Prince, New Order, Todd Rundgren and Pink Floyd, as well as from house music and electro pop. Interestingly, the act’s most recent effort, 2017’s The Shapes EP was a decided change in sonic direction for the act with the material largely indebted to 80s neon-colored pop and New Wave.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Restless,” the first single from the acclaimed Aussie indie electro pop act in over two years, a single that found the project returning to its collaborative and production-based roots, as the act’s new incarnation. “The Shapes was always meant to be a one-off conceptual project, so once that was complete I began moving back towards the original creative process that Miami Horror started with; a simpler approach to production and a continued emphasize on outside vocalists.” Plant says. “For me, music has always been about completing a vision and trying to make something stand out. Allowing outside collaboration really opens me up to complete that vision without being restricted to my own skill set.”

Now, as you may recall “Restless” was a breezy and summery track centered around shimmering synths, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, tons of hi-hat and a plaintive and sultry vocal contribution Kevin Lavitt. And while retaining the slick, dance floor-friendly electronic production that has won Plant international acclaim, the song seems indebted to 80s Quiet Storm R&B — in particular Cherelle‘s “Saturday Love,” and Mtume‘s “Juicy Love” immediately come to my mind, as the song possessed a similar sophisticated sexiness to it. “Luv Is Not Enough” the acclaimed Aussie act’s second single of this year is centered around shimmering guitars, a funky, two-step inducing groove and Clear Morifee’s alluring vocals, presenting a romantic vision of empowerment and self confidence. While being in a similar vein as its immediate predecessor, Plant cites artists like The Internet, Kaytranada, Anderson .Paak and Calvin Harris‘ 2017 single “Slide,” which he says caused a big shift in perspective.

“We hadn’t really been into much new music. Everything was feeling dull and minimal,” Plant says of the writing of “Luv Is Not Enough.” “Then when I heard ‘Slide,’ it was a seemingly revelatory moment. It was refreshing to hear a song that was based around the simplicity of a good bass line and chords. It made me realize that maybe we’d been overthinking things, as those had always been two of our favorite and highest prioritized elements when we started out.”

Along with the single comes the announcement that the project will be releasing their highly-anticipated, third full-length album next year — and that Miami Horror will be embarking on a 17 date North American tour with an all-star lineup, a sextet that will include vocalists Reva Devito and TC Milan and Melbourne’s Queen Magic on guitar. The tour will include a November 27, 2019 stop at Webster Hall. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates:
Oct 31: Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
Nov 1: Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Nov 2: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Nov 6: San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
Nov 8: Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Nov 9: Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Nov 13: San Diego, CA @ Music Box
Nov 14: Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
Nov 16: Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival
Nov 20: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Nov 22: Chicago, IL @ Park West
Nov 23: Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Nov 24: Montreal, QC @ L’Astral
Nov 26: Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Nov 27: New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Nov 29: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Nov 30: Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Melbourne, Australia-based Pop Artist Elizabeth Releases a “Twin Peaks” Inspired Visual for “beautiful baby”

Starting off her musical career as the frontperson and primary songwriter of acclaimed Melbourne, Australia-based pop act Totally Mild, an act that recorded two albums before breaking up, the up-and-coming Aussie pop artist Elizabeth has stepped out into the limelight as a solo artist. As a solo artist, the emerging Melbourne-based singer/songwriter has been able to reimagine and reinvent who she is an artist — turning into the patron saint of heartbreak and woe. And naturally that has led to her developing a sound apart from her previously released work. 

Elizabeth’s solo debut, The Wonderful World of Nature is slated for a November 1, 2019 release through Our Golden Friend in her native Australia, and the album’s latest single, the atmospheric and slow-burning “beautiful baby” is centered around a Wall of Sound-inspired production featuring shimmering and twinkling keys, gently padded drumming, strummed guitar and Elizabeth’s achingly mournful vocals reminiscing about a love that’s now lost — and the lonely attempt to move forward. “’Beautiful baby’ is about leaving the chaos of a relationship behind,” Elizabeth explained to Flood Magazine. “It’s about trying to understand how a love that was so beautiful could be a thing that ends. We took a lot of inspiration from the music of Twin Peaks, hoping to re-imagine the magical spell of Angelo Badalamenti and Julee Cruise.”

