It’s a dark gloomy day in my part of the country, perfect for some new PRETTY BLEAK material. This Naarm/Melbourne emo/pop punk act delivers the right balance of happy-sad with their latest single “do you feel the same?”
“The song is about the human tendency to placate our emotions with menial pleasures, which develop into addictions or dependencies,” explained vocalist Sam Thomas. “The specific nature of the addiction is dependent on the listener’s interpretation, whether it be drugs, or laughter, or the amount of times you look in the mirror each day.”
Fresh from their debut appearance at BIGSOUND, PRETTY BLEAK will launch the single for hometown fans at The Gasometer Hotel on September 28.
Image used with permission from Habit Music Co; credit: Tom Thomas
I didn’t expect indie-pop act Ghost Care to get turned on by classic rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival, but inspiration often comes in the most unlikely of places. Their latest single “Arcade” is more synth-driven pop than swamp rock, but Ghost Care found themselves inspired by the lyrical content of the classic band.
“The original idea was named ‘Dance’ on our voice memos, but when we dove into the lyrics we found that the name ‘Arcade’ fit the theme of love and a relationship being likened to a game. Inspired by a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, I loved the idea of not wanting to be on the bench and that if you want to win you have to feel like everyone is giving their all and that you are working as a team,” explained the band’s vocalist and guitarist, Beau Torrance. “We were playing this song originally as a guitar heavy driven song and it felt like it could stay there or we could take it somewhere we haven’t really been before. When we got to the studio, our producer Dave Parkin had the exact same mindset and it was then decided we should take it into the synth world.”
The music video, directed by fellow Western Australian Stephanie Senior, sees Beau and fellow vocalist Tanaya Harper duking it out in a video game arcade.
“We love this video clip so much! We knew we wanted fun whilst not being too funny, and Steph totally nailed the vibe,” Tanaya said. “We really had this idea of making a video that had this funky, neon atmosphere. Steph really took it to another level for us and we feel like we chose the perfect person for capturing the song’s energy!”
After recently touring in support of Spacey Jane, Ghost Care are packing up their tour bus and playing shows that kick off in their hometown tomorrow night. Catch them where you can:
8 September 2023 – Badlands, Boorloo/Perth
21 September 2023 – Workers Club, Naarm/Melbourne
22 September 2023 – Black Bear Lodge, Meeanjin/Brisbane
23 September 2023 – Waywards, Eora/Sydney
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Aref Rashidan
Much has been made of John Farnham lending his smash hit “You’re the Voice” to the Yes campaign for the Voice referendum. And quite rightly so. John is an icon and his endorsement might just be enough to encourage some uncertain members of the community to vote yes. But he’s not the only local artist who’s getting behind the Yes campaign. GANGgajang have also offered their support, rerecording their ‘90s hit “Hundreds of Languages” with William Barton and Jack Thompson as a new single, “Speak to Me”.
GANGgajang were pioneers in the Australian music scene, campaigning for the rights of the First Nations community long before the term “woke” even existed. The process of creating this song stretches back to conversations they had with members of First Nations communities back in 1989. Now, they say, is the time for everyone to listen to what those communities are saying. They note that in 2012, before he passed, their friend Uncle Jimmy Little wrote to every politician in the Federal government asking them to listen to Indigenous people on matters that impact them. Now more than a decade later, they say they “stand with Uncle Jimmy and say Yes to the Voice.”
Image source: PeterTea @ Flickr
Naarm/Melbourne emo-rock act Vermont has really impressed me with their latest single “Regretting Me.” Its vocals and lyrics hit hard, but it’s got a catchy melodic core that makes it an accessible and addictive listen.
The single comes with a cool, quirky collage-inspired video clip directed by “good bloke” Andrew Vaughan. Vermont have supported the likes of Clay J Gladstone, Reside, Sleep Talk, and more. With awesome songs like this in their repertoire, expect more headlining gigs in the near future. Follow their socials to learn about them as soon as they’re announced.
