It’s all about the locals this week! Melbourne duo Big Scary are back with the first single ‘Phil Collins’ from their forthcoming album, Kieran Ryan formally of Kid Sam has gone out on his own, Them Swoops have dropped another banger, Sultry songstress Eliza Hull has delivered the first track from her upcoming sophomore album, Melbourne trio Lunars have a new pop infused song and rocker Davey Lane is back with a nice little psychedelic number.
Big Scary – Phil Collins
The first taste from the Melbourne twosome’s brand new album, Not Art, demonstrates the duo stretching their ‘less is more’ arrangements into bold directions while retaining the recognisable chemistry and warmth at the heart of their smart songcraft. The stark sonics of ‘Phil Collins’ owes more to Springsteen’s Nebraska than the man who gave us ‘In The Air Tonight’. Iansek’s guitar slashes tremolo chords echo like dustballs across the song’s spacious landscape, while Syme’s reverberating tom hits rumble like storm clouds overhead, as slowly cooing synth warbles and restrained harmonies enter the picture. The newest entry to Big Scary’s impressive songbook proves to be another essential addition.
Kieran Ryan – What Matters
Often with the demise of a band, a new project arises. With the ending of local indie duo Kid Sam, we now have the solo endeavours of vocalist Kieran Ryan. ‘What Matters’ is taken from Ryan’s forthcoming self-titled debut solo record, due for release on April 5th. Straightforward in its instrumentation, the professional production values serve to highlight the the subtle tones of Ryan’s beautiful vocals.
Them Swoops – Too Fast For Love
The second single from the Melbourne duo of Dave McGann and Chris Goff, taken from their hopefully soon to be released debut EP. Having scored some sweet supports in 2012 with the likes of The Rubens and Ball Park Music, Them Swoops are kicking off the year with some more distinctly British infused upbeat guitar pop. Simple in its structure, ‘Too Fast For Love’ is a fantastic example of the duo’s penchant for bouncing beats matched by guitar strums and catchy melodies.
Eliza Hull – Echoes
The first track off of Hull’s upcoming sophomore album opens with ambient synths and a strong drum beat. Focusing on her eerily beautiful voice, ‘Echoes’ employs chimey and repetitive instrumentation to justapose the strong lyrical content. As the song progresses, Hull’s voice is joined by a choir that give a stunning of slightly confronting compliment to the singer’s own vocals. Produced by Melbourne’s Hayden Calnin, the songstress’ first teaser of her new album leaves a lot to look forward to.
Lunars – Start
Having downsized from a trio to a solo project, this Melbourne’s latest single is an exciting change for music coming out of Australia. With some very 90s guitar tones and a simple 4/4 beat, Lunars manage to produce pop-infused music that is classic but not obvious enough to get bored of. Maybe the most exciting element is lead singer Andrew K’s voice, which is reminiscent of Half Japanese’s Jad Fair, and works suprisingly well when used to 60s harmony effect. With a new EP set for release in March, it’s time to start getting excited about this local.
Davey Lane – You’re The Cops I’m The Crime
Melbourne rocker Davey Lane is back with his first track ‘You’re The Cops I’m The Crime’ from his forthcoming album ‘The Good Borne of Bad Tymes’. The track starts off with a catchy jangly guitar melody, before swirling layered 60’s sounding guitars float over the top of his heavily effected vocals, clearly drawing from the psychedelic era. An exciting little taste of what’s to come.
