SARAH BLASKO
Alt Pop
Sarah Blasko is very good. Is it uncool to say that? Ah, being cool is overrated. Ten years ago, when I was 18, I saw her at Big Day Out and fell madly in love. She danced like a freak and sang in a way that suggested greater meaning was available. She still fascinates, an understated master of the pop song.
Friday April 8 – Enmore Theatre – Sydney, NSW
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE
BLONDE TONGUES
Dream Pop
Is reverb-drenched, slow paced dreamy pop/rock intrinsically self-indulgent? Well, yes, a lot of the time. Are Brisbane band Blonde Tongues guilty of this sin? Well, yes, for the most part. Does that mean there isn’t plenty for us to like about it? Hell no.
Friday April 8 – The Foundry – Brisbane, QLD
FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP
AVERAGE RAP BAND
Hip Hop/Synth Pop
It’s far from average, what this Melbourne duo does. But then again, if you’re looking for straight-up, no frills rap tracks, then this is probably going to disappoint. ARB can rhyme, but their arrangements also have a dreamy synth pop quality and their choruses warrant songs all to themselves.
Friday April 8 – Mojos – Perth, WA
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP
POLISH CLUB
Rock’n’Soul
Polish Club ain’t a dazzling step forward for popular music – they adopt a lo-fi aesthetic to capture the sheer power of a two-piece, guitar/drums/vocals combo. But their music gets very close to the essence of that fierce, liberating feeling that gives all great rock’n’roll its power.
Saturday April 9 – Shebeen Club – Melbourne, VIC
WEBSITE | SOUNDCLOUD
A.D.K.O.B
Indie Pop
Give it a few months, Sydney’s A.D.K.O.B are going to be a big deal. Maybe they already are and I’m just out of touch. Melding elements from several decades of popular music music, from ‘60s pop to yacht rock, hip hop and baroque folk, these guys have a knack for making complexity sound blissed out.
Saturday April 9 – The Foundry – Brisbane, QLD
FACEBOOK | SOUNDCLOUD | UNEARTHED
GREEN BUZZARD
Shoegaze Pop
Just when you thought there was no way to possibly mine the sounds of early ‘90s Britpop/shoegaze and create something arresting in its originality, here comes Green Buzzard. OK, this music’s not so original it’ll have you tearing your Ride records to pieces, but these guys don’t sound like straight-up embezzlers (the same can’t be said for some of their well-known I Oh You label mates), and they keep it fun.
Saturday April 9 – Newtown Social Club – Sydney, NSW
FACEBOOK | SOUNDCLOUD
DIVIDEM
Electronic Dance
If you’re looking to get down and stay down, the dirty electronic dance music of Dividem will surely suffice. A lot of EDM is tacky or else evokes images of speed dealers in trackie dacks. But Dividem is well constructed and fuckin’ fun.
Saturday April 9 – The Evelyn – Melbourne, VIC
FACEBOOK | SOUNDCLOUD
CHILDSAINT
Garage Daydream
I’d like to see stats reporting on the percentage of Perth musicians that make high quality music. Of course such things can’t be aggregated, but it’s hard to find many acts that don’t elicit some kind of genuine response. Childsaint make droopy garage pop that’ll make you want to give it a hug. That said, their music sounds in complete control of its melancholy and probably doesn’t want your grubby hands touching it.
Saturday April 9 – The Bird – Perth, WA
FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP
TOM LYNGCOLN
Rock
Tom Lyngcoln is responsible for arguably some of the best punk music to ever come out of Australia (definitely of the last 15 years). The Nation Blue is how we all learned about him, but then a few years ago he did something unexpected in forming Harmony – a band more focused on light/shade dynamics and so thematically miserable it stops you dead. He’s since regained volume in Pale Heads, but his solo shows are usually of a sombre nature. Whatever the case, it’s worth checking out.
Sunday April 10 – The Old Bar – Melbourne, VIC
THE NATION BLUE FACEBOOK | HARMONY FACEBOOK | PALE HEADS FACEBOOK
OH PEP
Folk Pop
As soon as I say folk pop many of you are already looking away. Fair enough, a lot of jerks have called themselves folk and neglected to say anything anywhere near interesting, let alone representative of an individual personality. But Melbourne duo Oh Pep have been making fans all over the globe, and it’s down to their deviance from cookie cutter ‘folk’ junk to portray images of unique composition.
Sunday April 10 – The Polish Club – Canberra, ACT
FACEBOOK