Jarrow aka Dan Oke is an emerging act suddenly grabbing his fair share of attention off the back of his recent single (and its very entertaining video clip), which made its way all the way to nab Zane Lowe’s World Record on Beats 1.
We figured he had pretty good taste in music, so we asked him to recommend a few Aussie bands that we may not have heard yet – and he’s come back to us with a swag of talent. Having just dropped a very nice debut record in 2003 Dream, Jarrow is about to kick off a free Thursday residency at The Tote, maybe even featuring a few of the bands you’ll find below.
That said, here are 11 emerging Aussie bands that Jarrow reckons deserve your love, money, and attention.
Arbes -‘Beach Side’
Long time friends of the Jarrow family, Arbes are a glossy lofi indie pop trio also from the western suburbs. I am currently wetting myself because they drop a new EP Psalm on October 7th through Sports Day Records. Lots of love for Jess, Sam and Anita and they warrant all the praise they work for. <3
fivefours – ‘Presently Tense’
Pete has stepped in to play last minute guitar and bass for Jarrow live a couple times in the past, and he also has a great little emo jazz bedroom project with his friend Michael. Among Other Things is one of my favourite releases this year hands down, I would also strongly recommend you listen to ‘Gaze Aversion’ and ‘Sleet’ off the same EP. Check it!
Thigh Master – ‘Age Of Concern’
We caught their set at BIGSOUND earlier in the month and we all came to a joint conclusion that they were one of the most fun to watch bands at the whole fest. I would put every band from the Tenth Court label on this list if I had the chance, but Thigh Master’s unique style of garage pop makes for a treat to hear.
culte – ‘Lost’
What do you get when you cross an 18 year old, a $30 guitar and nothing but feels? The answer is culte, aka the bedroom recording project of my good friend Yura. Simply put, her music is super sad but also dangerously catchy. It’s only a matter of time before culte blows up and she will stop talking to me, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
30/70 – ‘The Strut’
I went to the doctor the other day, and he told me straight up the groove deficiency in my body was at an all time low. I thought “How could this happen?” and left the hospital that day with a deep depression. Was there any hope left to bring my groove back?
It was around this moment when my friend Brayden asked me if I wanted a free door spot to see 30/70 at the Triple RRR live performance space, and thankfully I said yes. By the end of the night, I knew that I could groove harder than I ever could before. 30/70 will change your life, just like they changed mine.
Scraggers – ‘Cheapskate’
Westside is the best side. Scraggers are Tobias (Rhysics) on vocals and guitar, Rhys (Woo Who) on bass and me on drums. We broke up due to creative and personal differences but our angry garage punk lives on through our four track EP Stick It Where The Sun Shines.
Cheapskate is my favourite to drum to but equally my favourite on the EP with the other 3 tracks. Tobias, if you are reading this, please respond to my voicemails. We need to sort everything out.
Tam Vantage – ‘In A Garden’
Back in early 2015 we played a show with Tam Vantage & band in the Catfish front bar to about 6 people and a couple very angry bar staff who kept asking us to turn down.
Tam works super hard playing in a couple bands round Melbourne and also producing some excellent 60s/70s inspired indie pop under his own name. Super excited to hear whatever he’s got next.
Laiks – ‘Pollen Dreams’
Nope I didn’t spells Lanks wrong. LAIKS is the electronic moniker of Adam Hogan and he also falls into the category of 18 year old with an equal amount of talent as his predecessors.
With under 200 likes on his FB page and only an amount of live shows you can count on one hand, Adam is really really really good at what he does and you would be crazy not to chuck this song on next time you go for a drive.
Glen Virus – ‘Equator’
Glen Virus is a mystery. Nobody knows who the members actually are, all their planned shows have been cancelled last minute and their only recordings online are an EP recorded at their “first and probably last” practise back in June.
Needless to say, ‘Congrulation’ is a collection of angry, fast punk songs that barely passes the 10 minute mark in total, but leaves you feeling both scared and intrigued all in the same sitting. Alert the police if you see their name on a lineup any time soon.
Las Vagueness – ‘Plug Me In’
Slightly ashamed to admit this is the only Sydney entry in the list, but David Gauci (Death Bells, Felix Lush) and his excellent band certainly deserve it. I like to explain Las Vagueness to people as what would happen when you put all your favourite 80s/90s guitar pop songs into a big blender, and the result would be this beautiful tasty milkshake of catchy vocal hooks, fuzzy guitar riffs and huuuuge but tasteful synths.
The added bonus being that they are all super nice in person. After recently supporting The Creases on their last tour earlier in the year, I would suggest you keep LV on your watch list!
Cacartu – ‘Tiger’s Tooth’
Anyone with a decent ear and a watchful eye can tell you that Melbourne and neo-soul go hand in hand with each other. If you didn’t need another amazing example to justify this, look no further.
Cacartu are a 5 piece even deeper west than us Footscray crew, but their extremely smooth vibes makes them undeniably cool. I am very lucky to be close friends with all the crew from this band because it makes showing Cacartu to other people an even more rewarding experience. They also dropped an EP earlier this year and you should check it out right now.
Jarrow Residency At The Tote
October 6th w/ The Beegles and frances fox (solo)
October 13th w/ Rhysics and Fuzzsucker
October 20th (solo set) w/ Wedding ring bells and Dogood
October 27th w/ Arbes and culte
