We listen to a lot of music here at Tone Deaf HQ, and we’re the first to admit we’re perhaps a little biased towards sounds of the Australian variety. We do make the best music in the world, after all.
In honouring our favourite Aussies, we’ve once again compiled a list of the most outstanding local releases you should be listening to right now – whether they’re smaller indies acts or big-name essentials, these are the newest Australian records you should be adding to your ‘must-listen’ list.
Let’s get started.
Hiatus Kaiyote – By Fire (Flying Buddha/Sony Music Masterworks)
How do you go back to the drawing board after your last album was nominated for a Grammy?
Melbourne neo-soul outfit Hiatus Kaiyote found themselves in a rare and enviable situation following their globally acclaimed album Tawk Tomahawk.
Their new EP, By Fire, is a brief glimpse into what the band have been concocting since catching the world’s attention and enlisting the likes of Prince and Erykah Badu as their number one fans.
By Fire is an expedition of densely layered, silky smooth jazz fusion. The title-track is a breakneck burner with an ethereal hip hop aura; ‘Laputa’ winds things down to a state of beautiful simplicity; while rhythmic closer ‘Molasses’ builds and builds to reach a point of soulful bliss that’s impossible not to feel. (Dylan McCarthy)
Sunbeam Sound Machine – Wonderer (Dot Dash/Remote Control)
Introducing the performance moniker of Melbourne’s mind-blowingly talented Nick Sowersby, the one-man-psychedelic-dream, Sunbeam Sound Machine.
Akin to the psychedelic dreamscape that Tame Impala introduced back in 2012 with Lonerism, this record is a production nerd’s wet dream.
Climbing aboard the Sunbeam Sound Machine spacecraft, Sowersby launches listeners deep into the starry galaxy as he explores the depths of twinkling dreampop and kaleidoscopic psychedelica, his ethereal vocals seamlessly weaving between the sonics to create something not of this world.
This record has been on heavy rotation since we got our mitts on it, and like a thing of perfect beauty, it has arrived just as the days grow longer and warmer, providing the ultimate soundtrack to summer. (Joe Harris)
Moses Gunn Collective – Morning Shakes EP (Independent)
Have you been searching for that perfect amalgamation of Aussie-stained psychedelica and indie pop? Look no further.
This Brisbane quartet are ready to drop their blissful EP Morning Shakes, a release that features five gorgeously infectious tunes that venture into straight-up rock’n’roll, colourful psych-jams and buoyant indie pop.
Major highlights from the record include the previously released ‘Mary’, which has become a well-warranted fan-favourite (and on huge rotation at TD HQ).
However, the organised chaos of ‘Ghost Life’ is the most unforgettable track from Morning Shakes. The insane beat switches its pace, from slow-burning tones, progressing to an all-out explosion of burning fury. (JH)
Collarbones – Return (Two Bright Lakes / Remote Control Records)
You get the feeling Marcus Whale and Travis Cook really found themselves on their new and third LP.
Return jumps, skips and hops across a mesh of different electronic moods – from the energetic, fluttering pop pulse of lead single ‘Turning’ to the slower R&B tempo of the synth-based ‘Only Water’, which features vocals from Oscar Key Sung.
Elsewhere, the duo’s experimental style serves up a stirring, bass-heavy atmospheric ballad in ‘Flush’, before swinging back into full-blown cyber pop with the intense sugar rush of ‘Emoticon’.
All the while, Collarbones’ vision of electronic pop – characterised by Whales’ emotional vocals swimming in different pools of moody soundscapes and lit by skittish dancefloor-tailored beats – feels completely and utterly modern. (DM)
Liam Kenny – A Kenny For Your Thoughts (It Records)
We first heard about this intriguing and ambition record back in July, when Liam Kenny, a member of local acts Bitch Prefect, Peak Twins, Friendsters, and Roamin’ Catholics released his version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Avalanche’. What A Kenny For Your Thoughts is, is a collection of “extraterrestrial interpretations” of classic and not so classic songs.
As Kenny explains “from Billy Idol to Bob Dylan, you’re gonna be surprised what you find on this record”. So yes, this is a ‘covers album’ but unlike any covers album you’ve ever heard before.
Having enlisted an impressive list of co-conspirators for this solo endevour including: Martin Frawley (Twerps), Amy Hill (School of Radiant Living), Joel Carey (Peak Twins, Wolf & Cub), Ela Stiles (Songs, Bushwalking), Pat Telfer (Bitch Prefect), Amy Franz (Super Wild Horses) and Jack Mannix (Circle Pit, Drown Under, GLOSS), it’s now time for the record to be unleashed to the public, check it out.
Good Morning – Shawcross (Solitaire Recordings)
For the uninitiated, please allow us to introduce you to Good Morning.
This is the project of Melbourne pals Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons, who just dropped their debut EP Shawcross.
A little bit larger than a standard extended-player, the release treats listeners with 7-tracks of off-kilter jangle-pop tunes that are wholly reminiscent of the early workings of Canadian goof ball, Mac DeMarco.
‘Don’t Come Home Today’ is the ultimate slacker-rock typed track that begs for nothing more than a simple sunny arvo spent on a porch, bev in hand, appreciating nothing but your own hazy company.
We see a lot of promise from these guys and cannot wait for more. (JH)
Peter Bibby – Butcher/ Hairstylist/ Beautician (Spinning Top Records)
Self-proclaimed balladeer and the latest singing to the Spinning Top (Tame Impala/ POND) family, Perth singer songwriter Peter Bibby has recently released his impressive new LP.
Titled Butcher/ Hairstylist/ Beautician, the latest single from the LP ‘She Hates My Boozin’ was a “a beer-soaked, jangly guitar ballad that draws parallels to Courtney Barnett’s charming songwriting with an undeniable Dylanesque feel” and unsurprisingly (but thankfully) the albums follows in a similar vein.
Listening to Butcher/ Hairstylist/ Beautician it’s pretty clear why Bibby has been announced on the line up for Laneway Festival 2015, alongside Mac DeMarco, FKA Twigs, BANKS, and locals Courtney Barnett and label-mates POND – we recommend trying to catch him live when Laneway rolls into your own.
