Posts By Grace Pashley

WATCH: Nicholas Allbrook – ‘100 k’s ‘round Carmel’

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The film clip for ‘100 k’s ‘round Carmel’, the first track off Nicholas Allbrook’s forthcoming album, is what I imagine would happen if the creators of the Sims took acid and created ‘Sims: Psychedelic Nightmare.’ It’s certainly a trip, with Allbrook and Alejandro Crawford directing and producing the metaphor-laden and all round hypnotic clip.

The track itself is exactly what you want from Allbrook – reverb-drenched vocals and a wallowing guitar punctuated by soft cymbals. There’s a nostalgia to the melody and guitar hook, with Allbrook casually distancing himself from the past: ‘I don’t want to feel that again / smoking in the carpark while I lie about my age’.

The album, Ganough, Wallis and Fatuna, will be out 5 September via Spinning Top Music. Another taster, ‘Whispers of Beauty’ – available as a free download from the Spinning Top website – signals a more distorted, synth-rock turn for the POND frontman.

Allbrook will perform at BIGSOUND on 11 September.

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INTRODUCING: Baro

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A long ‘Daayyuum’ is the appropriate reaction to the latest mixtape, Howgoodisgood?, from 17-year-old Melbourne MC Baro. Fighting the good fight against rubbish Australian hip hop, Baro and his crew 90’sRD are rolling through verses so smooth and witty they make you double take when you read his age.

The smooth as butter MC lets his airy verses waft over easy lounge beats, doing this as naturally as possible for someone climbing the uphill battle of having an Australian accent. It’s not as heavy as the trip hop and neo-soul coming out of the US right now, but at times it does conjure the jazz and boom bap production of Odd Future spin-off The Internet.

Baro is combining west coast weed-rap and Brooklyn cool without ever failing to represent Melbourne. If this is where hip hop in Australia is heading, thank god.

Check out the video for ‘I Had a Dream About U Last Night’, released today, and catch Baro playing gigs around the country throughout October.

Fri, 3 Oct – The Zoo, Brisbane

Sat, 4 Oct – The Lab, Brisbane

Sat, 11 Oct – Zierholz, University of Canberra

Tues, 14 Oct – YMCA HQ, Perth

Wed, 15 Oct – YMCA HQ, Perth

Thurs, 16 Oct – Prince of Wales Hotel, Bunbury

Fri, 17 Oct – Amplifier Bar, Perth

Fri, 24 Oct – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Sat, 25 Oct – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

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INTRODUCING: Klo

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The musical gene is strong amongst the kin of I’lls singer Simon Lam. The Melbourne producer has enlisted his cousin Chloe Kaul to produce some lean, polished electronic music as Klo.

Their latest track, ‘False Calls’, is a brooding electro-pop tune with R&B influences. It combines a carefully constructed rhythm section with snippets of Kaul’s soulful vocals to create some compelling electronica.

Kaul’s voice is enveloping and badass, like lounging around your jacuzzi in a silk robe. The vocal melodies sound like they were carved right out of a stick of butter and smeared artfully over some subdued, polished production for the perfect R&B/neo-soul sandwich.

The vocal layering mirrors UK experimental pop act Tirzah, and ‘False Calls’ is similarly beautiful in the simplicity of its composition.

Klo will be performing at BIGSOUND in September.

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LISTEN: Felicity Groom – ‘Move Your Muscles’

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‘Move Your Muscles’ is the first look into Felicity Groom’s second album, Hungry Sky. The track is a foreboding crash of percussion, gritty synths and guitar licks that writhe beneath all manner of distortion.

The bluesiness of her earlier work is combined with gushing synths that channel seamlessly into her rock roots. Groom’s distinct vocals are pared back for subdued, tense verses that build into a chorus delivered with raw power.

‘Move Your Muscles’ is a syncopated indie rock delight, thoroughly whetting our appetites for her sophomore album, which is due out through Spinning Top later this year.

Groom has also collaborated with Perth producer Diger Rokwell. Rokwell & Groom have put out some lush, psych-folktronica that you can find here.

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INTRODUCING: Yoke

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Yoke are a young Sydney trio, featuring Kyle Linahan (vocals), Julian Boswell (guitar) and Corin Ileto (synth/keys), who have put out some pretty sweet New Wave sounds on their debut single ‘Burden’.

The track consists of vast spaces of warped keys bridged by Linahan’s smooth RnB vocals and a pop-ballad chorus that takes the edge off the track’s sparseness.

They’re one of a stable of bands currently referencing Prince and early 90s new jack swing, but Yoke’s easy melodicism goes a long way to distinguish them from the nostalgic-for-the-sake-of-nostalgia synth revivalists.

If Yoke can keep developing their sound, ‘Burden’ displays vision and talent that makes me very keen indeed to hear their EP, Jabiluka, which is due out later this year.

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WATCH: We Are The Brave – ‘Your Ghost’

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Sydney duo We Are The Brave have just released ‘Your Ghost’, a glistening synth pop track off the back of their debut EP Noctua. Vocalist Jess Chalker channels a combination of pop powerhouse Annie Lennox and the smooth and subtle Jessie Ware, pulling off the balance needed to keep any synth pop track from entering the cheesy badlands.

Hip hop producer Ox Why (Nathan Cunial) completes the duo, the pair sharing production duties to craft a rhythm section replete with hand claps and bongos and a Blood Orange inspired guitar lick tying it all together.

I expected the clip for ‘Your Ghost’ to be a well-choreographed troupe of leg-warmer and leotard-wearing dancers shimmying out their heartbreak (cheers again, Dev Hynes). The actual clip is heavier on the face paint, but it does feature some pretty badass broken-hearted dancing.

WATB are playing this Friday, 25 July at the Beresford Hotel, and they’ve got a second EP slated for release later this year.

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INTRODUCING: Redfoot

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Redfoot are a New York based indie rock outfit, with synths man Corey Wallace flying the Aussie flag. They make wafting dream pop that chops and changes swiftly, often before you realise what’s happening.

Their self-titled debut EP opens with ‘Reversing Falls’, a menacing track defined by a tense guitar hook and Luca Pironti’s vocals, which roll through the melody hypnotically. Wallace plumps up each track with Grizzly Bear-style synths, especially the lead single, ‘Make it Quick’, which was produced by fellow New Yorker and indie-rock personality Darby Cicci (The Antlers). ‘Make It Quick’ displays the group’s lack of interest in traditional song structures, with sneaky time signature changes adding depth to the already layered track.

This kind of experimentation creeps in again during ‘Lo Pan’, with Pironti’s vocals spurred on by a lethargic snare before the track changes direction completely around the three-minute mark. These red herrings crop up all over Redfoot, making their debut EP an effortlessly interesting listen. It makes me wish they’d make the trip back to Australia so I could see them have a crack live.

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