Today Lutruwita/Tasmania-based trio Free Live Sports releases Stay Grounded, its first ever set of recordings put to tape. Over nine tracks the group cannily cobble together a collection of rough-hewn hooks, rickety riffs and rattletrap rhythms that belie the majority of the group’s neophyte abilities. Prioritising instinct over technique, Stay Grounded showcases the group’s keen sense for sound and ethos of placing fun over fidelity to engaging results.
Naarm-based crew Crazytown! is indulging in a bit of belated festive cheer with Xmas In July – a splendid slab of sweaty, synthetic strange out today via Dero Arcade. Hard to pin down but easy to pick up, the members of Crazytown! have hijacked Santa’s sleigh and set about delivering this gift far and wide. Today we’re chuffed to be premiering the release, a collection of crocked club-friendly carols for the subterranean set.
Words: James Frostick, Tristan Davies, Tam Matlakowski and Dusty Anastassiou
Today marks the official release of Time Permits, the long-gestating debut album from Naarm/Melbourne “superb-group” Permits. Although described on paper as a band conceived as a way to document abandoned songs, the record’s collection of off-cuts and cast-aside ideas has come together as a remarkably listenable whole. The group has agreed to take us through the album, relaying the journeys and inspirations behind its 10 tracks of sublime strum.
Words: James Frostick & Gregor Kompar Artist image: Ellen Fairbairn
Naarm/Melbourne prog-synth individualist Gregor is today releasing his anticipated sophomore album Destiny through esteemed institution Chapter Music. To celebrate, Gregor is taking us through the record via a track-by-track breakdown, shedding insight into his headspace and how the album – an adventure into anomalous otherworldly soundscapes and an inquiry into the humanity that underpins it – came to be.
Words: James Frostick and Mahne Frame Artist image: Tex Crick
Last week, Warrang/Sydney-born and Tokyo-based producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mahne Frame released MAD WORLD – an album of dystopian no-hoper club thump. A vivid reflection of contemporary millennial malaise, the search for purpose and holding on to love and positivity in a world quickly going to the dogs, the record is the perfect soundtrack for our turbulent times.
Heralding the beginning of a rebuild for much of Australia’s music scene, Canberra-based punk four-piece Glitoris is releasing a live album filled end-to-end with scorching, apoplectic and unapologetic sonic pummelers. The Slut Power Sessions – Live at The Basement is more than just a scintillating recorded set of Glitoris’ greatest hits (so far), it’s a reminder of the band’s vital middle-finger-to-the-patriarchy ethos and the enlivening nature of the unadulterated live music spectacle.
RATH is the COVID-19 bedroom solo project of Sean Bailey (also of LAKES, GRANE and TOL), and his self-titled three-track tape is an excellent gothy response to the extremely grim reality of contemporary Australian life, and an interesting sketch for a concept that boasts a lot of potential.
Words: James Frostick and Ela Stiles Artist image and cover art: Cait Burgoyne
Today marks the official release of Songs On Harmonium With Voice – the new seven-track album from Ela Stiles. Comprised of old and new compositions – reworked utilising a spartan sonic palette – the record presents a haunting reimagining of tracks born at the opposite end of the musical spectrum. Experimental and pop-driven compositions become grounded and solemn, unveiling a hidden beauty discovered via Ela’s powerful vocal performance.
Earlier this week friendships officially dropped FISHTANK, a brand-new album of multifaceted electronic music and visual accompaniments – a reverberating opus that might be one of the year’s most remarkable releases. Nic Brown takes us through the album’s distinct movements via a track-by-track breakdown – a tour as surreal and otherworldly as the listening/viewing experience itself.
On Friday September 25, songwriter and guitarist Chris Smith released his long-anticipated record Second Hand Smoke via It Records. Assembled and recorded over the better part of a decade, Second Hand Smoke is a compendium of dog-eared ideas accumulated over years – musings that have been given time to mature and settle, creating a lived-in and fully realised end product. Chris has kindly shed insight into the record via a track-by-track breakdown – a wonderful accompaniment to the listening experience.Continue reading Track by Track: CHRIS SMITH – SECOND HAND SMOKE (IT RECORDS, 2020)→
Weirdo Wasteland is an Australian-based music blog that examines musical endeavour from the cultural fringe. The site regularly features reviews and interviews from the underground scenes from Australia and New Zealand. Weirdo Wasteland acknowledges the original custodians of the land upon which it operates. Sovereignty has never been ceded. To get in touch, contact: weirdowasteland (at) gmail.com
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