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.
Firekites – Closing Forever Sky (Spunk)
Anyone who betted on Newcastle’s Firekites returning after six years with a follow-up album to meet, let alone surpass, debut album The Bowery was either a) lying through their teeth, b) holding out for hope, or c) knew something nobody else did.
Whatever the prediction, Closing Forever Sky is a record that’s set to serve as much of a critically hailed rallying point as its 2008 predecessor. Though constructed entirely at the dining table of frontman/producer/guitar visionary Timothy McPhee, Closing Forever Sky has none of the domestic-bound nature that its DIY production origins would suggest, and instead has all the sophisticated, ethereal qualities its title implies.
Each of its seven sprawling compositions offers sprawling vistas drenched in post-rock moods and shoe-gaze atmosphere, but have an ambling, formless temperament that belies such genre anchors. ‘Fallen’ sparks with intensity, as gently skittering rhythms and swooning violin soar in tandem with sighing vocals, but finds time to shift to barely-there sparseness also. ‘Fifty Secrets’ is a similarly shape-shifting entity, switching up tempos as deftly picked acoustic brushes against synthetic drum sounds.
It’s the kind of album that’s easy to lose yourself in, and it’s slyly intricate details may be lost on the first few spins as its washes over you in a series of gently fluctuating compositions – like lapping waves. But this is not background music, though soothing in its own idiosyncratic way, the changes are too progressive and calculated to simply ‘zone out’ to.
A restless ear may long for more concrete hooks and direction, but for the more patient listening wanderer, Firekites have eked some fascinating aeronautical terrain to explore. Go soar their skies and see what you find. (Al Newstead)
Banoffee – Banoffee EP (Remote Control)
Banoffee is Melbourne-based singer-producer Martha Brown, whose sugary R&B sounds will instantly satisfy any and all of your sweet tooth cravings.
Banoffee has been on our radars/menus for quite some time now, releasing a string of infectious pop gems that treat the taste buds to sprinklings of toffee-sweet synths, futuristic beats and seriously soothing multi-layered vocals. Combine that with her impressive live show and sickly-cool style, Martha Brown’s recipe is destined for success.
Now, after signing with Remote Control and becoming the new favourite face of i-D Magazine, Brown is finally releasing her long-awaited self-titled debut EP. Co-produced by her fellow Melbourne R&B specialist and close pal Oscar Key Sung, the track-listing features previously unveiled favourites like the roly-poly new single ‘Got It’ and her two initial breakout anthems, ‘Reign Down’ and ‘Ninja’.
The EP also features two new cuts which are just as impressive as the more familiar tastings. ‘Ohhhh Owwww’ sees Brown at her most personal, crooning ‘Fuck everything/Fuck it all to hell‘ over plush, downtempo production, while EP closer ‘Let’s Go To The Beach’ is a slice of pure sunny joy, and a track that always gets the crowd jumping like giddy little kids when it’s played live.
Australia, meet your new pop heroine. (Dylan McCarthy)
Briggs – Sheplife (Golden Era)
On his third full-length album, Indigenous MC Briggs is possessed of a previously unheard sense of determination, ambition, and infectious energy.
That’s largely thanks to the twin inspirations he spends so much of Sheplife paying lyrical dues to: the titular hometown of Shepparton and his new life as a father. If you were worried how hip hop joints dedicated to raising a two-year-old daughter might sound – don’t.
The aggression of his previous work is still there, but rather than distancing the casual listener it’s paired with a newfound maturity. There’s as much fire in the belly attack in Briggs’ personal numbers (‘Purgatory’) as the politically charged ones (‘Bad Apples’, the title track).
It helps that Sheplife is charged with all of the swagger of a blockbuster rap album, rich in production and crossover cameos – both heard to great effect on the team-up with Gurrumul, ‘The Hunt’.
It’s his most cohesive and ambitious-sounding album yet. In short “you’ve never heard this Briggs before,” as the MC declares on closing track, ‘Bigger Picture’. And he’s 100% correct. (AN)
Geoffrey O’Connor – Fan Fiction (Chapter Music)
Right off the bat, Geoffrey O’Connor’s sophomore LP Fan Fiction feels like it was released two decades late – and yes, that’s meant with the highest of praise.
Listening to O’Connor’s retro 80s synth-pop is kind of like stepping through a portal and revisiting a time where drive-ins, perms and flared pants ruled supreme.
Fan Fiction traces a series of tried-and-mostly-failed love encounters, with O’Connor retelling his stories like any self-respecting 80s crooner should: in the form of gloriously camp disco ballads that sound like they were made for the closing prom scene in a teen movie.
Heartbreak anthem ‘Giving It Away’ and the sultry ‘Her Name On Every Tongue’ are just some of the decadent highlights on O’Connor’s display, but it’s the neon-bright album standout ‘Jacqueline’ that might just be one of the more glitzy examples of maximalist pop done right in recent memory – and there’s plenty more vintage synths and dancey grooves where that came from.
Across 11 glossy, technicolor tracks, O’Connor’s detailed vintage vision takes you on a trip to the ’80s you never really knew you needed. But trust us, you do. (DM)
Cool Sounds – Melbourne Fashion (Whalesmouth)
Their band name may be laced in irony, and their new nine-track release is only available on limited edition cassette (wait, come back!) – but don’t confuse Cool Sounds for just another jangly indie-pop outfit riding hipster-shaped coattails.
For one thing, their tunes are too sharply written and listenable to dismiss.
From the breezy ‘Safe Flight’, and its subtle off-kilter timing, to ‘Body In The Woods’ – the most chilled account of finding a corpse you’ll likely ever hear – Cool Sounds employ approaches that are pleasantly endearing yet delightfully askew. Not least in the delightfully fuzzy sax that colours each charming track.
They may be largely unknown, if their sub-400 Facebook ‘likes’ is any barometer, but Cool Sounds are in good company; they’ve played with fellow Melbournites (and perfect fits) Ciggie Witch and The Ocean Party – whose member Zac Denton provides keys on Melbourne Fashion.
With mates like that, and the charmed music to match, it can’t be long before Cool Sounds gain wider attention. (AN)
The Reprobettes – The Reprobettes (Off The Hip)
It’s the ’60s. You’re cruising down the Californian Coast. Maybe you’re walking the streets of West Hollywood. Everything looks like a scene out of Pulp Viction. These are some of the images evoked by The Reprobettes’ throwback sound that channels garage and surf rock, with more than ample amounts of punk.
This Melbourne-based all-girl quintet are damn convincing revivalists. It’s in everything from their fuzzy guitars and crashing surf rhythms and particularly in the sassy, attitude-stuffed wailings of vocalists Kat Karamitros and Sally Balhorn.
The album opens with the all-guns-blazing ‘Reprobettes Theme’, which instantly lets you know exactly what these women are about: revenge, rebellion, heartbreak, and a little thing called rock’n’roll.
If they don’t make it clear enough from the outset, by the time their self-titled LP storms through its nine original tracks and two electrifying covers (Continental Co-ets’ ‘I Don’t Love You No More’ and Linda Van Dyck’s ‘Stengun’), you can bet The Reprobettes will have you hooked. (DM)