Directed by Triana Hernandez, the recently released video for “beautiful baby” is split between footage of Elizabeth in a red dress, performing the song in a smoky and lonely lounge club — similar to the great concert film, Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night — and flashbacks of Elizabeth’s sweetest moments with her now gone lover.

“The ‘beautiful baby’ music video is an exploration of Elizabeth’s power and allure,” Triana Hernandez told the folks at Flood. “It’s a break up song that works like a spell and speaks of pain as much as it speaks of moving on. The song is emotionally intense, so for this clip we worked with two of the most visually dramatic inspirations out there: Lana Del Rey and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: RVG Releases Feverish and Surreal Visual for Anthemic “Alexandria”

In 2004, the Adelaide, Australia-born singer/songwriter Romy Vager left her hometown, a teenaged goth kid runaway drawn to Melbourne, Australia. Upon arriving in Melbourne, Vager’s first band Sooky La La wrote material centered around anger and discordance. They were misunderstood, never found a following and they routinely cleared rooms. Eventually, the band broke up and Vager committed herself to write songs that people would actually like and want to listen to — doing what countless other aspiring songwriters hope to do: match alienation and loneliness to melody and introspection to enormous hooks and refrains. 

For a while, she was living at The Bank an erstwhile recording, rehearsal and performance space that took over an old bank building in Preston, Australia, a suburb about six miles from Melbourne. The Bank was a scene unto itself: bands like Jalala, Gregor and Hearing all played there, practiced there and lived there. Living in an enormous house surrounded by musicians, who were constantly working and refining their work was profoundly inspiring to Vager. 

In September 2015, Vager launched a tape of solo material that hadn’t actually been pressed and landed her first solo show at The Bank’s downstairs performance space. She recruited Drug Sweat’s and The Galaxy Folk’s Angus Bell, her Bank neighbor, Gregor’s and Hearing’s Reuben Bloxham and Rayon Moon’s Marc Nolte to be a one-off backing band. But as the story goes, once they played together, they all realized — without having to actually say it — that they were a band. Initially forming as Romy Vager Group, the band shortened it to RVG. 

The members of RVG recorded their full-length debut A Quality of Mercy live off the floor at Melbourne’s beloved and iconic rock ‘n’ roll pub, The Tote Hotel. Initially released to little fanfare — no press releases, no music videos, no press photos of the band or any other industry standard press push, their full-length debut, featured material heavily inspired by the likes of The Go-Betweens, The Soft Boys and The Smiths and centered by Vager’s passionate and achingly vulnerable vocals. Much to the band’s surprise, A Quality of Mercy won them attention and praise across their native Australia and elsewhere. The band signed to Fat Possum Records, who re-issued A Quality of Mercy, which helped them achieve a growing international profile. And building upon it, the band has toured across the world with the likes of Shame and Kurt Vile.

While much has changed in the professional and personal lives of Vager and her bandmates, the world has become an increasingly dire and fucked up place with hate, pessimism, greater inequality and economic insecurity as part of an old, new normal. Artists across the world are responding in a variety of ways. Interestingly, RVG’s latest single, the Victor Van Vugt-produced “Alexandria,” was part of handful of songs that Vager wrote as a response in the immediate aftermath of Brexit and Trump. And as a result, the song is ardent and urgent. Centered around subtle layers of jangling guitars, pummeling drums, a rousing and anthemic hook and Vager’s plaintive and earnest howl, the new song gives the band a subtle studio sheen without scrubbing the material’s grit and emotional center — Vager’s earnest, gravelly howl. “Alexandra is a song which came together quickly, but which felt like it uncompromisingly needed to be recorded,” Vager told The Fader. “The lyrics, [which] describe a story of personal oppression at the hands of one’s community, [are] an allegory for the broader oppression marginalized people are subjected to.”

