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.
Seekae – The Worry (Future Classic)
Seekae have returned with their third full-length album, The Worry, and it once again proves why they’re not only one of the best live electronic acts in the country but one of the best on record, too.
Foreshadowed by the unexpectedly glitching, off-kilter lead single ‘Test & Recognise’, The Worry is a sprawling display of Seekae’s distinct experimental roots. That said, this LP is also the trio’s most pop-sheened title to date.
Crossing between bellowing bass cuts (‘Hands’), smooth indie-inflected R&B jams (‘Monster’) and festival-closing set numbers (‘Further’), The Worry is a shining return from one of our country’s most intelligent, purveying class acts in electronica.
Expect this one to feature heavily on many end of year ‘Best Of’ lists, and rightfully so.
Willow Beats – Water EP (Pilerats)
Willow Beats have come a long way in the space of a year.
The uncle-niece duo of Kalyani (vocals) and Narayana (production) have becoming one of Australia’s fastest-rising independent acts, playing across some of the country’s biggest festivals and selling out their first headline national tour in support of their new sophomore EP’s lead single, ‘Merewif’.
Featuring six ethereal tracks, the release was premiered on Rolling Stone online, debuted at #1 on the Australian iTunes electronic charts, and peaked at #11 on the main album charts; a true testament to this pair’s intoxicating sound.
The pair are experts at weaving fantasies – Kalyani’s dreamy, elven-like vocals narrative the listener through an aural trip of Narayana’s addictive, hallucinogenic production.
Technically-brilliant, dance-floor ready and beautifully melodic, from the enchanting Merewif, to the crunchy synth hooks and fluttering beats on Airships, and the cascading polyrhythms on Guardian, this EP is nothing short of impressive.
Old Mate – It Is What It Is (SDZ Records)
Old Mate is the latest project of Bitch Prefect’s Pat Telfer. While it initially began as Telfer’s solo project, it quickly grew into something much bigger, bringing in members of Peak Twins and Wireheads to form the current mighty lineup.
It Is What It Is marks the band’s debut record, following on from their first EP in 2012 and a 7″ in 2013.
The band’s bluesy, sombre rock – in contrast to the bright jangling of Bitch Prefect – is the kind best listened to with a swishing glass of cheap whiskey in one hand, and a burning cigar in the other.
Meg Mac – MEGMAC EP (littleBIGMAN Records)
23-year-old Meg Mac is fast becoming one of the country’s most beloved indie songstresses.
Ahead of the release of her debut self-titled EP, Meg Mac has been riding the wave of heavy Triple J rotation that has opened her up to a whole new audience.
The EP captures her exciting—and extremely talented—essence. With stunning, powerful vocals and bubbly pop sensibilities etched throughout each track, it feels like the beginning of something big.
‘Roll Up Your Sleeves’ is easily in the category for most-catchy Australian pop song of the year.
Sarah Mary Chadwick– Hit And Miss (Independent)
In 2012 Batrider guitarist/ vocalist Sarah Mary Chadwick released Eating For Two, a collection of devastating stripped post grunge songs. What was so stunning about Eating For Two was the fact that Chadwick was able to produce something as raw and brutal as anything Batrider has ever released, but in a completely different vein.
Though not ‘officially’ a new album, Chadwick has just released Hit And Miss – a collection of 16 B-sides and demos compiled from between 2012-2014.
Messy, loose and sonically cold (a trait we’ve come to expect and appreciate from Chadwick) with Hit And Miss we hear Chadwick’s straight up acoustic songwriting (potential left-overs from Eating For Two) as well as more drum machine and synth based sounds we’ve been seeing her experiment with live.
Announced on Facebook, and released on Bandcamp (for $7) this is just enough to tide you over until February, when she’ll be releasing her new LP.
