YUMI ZOUMA
Pop/Dreams
From just across the Tasman comes Yumi Zouma, purveyors of luxuriously arranged dream pop. The Kiwi trio put slavish effort into generating a sweet aural massage. The best part is the feeling of comfort compounds on repeat listens.
Thursday September 10 – Goodgod Small Club – Sydney, NSW
FACEBOOK | SOUNDCLOUD | WEBSITE
HUMMINGBIRD
Minimal electro/indie
Fierce belief in a core idea is essential to persevering with minimally arranged music. The question of whether there’s enough going on regularly torments musicians, but Adelaide’s Hummingbird know better than to heap obfuscating layers onto their intimate electronic constructions.
Thursday September 10 – Format – Adelaide, SA
SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK | UNEARTHED
MOONBASE COMMANDER
Bass/trap
Moonbase Commander doesn’t have much time for subtlety. The Sydney beatmaker slams the bass on hard right from the get-go, and that’s how it remains. Though, it’s less in your face than in your flesh and bones. Whether blasting from your stereo or holding court on stage, Moonbase Commander will make you move.
Friday September 11 – Academy Club – Canberra, ACT
FACEBOOK | SOUNDCLOUD | UNEARTHED | BANDCAMP
MERE WOMEN
Garage ramble
Garage-y rock doesn’t need to be two dimensional. When things are played with primal, non-fussy force, and recorded in a similar manner, the individual quirks often get diminished. Not so with Sydney’s Mere Women, who charge forward while creating a sense of emotional unease and physical awkwardness. It’s not off-putting, though it is a touch alarming.
Friday September 11 – Black Wire Records – Sydney, NSW
FACEBOOK | UNEARTHED | BANDCAMP
SAMPA THE GREAT
Hip hop
Invoking influence from the likes of Lauren Hill, Nas and Kendrick Lamar, Sydney-based MC Sampa The Great is an exemplar of fresh, potent 21st century hip hop. Her rhymes are sharp and endlessly intriguing, and she’s got some talented pals providing appropriate beats to bounce off. See this live at Melbourne’s Northside Records before Sampa escalates to great heights.
Friday September 11 – Northside Records – Melbourne, VIC
FACEBOOK | UNEARTHED | SOUNDCLOUD
PEARLS
Glam pop
Pearls’ Pretend You’re Mine LP is a succession of familiar moments. Drawing on glam rock, dream pop and even a touch of heartland ramble, the Melbourne band are shameless music nerds. Their music’s also genuinely addictive, which stops you from questioning where you’ve heard it before and instead give in to its embrace.
Friday September 11 – Woolly Mammoth – Brisbane, QLD
MADDY JANE BAND
Indie pop
Ah, remember the mid-2000s, when the likes of Sarah Blasko and Little Birdy first appeared, wooing us all with sweet voices, acoustic instruments and tales of love and heartbreak? Just a couple of years down the track there’d become a glut of this stuff, which disguised the prowess of the movement’s progenitors. Hobart’s Maddy Jane serves as a reminder of the pleasing power of a sweet voice, acoustic instrumentation and tales of love and heartbreak.
Friday September 11 – Republic Bar – Hobart, TAS
S.O.X
Hip hop
S.O.X. (Zimbabwean expat/Perth local Tinashe Soko) is a rapper with a whole lot of angst to convey. Thankfully, Soko’s listened to plenty of Kanye, RTJ and Black Hippy and learned how to channel his aggression into accessible (and all the more potent) glitchified concoctions.
Friday September 11 – Mojos – Perth, WA
FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | SOUNDCLOUD
I’LLS
Electronic/indie
Melbourne trio I’lls are serious garage tragics. Though, talk of the ‘Melbourne garage movement’ generally refers to the city’s underground rock scene. I’lls, on the other hand, follow the lead of ‘90s UK garage – the house music derivative that makes use of syncopated, shuffling rhythms and chopped up vocals. They’ve got some populist proclivities too, chucking in melodic immediacy when necessary.
Saturday September 12 – Northcote Social Club – Melbourne, VIC
LOWER SPECTRUM
Cinematic electronic
The Perth electronic scene is largely populated by intrepid experimentalists – producers with an ear for left-leaning atmospherics and multiplex sonic fusion. Lower Spectrum is a perfect example; conjuror of cinematic soundscapes that still manage to service the dance floor.
Saturday September 12 – The Bird – Perth, WA
