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 Jasmin Williams selects their must-listen local tunes playing on community radio right now.
2SER’s Jasmin Williams Amrap Picks
Platonic Sex – “Sun Goes Down”
Everyone I’ve spoken to in the past few weeks has heard me talk about Brisbane band Platonic Sex and their brand new album, Face to the Flywire. Their album closer, “Sun Goes Down”, may just top my list of favourite releases of 2025.
The vocals at the front of this song are truly distinct and captivating. Raw and rough around the edges, while still being masterful and polished – capturing the Platonic Sex charm we have grown to know and love. Bringing with them their classic grungy/rocky sound, this cathartic track demands to be felt at your core, and reminds you what it is to be human. It feels nostalgic, it feels like a punch to the gut, but also a reminder to stay present.
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One of the standout moments in this track is the cathartic build that quickly gives way to a restrained ending. The use of humming, feedback, vocal layering and Australian bird song evokes the feeling of nostalgia that lies at the core of this track, providing a sense of peace and reassurance. The repetition towards the end of the track reinforces this notion of holding on, of desperation to keep hold of a connection or moment.
As people, we all hold onto these beautiful moments of love and connection, wanting to “stay just a little longer,” grasping these often fleeting moments as tight as we can. But at the end of the day, the sun always goes down.
Sleepazoid are a band I am embarrassingly late to the game on, after hearing “NEW AGE” in passing one day — I was instantly hooked. How could I not have found this earlier? After seeing them live at SXSW this year, I can confirm this song goes as hard live as you can imagine.
The Naarm/Melbourne-based alt-rock quintet is truly ahead of the game, masterfully combining elements of grunge, post-punk, and alt-rock; they’ve carved out a sound that feels deeply rooted in authenticity and passion. The powerful opening riff is a delightful hook, before being joined by the fast-paced drums and Nette’s powerful vocals, bringing this track together with such rich chemistry and cohesion.
The chorus of this song feels reflective and isolated from the quickly paced nature of the verses, allowing audiences a moment of reflection before launching back into those hectic verses. “NEW AGE” is the title track off of their upcoming EP, due to be released early next year, and if this is just a taste of what to expect, I can’t wait to take a bite.
Jerome Blazé (ft. Alex Turley) – “You Can Find Us Out Your Way”
The day this song came out, it was cold. Absolutely bucketing down. I was late for work and umbrella-less, soaked to the bone. But this track, much like the rest of Jerome’s discography, has a way of making light on the darkest days, filling you with warmth no matter how cold you are. This song feels like the first days of spring or the colour yellow. Like waking up just before your alarm, the first sip of a cold cider or a hug from a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Jerome has a way of infusing such an infectious joy into his tracks. Delicate, controlled, and completely captivating.
This song is the first from what is (seemingly) a new era for Jerome. Ringing true to the distinct sound we’ve grown to love from “Living Room” and his previous work, while pushing it forward with a brand new energy and enthusiasm. His vocals are crisp and masterful, working in harmony with the lush instrumentals surrounding him.
But he hasn’t done this alone — using samples from string arranger Alex Turley, and the warm and familiar vocals of Sydney/Eora legends, Sarah Levins, Beryl and Headaches. These voices weave together and complement each other in a way that feels monumental, so perfect you can’t help but see the world around you get that little bit brighter.
My first introduction to Sydney duo Beryl was through their show at Phoenix Central Park back in early 2024. Their first album, Dry Peel Crack, had come out just a few months earlier. I was obsessed, and they were one of the most exciting acts I’d stumbled across. But as their set began, most songs were unreleased, unheard of by me – but I was hooked. One of the standout moments, lived on for over a year by only my 10-second video on my phone, was a song called “Unravel”. One that now has a permanent home on their brand new album, Body Break.
“Unravel” may be one of the most impactful and emotional songs I have ever heard. The immersive and visual lyrics document the unravelling and crumbling of a relationship, it is that truly heartbreaking but so human experience.
The use of repetition throughout this track further drives this message home, building to a climax with the use of strings and brass. The end of this song is a standout, encapsulating the feeling of knowing something is over, but hanging on just that little bit longer in hopes that something would change. You watch this scene unfold in front of you, unable to look away. Gab’s spectacular and raw vocals are at the forefront of this track, only made stronger by the emotion stirred up by the instrumentation surrounding her.
Pa777ience, (ft. Jamaica Moana) – “check 1, 2”
Pa777ience is an incredible neo-soul and R&B singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Sydney’s West, but now based on Gadigal land. They’ve been making spectacular music for a while now, but this new release, “check 1, 2” is the mark of a new era for them, and it is oh so lovely – especially when accompanied by Māori/Samoan force, Jamaica Moana.
On my first listen, I couldn’t help but move. This song is so incredibly groovy. An absolute earworm that finds itself at the front of my brain at all times of the day. Not only is the instrumentation fantastic, but Pa777ience’s lyrics are seeped in vulnerability and truth, and are a personal exploration of confronting the hardships that life has thrown at them. Working together, all of these elements create the makings of a simply incredible song that you can’t help but tap your toes to.
This is such an exciting start to a new era, and I can’t wait to see what the next twelve months have in store for them.
There’s something about Sydney-based artist Maia Jelavic that is truly magical. Her music is enchanting, bringing with her an experience that feels completely human. Her latest single, “The New”, is truly a prime example of that.
Taking on that classic stripped back style she does so well, paired with her insightful and engaging lyrics, as well as the use of repetition to build to a climax, “The New” is a song that demands to be heard.
Maia’s been a mainstay in the Sydney scene for quite some time now, playing in bands with other artists and under several different names, like Motion Sickness & Maia Marsh — this new project feels like one that is so distinctly new and personal, a project that she’s grown into and discovered her perfect sound.