Image used with permission from Bigmouth PR; credit: Justin Wiraldi
British-born, Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Laurie Cave has wowed me with his latest single “Perfect Lover.” Written shortly after his relationship with his fiancé ended, this is a powerful snapshot of the grief so many of us feel when we’ve lost someone who has a massive piece of our hearts.
“This song was incredibly hard to write … I wrote it shortly after my relationship with my fiancé ended which was the hardest thing I have ever done as she is the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever met,” Laurie shared. “I wrote this song on an acoustic guitar in my bathroom, where the acoustics amplify and reverberate my voice and guitar, and I felt safe to bare my soul.”
From these humble beginnings, Laurie worked with producer James Seymour to transform the song into the indie rock-folk powerhouse it is today.
“James helped me to realise this song exactly as I imagined, from the slow and tender start building to the climatic and epic release of raw energy that are the constant waves of realisation of a beautiful partnership now ended,” Laurie explained. “There is a sound reminiscent of a hospital life support machine that was inspired by Bon Iver’s ‘Hey Ma’ which is symbolic of the incredibly painful decision to turn off the machine. Bon Iver’s influence is also omnipresent in the song, they were a seminal band for me and continue to be to this day.”
With the release of “Perfect Lover,” Laurie is now focused on bringing his live music to stages around the country. Follow his socials for news of his upcoming gigs as they’re announced.
Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.; credit: Rick Clifford
DULCIE are back with another irresistible indie-pop banger, “Off By Heart.” It’s incredibly catchy, with sweet harmonies and empowering lyrics about moving on from the wrong relationship.
“There’s a fine line between giving someone another chance and finally calling it quits. ‘Off By Heart’ is about learning to stop ignoring the red flags and to put yourself first above all the excuses and false promises.” DULCIE said. “Ash (Carr-White) wrote the song around the phrase ‘Off By Heart’ with the intention of creating something emotive and relatable. It started out as a soft, slow piano ballad that eventually evolved into much more of a pop anthem! We tried recording it a few different ways but could never get it quite right; it wasn’t until our producer Konstantin Kersting messaged us, ‘I had a dream last night – and we need to completely redo the drum timing and tempo’ that we found the synth-infused, beat-driven direction we wanted to take. The contrast between the lyrics and production gives the song a feeling of empowerment and strength.”
DULCIE haven’t long wrapped up an East Coast tour, but they’re itching to get back on the road again with some choice supporting slots and festival gigs. Here are all the places you can see them play in the coming months.
I’ve just heard lovemedo’s latest single “Dancing on the LINE!” and I can’t stop smiling. The Eora/Sydney artist calls the song a “sonic tantrum,” but listening is much more fun than hearing the histrionics of any petulant child.
“It embodies that nauseating feeling of falling yet feels uplifting too,” lovemedo admitted. “The imagery of ‘the line’ being reality and the idea of me dancing on it was amusing to me. At the time I was hurt, confused and embarrassed about a particular situation so this song became a way of shrugging my shoulders, throwing my hands in the air and asking some loaded rhetorical questions, not because I wanted the answers but to make fun of what they may be.”
This is just the start of the lovemedo story. This is the first lovemedo single released through Sony Music Australia, and the musical project made its live debut just a few weeks ago. But already it shows such promise. You can bet I’ll be listening out for more material.
If you love your rock music with some grit, you’re going to be stomping your foot along with “I Need to Feel,” the latest single from regional Victorian outfit Nick Carver & The Mean Street Butchers. It’s such a soulful swamp-rock track, with a little hint of psychedelia. It already sounds like a classic.
“As far as sound goes, it’s a rock song. There’s very little of the alt-country/bluesy sound that’s on the previous releases. That’s not to say that stuff is over, but I’ve been working towards writing some real straight-up rock stuff that people can be expecting to hear with the next few releases,” Nick said. “I’ve always loved some cool weird rock, like Funkadelic, Ween, Melvins, Brant Bjork, and early Queens of the Stone Age. I think all of those bands just played out some songs that were really simple to them and kept all the little nuances and oddities that we sometimes try to improve on and end up losing the really cool essence of the track.”
