Tone Deaf and Amrap are back in 2025, bringing you the best Australian music finds from community radio music directors and presenters.
Got music? Get it on Amrap – it’s how community stations find and play local artists. You can also hear the freshest tracks championed by community radio on the Community Radio Plus App, bringing stations from across the country into one place.
Amrap’s airplay tracking just got an upgrade. Airplay (formerly Airplay Search) is now in your Amrap artist account, giving artists who’ve uploaded music since November 1st, 2024, real-time airplay data powered by Music Recognition Technology (MRT) across the entire community radio network.
This week, 2SER’S Monica Chalmers selects their must-listen local tunes playing on community radio right now.
2SER’S Monica Chalmers Amrap Picks
BIG NOTER is the new project from acclaimed multi-award-winning musician and Yorta Yorta man, Briggs. Absolute favourite recent find — I’m a sucker for a hardcore/hip-hop crossover and “TALK STRAIGHT” is the perfect balanced meal. Unrelated, but this track has replaced Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” as my car scream anthem, which is no small feat. Can’t wait to hear what BIG NOTER drops next.
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Who doesn’t love “Mitsubishi Pills” from Bellevue Hill? This one’s by Dharawal/Wollongong garage punk four-piece Hoon, off their latest album Speed and Fatigue. Not technically the focus track, but it grabbed me and hasn’t let go. It gees you up, wraps you in driving drum beats and finishes you off with the line “Tony Danza drives a hot pink Lancer.” Diabolical! Can’t wait for them to get back from their Euro tour so I can give myself a headbang headache next time they’re in Sydney.
Anything equal parts mystical and gay? Sign me up. “Rainbow” is Dead Witch’s first 2025 release and I am — how you say — holding space. This track is what it would feel like to run naked under a full moon with a mysterious lady on Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road. Gooey inside for sure, 10/10, gives me butterflies every time. Their bio says “Come for the glamour, stay for the boogie.” I did indeed come for the glamour — and I’ll be heading to their boogie on August 9th at Pleasure Club, Eora/Sydney, for the “Rainbow” launch tour.
I know they just dropped “Goths of Disgrace” this month, but I love “Velobell” from May — hopefully that still counts. It kicks off with heavy breath work from frontwoman Delfi Sorondo and doesn’t stop delivering. Dark, dirty chords and propulsive rhythms have me dancing like I’m at [a] Batcave in the ’80s (but it’s 2025’s Naarm/Melbourne). The Maggie Pills on the track’s meaning: “Whether you’re wrestling grief, burnout, addiction, or just the quiet emptiness of everyday life, ‘Velobell’ is a howl from the void that says: ‘You’re still in there, and you’re not alone.’”
Dead Mall – “100% PURE POISON”
This is exactly what I imagine Wednesday Addams listening to as she brews up a lethal concoction for Pugsley. Strong nu-metal vibes with a big spoonful of experimental, a sprinkle of electronica, a dash of grungy backing vocals — still leaves plenty of room to headbang and pull out your weird dance moves. Recorded, mixed and produced by Dead Mall’s guitarist Darcy Long, this is just a taste of what’s coming on their debut album SUPERLIMINAL, out August 21st.
EMU WAR CRIMES – “ZOMBIE FREAKSHOW THYLACINE”
As a proud child of the Apple Isle, this one hits hard in the best way. Spoken-word vocal vibe, sharp political punk lyricism, and experimental sounds make for an eerie yet funky sonic explosion. The whole EP CONTENT! CONTENT! CONTENT! deserves your ears — get it up ya!
