These New South Whales turns a page, Kita Alexander reflects, and Ashli comes in strong
This week, These New South Whales drops TNSW, Kita Alexander drops The One, and Ashli drops Only One.
This week’s top picks:
- These New South Whales – TNSW
- Kita Alexander – The One
- Ashli – Only One
Read all the latest music news here.
These New South Whales – TNSW
TNSW marks a refined new era for the band, their most sophisticated body of work yet: a 14-track tome of barrelling punk rock that polishes its heavier moments – heavier than ever – with sing-along choruses, sharp arrangements, and plenty of trademark irony and self-awareness. For every ’90s alternative reference, there’s a blast beat; for every big radio moment, a cursed instrumental aside.
A post-punk record at heart, full of sonic depth and dejected storytelling but equally it embraces their ’90s alternative, hardcore, and metal influences. Guitarist Todd Andrews found himself using references for certain guitar parts that he would never have touched on in the past (among them: Pixies, The Cure and Placebo), while Timony’s lyrics take a turn towards the poetic.
“I feel like they’re honest songs,” says Timony. “I feel very connected to them, and that’s probably a result of not trying too hard to force the album’s hand.”
Kita Alexander – The One
The six track EP was made between Los Angeles, London, Sydney, and Melbourne with an A-list of collaborators including Nick Littlemore, Jono Sloan, Dann Hume, Julia Stone, Jonny Harris, Banan Wiseman, Teddy Geiger, Dan Nigro, and Dylan Nash.
“This EP is a collection of songs that were born in the past,” Kita said. “Almost all of them began even before my own kids were born and were then finished across zoom in the covid lockdowns.
“For me these songs have had such a special hold on my heart, so much so that I felt I couldn’t create anything new until these tracks saw the light of day.
“They’re stories of heartache and heartbreak, mistakes and memories, love and loss. They’re the framework of my life before I became a woman, a mother, and a wife. The life I lived when it was just me in this world.”
Ashli – Only One
New Jersey-born, Western Sydney-based singer, and songwriter, Ashli today releases her debut EP, Only One.
Spanning realms of glimmering R&B, pop and soul across six tracks, Only One showcases Ashli’s hybrid talent as both a vocalist and songwriter. From an astute lyricism informed by her own coming-of-age narrative, Ashli crafts a nuanced debut of work that navigates observations and reflections on life and love through uncharted depths.
Produced by Oscar Sharah, against a palette of instrumentation reminiscent of 2000s R&B and laced with glowing vocal harmonies, Ashli’s expressions to the universal human experience are addictive, intimate and deeply relatable.
On Only One, Ashli says: “There aren’t many words that can summarise what this EP means to me. In many ways thematically this work is a coming of age. Without making this EP with Oscar [Sharah] I wouldn’t be, artistically, where I am today. I’m so grateful to have made it with him, he’s an incredible artist in his own right, so it feels like an honour to have had him produce and write the majority of these songs with me.”
