Already announced on Golden Plains Festival, Real Estate will perform Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane headline dates when making their long-awaited Australian debut in March.

Real Estate’s first Australian tour finds the band at its strongest, following performances on Primavera Sound and Pitchfork Music Festivals, a sold-out American tour, and with a gorgeous suite of songs to their name.

Battles return to Australia in 2012 to perform at all six Big Day Out Festivals and for headline appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. These will be the band’s first Australian appearances since 2009 and the first since the release earlier this year of their second album Gloss Drop, a ten-track odyssey that includes cameo performances from electronic pioneer Gary Numan, Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino and underground dance music hero Matias Aguayo.

Don’t miss Battles live this January. Tickets for both shows are on-sale November 28th.

The last 12 months have been amazing ride for the thundering four piece from Melbourne. With reviews likening the band to formidable acts like the Pixies, Nirvana and Mclusky, and having played alongside The Cruel Sea, Kimbra, British India, Wolf & Cub, the John Steel Singers and more, Royston Vasie have been sternly marked as one to watch.

Following on the success of the debut EP ‘Welcome to the Pop Boutique’ which was added to high rotation on Triple J and is constantly on the jukebox in the Tone Deaf office, Royston Vasie will release their brand new single ‘That’s My Girl’ on November 11.

Recorded in a tiny garden-shed studio in Enmore and mixed in an abandoned radio station in Berlin, “Step-Panther” (the album) similarly encapsulates all that is sensationally schizophrenic about Step-Panther (the band).

The New Zealand four piece visited our shores earlier this year, with a run of sold out club shows in June, coinciding with the release of first single “You Should Do Better”, and recently returned with a main stage spot at Splendour in the Grass as well as sideshows with UK outfit Friendly Fires.

A first generation American son of Palestinian and Filipino immigrants, El Khatib combines his love of skateboarding and punk rock with 1950s and 60s classic Americana on his rocking release.

Described by the man himself as ‘knife fight music’, Hanni’s debut album packs a punch with Gritty Licks and Raw Tones. Songs like Build.Destroy.Rebuild had us toe-tapping and elbow-swinging long before we even knew the words.

Already announced as part of Pyramid Rock and Peats Ridge festivals, punters now have the opportunity to catch Hanni El Khatib in Very Special performances at The Tote in Melbourne, and FBi Social in Sydney. Don’t miss what is sure to be one of the breakout acts of 2011 in these amazingly intimate locations this summer.

Heralded for their brooding, enchanting sound and intriguing tempos, Street Music follows a string of lauded releases. Their 2007 recording You’re The Reason Drugs Are Useless, plus their 2008 track ‘We, The Odd One’ picked up strong play everywhere from Triple J and FBi through to College Radio in the US, France, Italy and the UK.  2011 has already seen OTSS usher out two singles from the forthcoming mini album, ’Big Sky’ and ‘Moonpark’ respectively. Both tracks received a strong response at alternative radio and attention both in press and online. 

Live, the band has also been busy. After completing a month-long Saturday night residency at inner city Sydney venue Spectrum, they toured the east coast off the back of ‘Big Sky’. However, for the release of ‘Moonpark’, they opted for a completely different tact, namely embarking upon a series of secret gigs throughout central Sydney. Every Saturday night for a month, they announced the location through facebook on Friday afternoon and performed the Street Music mini album in its entirety. ‘Moonpark’ also saw the release of an accompanying film clip, shot by The Jungle Boys.

To launch Street Music, Only The Sea Slugs have announced that they will be touring the country in two phases. The national Street Music tour: Part 1 will see the band tripping up and down the east coast throughout October in the traditional manner. The Street Music tour: Part 2 will see them hit the road again through late November/early December, adding in places like Canberra and Newcastle (with the added possibility of some street shows thrown in).

The record has been in the making for two years and was recorded with and produced by the gifted Steve Schram (Little Red, Little Birdy, Cat Empire, Eagle and the Worm, Ground Components). Baby Caught The Bus is an incredibly accomplished first release, moving through heart wrenching doo-wop wailing, to drunken pianos, party hysteria and tough, hard hitting soul. This collection of songs is delivered with dynamic vocal harmonies and the force of the rhythm section, with Clairy’s big soul voice and the horns leading the procession.

With launch parties announced in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, CB/BR are never ones to shy away from a full-blown production. These very special evenings will be reminiscent of the old school dancehall party days, where the hair is high and the music is sleazy. Joining them on the stage for their Melbourne launch at The Hi-Fi are the five-piece purveyors of country gospel and folk-rock Little John, the Frowning Clouds with their jangling guitars, matter-of-fact harmonies and jauntily swinging freak beats and Soulgroove ‘66 presenter Pierre Baroni plus more to be announced. The Sydney launch at The Vanguard will feature the fierce and fiery sounds of special guests, Kira Puru & The Bruise, surf rock outfit the Atom Bombs plus Sweet Jelly Roll DJs and joining them at The Joynt in Brisbane will be Nai Palm (lead singer of Haitus Kaiyote), with her unique smoke and honey vocals.

Hailing from the inner ‘burbs and country Victoria, Redcoats take on the Northcote Social Club once again (after showcasing their music video for ‘Giants’ in 2010) and pay tribute to their regional up bringings playing in Benalla and Warnambool, to showcase the follow up single ‘Kay Trucker’ from the EP with special guests Immigrant Union and Wolfy & The Bat Cubs.

Recorded at Birdland Studios by Rob Long (Shihad, Magic Dirt) and Lindsay Gravina (The Living End, Even), the EP is sure to take Redcoats to the next level, already been described as an unmissable live act.

“They sound like they’ve been playing together for thirty years…and there is no shortage of genius in this grinding, epic single” (Beat Magazaine 2001).