The film clip, created by Pete McKew using AI animation technology is also brilliant. Drawing inspiration from Wake in Fright, it explores the violent and alcoholic history of the Aussie Outback, with a little alien abduction thrown in.
With their sound evolving, I’m keen to hear what comes next from Nick Carver & The Mean Street Butchers.
If Joy Division and The Strokes had a baby, it might sound something like The Cherubs. I’m really digging the new wave meets modern rock sound of their new single “Nausea”. The biting lyrics are also delicious. Trust me, you’ll want to crank this one up.
“This song came together on the final days of us writing the EP,” The Cherubs said in a statement. “In fact, Dylan (Clark) wrote the guitar and lyrics overnight while babysitting two cats and the next day we jammed it out as a band. It was a very quick song to write, what with not overthinking the arrangement, rather letting the guitars call-and-response be the hook and allow the lyrics to tell somewhat of a statement against it all.”
The Cherubs collaborated with director/editor Liam Clark, cinematographer Ian Tyler, and students from the SAE Institute for the music video.
“The music video was shot in half a day at Good Egg Studios in Riverstone,” The Cherubs added. “It’s worth noting Tim Berner on bass was attacked by a cactus the day of shooting and as a result had to be replaced by a dear friend and guitarist José Herández.”
If you like this, make sure you follow their socials to hear about their shows and that upcoming EP release.
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: James Winthrop, Dylan Clark
James Johnston has just dropped his latest country charmer, and he’s got some friends along for the ride. “Some Things Never Change” features Zac & George, a country duo from Eora/Sydney who now split their time between Australia and Nashville. James teamed up with Zac & George in the final hours of a songwriting pilgrimage to America’s country capital, and the rest is history.
“Listening back to the demo on the plane ride home, I knew we had captured something special,” James said. “I wanted to record and release it in a way I had never seen anyone do before.”
So he produced the song in secret with just one thing missing: Zac & George’s vocals, which they recorded during their next visit home. The day after laying down the tracks, they were heading to James’ hometown of Dharawal Country/Wingham to shoot the music video.
“The video was truly special, to be back in my hometown with the boys at the local pub I used to go to every Friday night, it just felt right that the video for ‘Some Things Never Change’ was captured there,” James said. The people you see in the video are also James’ fans, who descended on the pub to create the right party atmosphere after he put the call out on social media.
Riding high on the release of “Some Things Never Change,” James will start touring with another friend, Morgan Evans. He’ll also appear at some choice festivals in the coming months. Catch him anywhere you can!
31 August 2023 – Fortitude Music Hall, Meeanjin/Brisbane (with Morgan Evans)
2 September 2023 – Canberra Theatre, Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country/Canberra (with Morgan Evans) (SOLD OUT)
4 September 2023 – Civic Theatre, Mulubinba/Newcastle (with Morgan Evans)
5 September 2023 – Civic Theatre, Mulubinba/Newcastle (with Morgan Evans)
7 September 2023 – The Powerstation, Auckland (with Morgan Evans)
9 September 2023 – Civic Theatre, Mulubinba/Newcastle (with Morgan Evans) (SOLD OUT)
11 September 2023 – Fortitude Music Hall, Meeanjin/Brisbane (with Morgan Evans) (SOLD OUT)
14 September 2023 – Palais Theatre, Naarm/Melbourne (with Morgan Evans)
15 September 2023 – Palais Theatre, Naarm/Melbourne (with Morgan Evans) (SOLD OUT)
17 September 2023 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Tartanya/Adelaide (with Morgan Evans)
19 September 2023 – Astor Theatre, Boorloo/Perth (with Morgan Evans) (SOLD OUT)
20 September 2023 – Astor Theatre, Boorloo/Perth (with Morgan Evans)
30 September 2023 – Deni Ute Muster, Barababaraba Country/Deniliquin
6 October 2023 – Savannah in the Round, Muluridji Country/Mareeba
1–8 December 2023 – Cruisin’ Country
Image used with permission from Wildheart Publicity