Directed by Triana Hernandez, the recently released, brooding and cinematic visual follows the shellshocked members of RVG drive to a local hotel, drinking copious amounts of tea, brooding in various hotel rooms and urgently performing the song in the hotel. It’s a feverish and surreal dream. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Melbourne’s Karate Boogaloo Takes on an 80s Synth Soul Classic

Featuring the rhythm section of the acclaimed, Melbourne-based soul act The Cactus Channel, Karate Boogaloo have quickly developed a reputation for sitting in a their own lane, a lane they’ve proudly and defiantly created: when it comes to creating material, they follow their own rules; frequently recording and mixing on tape with no plugins and no edits, with the material released exclusively in mono. And they do so not because of an adherence to anachronism but about a specific creative manifesto — one in which they abide by a chosen set of limitations to force a specific outcome. 

Their KBs Mixtape No. 1: songs that were sampled into your favourite hits was a cult success in their native Melbourne. Building upon the rapidly growing profile, the much-anticipated follow-up to KBs Mixtape No. 1, KBs Mixtape No. 2: songs from the 80s that were sampled into your favourite hits! expands upon the theme developed from the first mixtape — while further developing their unique sound and approach. Mixtape 2’s latest single finds the Aussie funk act taking on the Mtume’s oft-sampled, slinky synth funk classic “Juicy Fruit.” While Karate Boogaloo’s version is purely instrumental take, they retain the song’s slinky melody — but while turning into a breezy mid-tempo bop with shimmering and wobbly synths and bluesy slide guitar. 

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

Sophia Exiner is a Melbourne, Australia-based indie pop singer/songwriter and producer, best known as Phia. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may recall that Exiner initially received international attention for a genre defying, playfully experiential sound centered around loop pedals and kalimba, an African thumb piano-like instrument popularly used throughout sub-Sahara Africa. Building upon a growing international profile, Exiner has played hundreds of shows across Europe, including appearances at Melt Festival, Berlin Festival and Fusion Festival.

Several years have passed since I’ve personally written about Exiner, but in that period she has released a handful of singles, two EPs, her full-length debut, 2016’s The Ocean of Everything — and she’s the founder of a the contemporary choir ensemble, Melbourne Indie Voices. Exiner’s latest single, the infectious and  sugary pop confection “Full Circle” is centered around a looping, 12 bar blues guitar line contributed by her longtime collaborator Josh “Josh The Cat” Teicher, handclap-led percussion,  a 50 person choral arrangement that weaves itself in and out of the mix, Exiner’s self-assured vocal delivery and an infectious hook. And while being a sugary sweet and carefully crafted pop confection, the song thematically asks an important question that must be considered as you get older: How can we honor our childhood aspirations through the weathered and wearied lens of adulthood?

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Release a Bonkers Visual for “Organ Farmer”

2017 saw the Melbourne, Australia-based psych rock septet and JOVM mainstays King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard release five albums — with each album managing to be in a completely different genre and style, all of which further cemented the band’s reputation for being both restlessly experimental and prolific.

Now, for a band that has managed to be as wildly productive and prolific as the Melbourne-based JOVM mainstays, not releasing new material last year was an extremely odd; however, during that same period, they were busy with a number of other things including — a relentless tour schedule that featured a headlining set at Desert Daze and three sold out-dates at Brooklyn Steel, the largest venue they’ve played in the States to date. The band also re-issued their first five albums on vinyl for the first time ever — and it created such a frenzied demand that the Flightless Records website crashed from the traffic.

