The Underground StageEssential new music from Australia’s most exciting artists
BOYSCLUB may take the pace down a notch for their third single but the intensity remains, an echo of Smashing Pumpkins’ downbeat wall of sound. Their themes have always been confrontational, and once again this is emotionally tough going. That said, while they may not be for the faint of heart they’re absolutely chock full […]
From the staccato strum of the opening guitar to the melancholia (and the brogue) of the vocal, Alexander Biggs channels the spirit of Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison so hard and so clearly it makes me want to cry with loss and joy. Gently pounding with the subtlety and the power of a heartbeat, it builds […]
Sill only a relatively few beats into their existence, Clay J Gladstoneβs latest propels them forward harder and faster than even on their fearsome 2020 releases. Capturing the best bits of Violent Sohoβs imperious guitars and sinewy basslines, and melding it with the wild eyes and unhinged abandon of Fangz, this is the sort of […]
Black Knuckles crash into 2021 with predictable sound & fury in the form of this snarly little beast, taken from their ‘Crush. Kill. Destroy. Repeat.’ EP. Channeling the sainted ghost of Lemmy, it’s a pounding and relentless thrash through four minutes of neck-snapping fun. While under its influence, it’s probably a bad idea to try […]
Straight of back and shoulders squared, Pretty Uglys stride into the new year with a track that takes an optimistic approach to the missed connections of a plagued year. With a surfy sneer on its chops, it’s a sunshine-punk look ahead to a time when wild nights of daft abandon are restored, it’s a resolution […]
Many bands have blown me away this year, and itβs a tough call to pick just one gem from the treasure chest on offer. It was particularly hard to look past Bugs and Tired Lion, for instance, who both put out some magnificent music to light up a dismal year. However, for their songs, for […]
Some first-release records hit like hurricanes this year – these are just five of the best debuts I heard in 2020. BOYSCLUB – SHE, THE ATROCITY ο»Ώ Taking no prisoners from the first recorded notes, Boysclub started with a roar of speed and a clear statement of intent – no compromise, no grey area. It […]
Recorded music played a bigger role this year in the absence of live shows. This is some of the music that made my days just that much better. NOTHING RHYMES WITH DAVID – DOG FLAG The more I listen to this song, the deeper I get pulled in. I lived in Edinburgh before I moved […]
In a delightful bit of messing about, WAAX and DZ Deathrays release covers of each other’s songs, this being DZ’s cover of FU (their ‘Fired Up’ is given the WAAX treatment in return). The original ‘FU’ heroes Maz’s vocal in all its vibrato fury, where here the guitars are (predictably) given enormous turbo-chargers and big […]
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