Take a look at and have a listen to our tasty musical treats for this week featuring the likes of some local treasures including The Jezebels, Flume, Dyson,Stringer & Cloher, Dresses, Teeth & Tongue and more. As well as that we’ve got some love from New York in the form of brand spankin’ new treats from Vampire Weekend’s Baio as well as Cults. Check it!
The Jezabels – ‘The End’
Sydney indie stars The Jezabels are back, bringing a sweet little number along with them. Full of life, ‘The End’ is quintessentially everything you’d imagine in a Jezabels song – punchy guitars, sweet melodies, all topped off with the angelic voice of Hayley Mary. And let’s not forget that underlying synth! An all-round cracker, ‘The End’ sets high expectations for their much anticipated sophomore release, due in early 2014. If you like what you hear, catch them at Laneway Festival next year.
Dresses – ‘Blew My Mind’
‘Blew My Mind’ is full of hand claps, lyrics about swinging up into a tree and getting stuck, and nostalgic ‘boyfriend’ dreams also make an appearance throughout. Despite that description sounding like something you’ve heard all too many times before, Dresses manage to make it new and bring back some intrigue to the genre that has at times been overdone. Their album, Sun Shy, is out now on digital, debuting on CD and vinyl on the 22nd of October.
Dyson, Stringer & Cloher – ‘Save Me From What I Want’
Mia Dyson, Liz Stringer and Jen Cloher’s folk supergroup released the 2013 Tour EP in the lead up to their national tour later this year. ‘Save Me From What I Want’ is Cloher’s songwriting contribution to the three-track EP, released on her own Milk! Records. The stripped back track showcases the group’s signature three part harmonies over stark electric guitars.
Cults – ‘High Road’
‘High Road’ is the first single from New York indie pop duo Cults’ second album, Static. At its core, it has a rock-steady drumbeat, a light, funky guitar riff and vamping organs. It’s a cool groove and it leaves enough space for Madeline Follin’s reverb-drenched vocals. In short, this is bank-robbery montage music.
Baio – ‘Mira’
Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio claims to passionately love dance music, but have “no allegiance to genre”. The Brooklyn-based DJ’s new single proves just that. The six-minute offering treats modern dance music like a buffet, picking and choosing from different styles. He switches between classic 90’s beats and heavy minimal bass lines and scatters vocal glitches over the top until all his careful layering collides into a busy but clever arrangement.
Whitaker – ‘Wichita’
Soothing and oh-so indie, ‘Wichita’ is the embodiment of watching the sunrise on a chilly morning. Lead vocals exuding a slight Elliott Smith feel, backing vocals producing indulgent harmonies, and some sweet acoustics paired with melodic bass lines result in a joyous representation of indie music. You could say this track is Bon Iver-esque and a little bit like The Shins, but it’s Whitaker at its finest. Keep an eye (and ear) out when their new EP drops November 22.
Teeth & Tongue – ‘Good Man’
Teeth & Tongue is the moniker of Jess Cornelius, a New Zealand-born and Melbourne-based artist that we’ve been trying to claim as our own for quite a while. Cornelius has returned with the first single from her forthcoming third album due out next year, the follow-up to 2011’s acclaimed sophomore effort Tambourine. ‘Good Man’ is a powerful and infectious pop ballad that builds with a hauntingly sparse intro before truly kicking in at the 45-second mark with a pounding, lagging drumbeat thrusting the track to another plane of emotion. Cornelius’ soulful vocals are gorgeously breathtaking, reminiscent of fellow Kiwi Kimbra but with a rockier edge, as they soar into falsettos and harmonies over the cathartic instrumentals. New Zealand women really know how to craft a good pop song.
Flume – ‘Intro’ Feat. Stalley
The opener to Flume’s Deluxe Edition Mixtape of The Flume, set for release November 8 this year is aptly entitled: Intro Feat. Stalley. The backbone of the stunning introduction is a blueys-keys sample that gradually increases tempo as it transforms into a product of Flume’s musical laboratory. The featured artist is none other than Swangin’ hip hop artist Stalley who pounds out rhyme in the pure Rick Ross Maybach Music Group style. A seamless preview to what is guaranteed to be yet another smash hit for Australia’s leading lad on the electronic circuit.