Earlier this year, King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard released their 14th album Fishing for Fishies earlier this year, and the album’s material found the band creating a sonic world in which the organic met the automated; where the rustic met the robotic; where the past and future collide in the beautiful present. But at the end of the day, the material was essentially boogie blues that strutted, shimmied and stomped through several different moods and terrains,. “We tried to make a blues record,” says frontman Stu Mackenzie. “A blues-boogie-shuffle-kinda-thing, but the songs kept fighting it – or maybe it was us fighting them. Ultimately though we let the songs guide us this time; we let them have their own personalities and forge their own path. Paths of light, paths of darkness. This is a collection of songs that went on wild journeys of transformation.”

2019 find site Aussie JOVM mainstays returning to the prolificacy that their fans and the blogosphere knows them for. In fact, the band’s 15th album, Infest The Rats’ Nest is slated for an August 16, 2019 release through ATO Records here in the States. While the members of the band have long enjoyed a fluid creative approach, the recording sessions for Infest The Rats’ Nest featured a pared down lineup featuring Stu McKenzie (vocals,. guitar, bass) Joey Walker (guitar, bass) and Michael Cavanaugh (drums). This stemmed from other commitments — including Cook Craig (guitar) and Ambrose Kenny-Smith (keys, harmonica) being busy with their side project The Murlocs; Lucas Skinner (drums) taking time off to spend time with his newborn; and Eric Moore (drums) being busy running their label Flightless Records. 

Naturally, the pared down set allows for much tighter arrangements and blistering velocity — and as a result, the new album’s material finds them scratching a long-held thrash metal itch. “In fourth grade there was an older kid who was into Rammstein” explains Stu of his early discovery of metal’s extremities. “I made friends with him and we put together a performance at our school assembly where we headbanged to ‘Du Hast’. I got whiplash, which I thought was pretty cool. That was my introduction to heavy metal, and soon Rammstein led to Metallica, Metallica led to Slayer, Slayer led to Kreator and Sodom. The German bands really kicked my ass and scared the hell out of me too. Later on, when I picked up a guitar I realized that shit was too hard to play, so I got into rock ‘n’ roll and garage. That was liberating.”

“Organ Farmer,” Infest The Rats’ Nest latest single is blistering, balls-to-the-walls thrash metal, complete with shrieking guitar solos, howled lyrics, thunderous drumming, and rapid fire tempo changes. And naturally, the track brings Kill Them All and Ride the Lightning-era Metallica to mind — in other words, the song which seethes with disgust and fury, is a straightforward headbanger. 

Directed by John Angus Stewart, the recently released video for “Organ Farmer” features the members of the band, shirtless with the words “Organ Farmer” and others scrawled on their skin. The first portion of the video sees them smashing a car up with hammers — but by the end, the zombie-like members of the band are moshing in a sweaty and packed basement. It’s an insane and intense visual for an equally insane and intense song. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Acclaimed Indie Electro Pop Act Miami Horror Releases a Sepia-Toned Visual for “Restless”

Initially formed in 2007, as the solo recording project of Melbourne, Australia-based DJ and producer Benjamin Plant, Miami Horror eventually expanded into a full-fledged band with the addition Josh Moriarty (vocals, guitar), Daniel Whitechurch (bass, keys, guitar) and Kosta Theodosis (drums) — and with the release of 2008’s Bravado EP, 2010’s full-length debut Illumination and 2015’s All Possible Futures, the band established a sound that drew from Prince, New Order, Todd Rundgren and Pink Floyd, combined with contemporary electronic production techniques, including house and electro pop. Interestingly, the act’s most recent recorded output, 2017’s The Shapes EP was a decided change in sonic direction with the band’s sound being indebted to 80s pop and New Wave — in particular, Talking Heads, Blondie and the like. 

