“Stumps make songs as dark and sharp as polished, cut granite, but that are still shiny enough for you to see your face in. It’s a looming monolith of precision beats and slicing melodies – but there’s also enough wobbling madness in there to keep you dancing wildly too.” Gallery Listen
Author: Alex Kirk
“Sesame Girl combine urgency and free-floating whimsy, roaring and furious underneath a deceptively calm surface. For every gentle ripple of melody, there’s a far bigger wave of sound right behind it ready to take you far out to sea.” Gallery Listen
“Jet City Sports Club’s dreamy jangle also comes with heavyweight ballast, sky-high melodies flying despite the musical heft it carries. Enough to drag anyone out of the worst mood, it’s a musical updraft to rise and soar along to.” Gallery Listen
“The Toothpicks soar and wheel like mad birds, flittering between rhythms and keys and riffs within songs, strange constructions somehow making perfect, poetic sense.” Gallery Listen
Ben Lee @ North Sydney Festival, 2nd Nov
“There’s as much bright charm in Ben Lee’s banter as in his music, smiles and wit in word and songs. His playful set keeps some of the more serious subject matter hidden from the family-friendly audience, but it’s never fully out of sight. It’s a rare skill to entertain both childlike and grown-up minds, and […]
“The opening of a train station is an odd reason to put on a street gig, but if it gets bonafide legend Sarah McLeod on the stage, no-one’s complaining. Her time in The Superjesus and (count ‘em) three ARIAs propels us a solo set of blistering quality, her acoustic pounded and hammered while that voice, […]
Every week I scour the latest releases from emerging, DIY, and independent artists in Australia. The best of them end up on the playlist. Follow The Playlist Listen to this week’s edition here, 100% made up of the best brand-new music from the best new artists in Australia – never pay-to-play, and always only new […]
Kat Edwards @ Waywards, 31st Oct
“Kat Edwards’ set carries massive weight, gargantuan heft in both songwriting and emotion. It’s incredibly personal, a diary reveal of accusations and celebrations that lesser artists would struggle to pull off. This series of bittersweet, hard-battling vignettes are taken by the scruff of the neck and made to soar, moments of sadness and disappointment and […]
Haley Holgate @ Waywards, 31st Oct
“Haley Holgate’s voice is as gentle as spun silk but is still acrobatic and theatrical enough to flit and bounce around the room like a bird. These sad and beautiful songs, sung with terrible determination and skill, are a pleasure fit to rend the heart.” Gallery Listen