Words: James Frostick Band image and cover art: Josh Watson
Naarm/Melbourne via Dunedin experimental dark wave duo Ov Pain is making some moves ahead of the release of new album The Churning Blue of Noon – out next year via It Records. The album’s lead single ‘Excess and Expenditure’ is a gripping introductory statement to the group’s next chapter; a colossal monolith wrought from dark and intimidating sound, breathtaking in its sheer density and power.
Words: James Frostick Artist image: Margarita Strateas
Nicolaas Oogjes is stepping away from the heat-beat release of NO ZU – donning a Stetson and a pair of Cuban heels, thereby transforming into his outsized cowboy-electronica and synth-sleaze persona Cong Josie. Today marks a formal introduction to the artist’s enigmatic sonic persona via new digital single ‘Leather Whip’. This rodeo is a throbbing piece of sweat-drenched hedonism and peacocking virility that cloaks a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness and earnest critique. It’s a striking and unpredictable turn for a figure who has built a career out of creative artistic pivots.
Words: James Frostick
Artist image: Louis Oliver Roach
The world keeps spinning, as does the Australian underground music scene. Volume three of Brief Breakdown features an eclectic mix of new music, including Time For Dreams’ warped electro-pop, bruised and boozed rock’n’roll from Knifer, an energetic exercise anthem from Hearts and Rockets, brutal hardcore from UAV, dystopian techno pop from Mahne Frame, dilapidated improvisational noise from Deepfake, experimental electronica by Bridget Chappell and soothing psych-pop from Muma Ganoush.
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)→
Melbourne/Naarm guitarist and songwriter Chris Smith is today announcing his fourth album Second Hand Smoke, his first full-length release since 2007’s Bad Orchestra. Lead single ‘Animal’ is a downcast self reckoning – a melancholy country-blues ballad about picking the stitching of the soul and plucking at the stuffing inside.
Melbourne-based indie-rock veteran Claire Birchall is on the cusp of releasing her new solo record Running In Slow Motion this Friday –a moody synth-pop opus signifying the artist’s fist foray into the realm of electronica. As a final taster, Claire is releasing the visuals for the album’s title track and third single – a languid ode to loneliness and disconnection.
Words: James Frostick Band image: Barry C. Douglas
A trio of Melbourne-based music veterans have teamed up to form an exciting synth-laced outfit. ATOM, which features members of Crime and the City Solution, The Moll Flanders Band and REPAIRS, is premiering the debut single from its forthcoming record In Every Dream Home. ‘Run Out’ is the name of the track, and it paints a grim picture of the inevitable finality of our system’s rampant excess.
Marking almost a full year since the release of their stunning atmospheric LP In Time, Time For Dreams return with a new 7” release through It Records. ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ is an affecting offering that examines kindness in an age of fire and disillusionment, while the B-side cover of The Smiths’ ‘Death of a Disco Dancer’ is a poignant companion track that scoffs at the notion of peace in our time.
In a few short months, Melbourne/Berlin songwriter Ned Collette will release a new double album of sparse and lingering dark folk through It Records. Drawing upon snippets written across the past decade, Old Chestnut will be filled with haunted musings from the cobwebbed corners of the mind. Lead single ‘The Optimist’ is one such evocative piece – a track that broods like dark clouds on the horizon, forecasting a malevolent but unavoidable storm.
Proto-punk legends Primitive Calculators are putting the gears in motion ahead of the release of their forthcoming album On Drugs. ‘Power’ is the latest track from the group, which blends potent punk sensibilities with a glitchy electronic inclination. A timely song, ‘Power’ uses blunt efficiency to communicate the band’s anger at the widespread abuse of power and privilege, and the way the uncaring individuals in charge only care about accumulating more power at the cost of others.
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
