Your guide to all the best Australian EPs and albums set for release over the next six weeks.
From woozy psych jams and rousing punk through to droning doom metal, downbeat piano balladry, pumping house slammers and fuzzed-out dream pop, there’s an abundance of awesome Australian releases hitting shelves this summer, and we couldn’t be any more excited for them all to land.
Today, we’re spotlighting 12 of the biggest local records slated for release over the next six weeks, featuring Logic1000, Julia Stone, Tash Sultana, Dannika, Luca Brasi and more.
Logic1000 – You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go EP
One of the most exciting names in Australian dance music today, Berlin-via-Sydney producer Logic1000 is gearing up to release her new EP You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go on January 21. The first release on her newly minted label Therapy, You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go sees Logic1000 further refine the ear-grabbing production style heard on previously released tracks ‘Perfume’ and ‘DJ Logic Please Forgive Me’, blending warped ‘90s R&B vocal samples with bouncy house and techno grooves to result in a insatiable smorgasbord of dancefloor goodness.
Divide and Dissolve – Gas Lit
Melbourne-based instrumental doom metal duo Divide and Dissolve are a force to be reckoned with. Pairing feedback loops with screeching saxophones and abrasive drones, the duo of Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill rally against white supremacy and colonial power structures through their formidable onslaught of sound, with singles like ‘We Are Really Worried About You’ and ‘Denial’ offering a taste of what’s to come on their latest LP Gas Lit. Produced by Ruban Nielson (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) and set for release via Invada Records on Friday January 29, this one’s going to be absolutely massive.
Luca Brasi – Everything Is Tenuous
More than a decade after their formation, Tasmanian alt-rockers Luca Brasi are preparing to launch out with their latest record Everything Is Tenuous this February. Jam-packed with dynamic guitar riffs, anthemic choruses and surging songwriting from lead vocalist and bassist Tyler Richardson, Everything Is Tenuous marks the acclaimed band’s fifth full-length effort, with tracks like ‘Dying To Feel Alive’ and ‘This Selfish Love’ showing a clear progression from their 2018 release Stay without sacrificing their fundamental sound. Everything Is Tenuous drops in full on Friday February 12 – grab a copy through Cooking Vinyl Australia.
Odette – Herald
Following the triumph of her 2018 debut To a Stranger – and of course, those two breathtaking Like A Version covers – Sydney singer-songwriter Odette is set to release her sophomore effort Herald on Friday February 5 via EMI Music Australia. With recent singles ‘Dwell’ and ‘Amends’ showcasing the UK-born artist’s gut-wrenching vocals atop of bombastic, string-laced contemporary pop production, Herald seeks to affirm Odette’s status as a truly unique presence within Australian music, and we’ve got a hunch that it’s going to conquer the airwaves this year.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound
A national festival favourite and yet another example of just how strong Australia’s psych scene is today, there’s no denying that Perth’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are on a roll right now. Their fourth full-length effort, the sprawling SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound, hits shelves around the country on Friday February 5, offering punters with yet another taste of the weird and whacky universe of frontman Jake McEwan and his band of cronies. If singles ‘Mr. Prism’ and the raucous ‘Tally-Ho’ are anything to go by, expect oodles of fuzzed-out, face-melting riffs when SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound drops next month.
Jarryd James – P.M.
More than five years on from the monster success of ‘Do You Remember’, Jarryd James is back with P.M – a seductive sophomore effort that looks to expand the parameters of the Brisbane artist’s electro R&B sound. Recorded in a number of locations around the world with the likes of Clams Casino, Frank Ocean collaborator Malay Ho and Joel Little, P.M. is packed with nocturnal grooves and smokey vocal performances that highlight James’ strengths both as a vocalist and sonic curator, with the skeletal composition of recent single ‘Miracles’ providing pure proof of what’s to come. This one drops on Friday January 22 via Island – don’t sleep on it.
The Rubens – 0202
The Rubens have already established themselves as heavyweights in Australia’s indie rock landscape, but that’s not stopping the band from pushing the envelope further. Their new record 0202 marks the first time the band have assumed production duties on a full-length effort, with the group flexing their studio prowess and demonstrating their sonic evolution as they draw from pop, R&B, alt-rock and more. Preceded by the soulful ‘Time Of My Life’ and ARIA Song Of The Year-nominated ‘Live In Life’, 0202 might just be The Rubens’ biggest record to date – tune in on Friday February 12 to see if it lives up to the hype.
Tash Sultana – Terra Firma
They might be best known for their spell-binding improvisations and virtuosic fretboard acrobatics, but beneath all of Tash Sultana’s live loops lay some serious production and songwriting chops. It’s this side of their artistry that Tash aims to demonstrate on their new LP Terra Firma, eschewing the jammy aspects of debut Flow State in favour of snappy, super-groovy funk scorchers like ‘Greed’ and the breathtaking acoustic cut ‘Pretty Lady’. If Tash’s social media teasers are any indication of what to expect from Terra Firma, there’s every chance this could be the groundbreaking multi-instrumentalist’s most refined artistic statement yet. Keep your ears out for the record when it arrives via Lonely Lands Records on Friday February 19.
Dannika – Gems
Slated to arrive on local label Spunk Records on Friday January 29, Gems – named for the insatiable snack that is the humble potato gem – is the debut LP from Melbourne’s Dannika, an award-winning writer and filmmaker who also possesses an uncanny knack for fluffy hooks and jubilant, jangly guitar lines. Backed by instrumentalists Paul Ceraso and Good Morning members Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons, Dannika’s new album will provide local listeners with a follow-up to the lo-fi compositions that peppered her 2016 EP For Peaches, with recent singles ‘Directions’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Be With Anyone’ serving as a slyly addictive teaser to the full-length project.
Julia Stone – Sixty Summers
We’re very excited for this one. More than eight years on from her last solo record By The Horns, Julia Stone radically expands her artistic horizons on the hotly anticipated Sixty Summers, shaking the hushed tones of her previous works in favour of an eclectic array of influences from all over the world. Lead single ‘Break’ – produced by St. Vincent’s Annie Clark and featuring contributions from Warpaint drummer Stella Mogzawa – is a dizzying polyrhythmic romp in the vein of David Byrne, while ‘Dance’ fuses lap steel guitars and a spoken word tale of love to make for an intriguing taste of what’s to come. Sixty Summers drops through BMG on Friday February 19.
FRITZ – Pastel
Hailing from Newcastle, FRITZ’s Tilly Murphy thrives on a diet of fuzz-drenched guitars, ethereal synths and vocal melodies that sound like they’ve been plucked straight from your favourite ‘90s teen flick. Written and recorded over the span of three years with Raave Tapes and Split Feed producer Fraser Marshall, her sophomore record Pastel arrives on Inertia Music on Friday February 12, with its nine tracks showcasing both Murphy’s own personal growth and her maturity as a songwriter. The album’s latest single, the shoegazey ‘Die Happily’, is a total tearjerker, and we’re digging the washed-out sounds of previously released jams like ‘Arrow’ and ‘Jan 1’ just as hard.
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby
Prolific Melbourne singer-songwriter Sarah Mary Chadwick has locked in a release date for new album Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby, her third album in just as many years. Out on Friday February 5 through Rice Is Nice, Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby presents Chadwick’s songwriting in a strikingly minimal setting compared to the fleshed out sound of its predecessor Please Daddy, centring around stark piano and vocal compositions that shine the spotlight on Chadwick’s cathartic lyricism and intense vocal performances.
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