Two years have passed since the acclaimed Australian indie electro pop act has released material and the act’s latest single, “Restless” finds the project returning to its collaborative and production-based roots. Plant champions this return to his roots as Miami Horror’s new incarnation. “The Shapes was always meant to be a one-off conceptual project, so once that was complete I began moving back towards the original creative process that Miami Horror started with; a simpler approach to production and a continued emphasize on outside vocalists.” Plant says. “For me, music has always been about completing a vision and trying to make something stand out. Allowing outside collaboration really opens me up to complete that vision without being restricted to my own skill set.”

Interestingly, “Restless” is a breezy and summery track centered around shimmering synths, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, hi-hat led drumming and a plaintive and sultry vocal contribution from Kevin Lavitt. And while retaining the slick, dance floor-friendly electronic production that has won Plant international acclaim, the song sounds indebted to 80s Quiet Storm R&B — in particular Cherelle’s “Saturday Love,” and Mtume’s “Juicy Love” immediately come to my mind, as the song has a similar sophisticated sexiness to it. “I love putting two people in a room that wouldn’t normally work together and seeing what comes of it,” Plant says of his collaboration with Lavitt. 

Directed by Keenan Wetzel, the recently released sepia-toned video for “Restless” features an assortment of quirky characters coming together for tennis training and some meet-cute lust — before ending with a menacing and suggestive air. “When I heard ‘Restless’ I was struck with a nostalgic feeling of starting out a relationship; those first feelings of anxiety coupled with the uncertainty whether or not the attraction is mutual,” Keenan Wetzel says of his video treatment. “I wanted to take these familiar feelings and add Miami Horror’s style to create a bright but strange world for these young people to find each other. I have always been interested in 1970’s culture and how people turned to communities, often ritual-based, to find a sense of belonging. So the idea for the ‘Restless’ music video was to put a pair of young people into a tennis playing community where they were looking for meaning. Only, instead of finding purpose in this community, they find each other, which leads to both love and realization that the nature of the community was not going to give them any more sense of belonging.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Aussie Singer/Songwriter Gena Rose Bruce Releases a Surreal and Vulnerable Visual for “I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You”

Earlier this year, you may have come across a post on Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Gena Rose Bruce. And as you may recall, her highly-anticipated Tim Harvey-produced, full-length debut Can’t Make You Love Me is slated for a June 28, 2019 release through Dot Dash Records took three years to write and record — and it features a notable guest spot from multi-instrumentalist Jade Imagine, who plays bass and guitar on the album. 

Fans have received glimpses of the album’s material with its first two singles “Coming Down” and “The Way You Make Love” being released independently last year. The album’s fourth single “Rearview” was the second single that Dot Dash has released this year, and the track was centered by a sparse arrangement of atmospheric synths, shimmering guitars, propulsive and pulsating drumming and a smoldering vocal performance, imbued with longing. And while bearing an uncanny resemblance to Mazzy Star and JOVM mainstays Still Corners, the song as Bruce explained in press notes “is a conversation I could never have with this person, it’s about accepting failed love. I was angry at the time but I didn’t have the energy to stay angry or feel sorry for myself.”

The album’s fifth and latest single, the slow-burning, “I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” features what may arguably be the most sparse, atmospheric arrangement on the entire album — shimmering and jangling guitar lines, a simple yet propulsive rhythm second paired with a breathy and achingly vulnerable vocal performance by Bruce. Unsurprisingly, the song manages to evoke someone haunted by the lingering memories and ghosts of a lover that they can’t seem to let go. And in some way, the song’s narrator acknowledges that maybe they don’t want to get over this relationship either. 

“We wanted to create a meditative, surrealist-inspired video for this song,” Bruce says of the Katie Adams directed visual for the song, “The imagery hints at the concept of being buried, in this case by the thoughts or memories of someone you can’t let go of. It’s quite a personal song, so we felt it was important to include the lyrics – kind of like a scrawled letter where all vulnerability is revealed. Everything this song is about is captured in the opening lines; “I don’t think I’ll ever get over you. I don’t think I’ll ever really want too”. (But eventually, of course, I did.)”