Posts By Ryan Saar

INTRODUCING: Yes I’m Leaving

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For those who are punk-inclined, I have found you a Fugazi. In a context where everything else resembles an actual fugazi (variously defined as a fake or a fucked up situation), Yes I’m Leaving is the brutal and efficient slap of sense that Australia has been missing. The new album is direct, punchy, cathartic and chaotic; it feels like a bandaid being ripped from the hairiest part of your skin, over and over again.

On their fourth LP, Slow Release (which is being released via Homeless Records), Sydney’s holy trinity sound dirtier, scummier and more savage than ever before. The production values have been extensively upgraded, with every scrape and bellow of their instruments being picked up and intensified. But rather than creating some sort of squeaky clean parody of themselves, the studio treatment has ensured that Yes I’m Leaving’s usual maelstrom is even more pronounced.

Opening track ‘One’ is especially fearsome. As all members link into a staccato pounding of the hooves, stampeding doom seems an impending reality. The finale is sheer ferocity, frontman Billy Burke screaming ‘One!’ in his banshee cry with enough force to rip the hair right off your head. Latest single “Fear” has a similar effect. It’s basically an expanded Drive Like Jehu track that’s been embellished with a particularly foreboding melody and a strong Australian accent.

Yes I’m Leaving may be more cynical than a Scrooge who’s been through the Vietnam War and create a more gnashing atmosphere than a Tasmanian Devil going through withdrawals, but that’s exactly what separates them from the rest and places them in a higher domain of punk music. Slow Release is an essential listen for anyone who likes to get their heads thumped in by carnivorous punk. And for those who haven’t had the pleasure of such an experience? The perfect introduction.

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WATCH: Wives – ‘Buried’

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Wives (formerly known as Sweet Shoppe) are your new favourite post-punk band. Like all great post-punk bands, they were bred out of the sewer of manipulation, deceit and backstabbing – also known as our nation’s capital of Canberra. With experience and talent on their side, Wives contains members from other flagship bands such as Assassins 88, TV Colours, Sex Noises and Beach Slut.

The band’s newest single is ‘Buried’. The music is severe, and plods with the doom of an undertaker about to make some bank. There’s a lot of elements at play here: the thwocking bass, submerged yelps and that angular, neurotic guitar piercing skin again and again. It’s an uneasy track, and the best part about it is that you can’t quite make out why.

The video only adds to the track’s vague yet encompassing nature. It’s kind of like someone dropped a kaleidoscope in a vat of acid and then was granted the power of neon heat-vision. Whatever is going on behind the shifting patterns isn’t all that obvious, but the intrigue is all part of the fun.

Wives launch ‘Buried’ in Sydney at Black Wire Records on Friday the 26th of September, with support from Bare Grillz, Hence Therefore, and Roland Major. They follow that up with a hometown show at The Phoenix with a support slot at Mere Women‘s album launch on the 27th.

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WATCH: Andras Fox – ‘Pontoon’

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Everyone – seriously, everyone – avert your eyes from whatever activity you were engaged in before, and focus all of that visual attention on Andras Fox‘s brilliant new clip for ‘Pontoon’.

Andras Fox (also of Fox & Sui and Andras & Oscar) has been kicking enormous goals lately, getting himself signed to legendary US label Mexican Summer. But, as this clip shows, the Melbourne producer still has a sweet spot for home. Prepare yourself for the highlight of your day, featuring sandboarding, silver-toothed villains and errant iPhones. Oh, and sax laser guns.

Now, ‘Pontoon’ itself is pretty great. Smooth, electronic lounge music, mushy as hell and drowning in cheesy synth riffs, it’s on the same plane as ironic Sydney acts Donny Benet and Alex Cameron. But when paired with the video, the song re-invents itself into the soundtrack of the greatest B-grade thriller that was never made. It’s as though a short-lived spy/vigilante 80’s TV show had been shot on a shoestring budget and relocated to Melbourne’s CBD.

The Vibrate on Silent 12” is out now through Mexican Summer.

Andras Fox will be appearing in Andras & Oscar form (with Oscar Key Sung) as part of Melbourne Music Week on Saturday 15 November at the QVM.

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LISTEN: Unity Floors and Chook Race – Cheap Split 7″

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I mean, this was inevitably going to happen, right? Of course two of the country’s most underrated guitar pop bands were going to combine forces and go multi-platinum on a split single! It seems ridiculous that it’s taken this long for it to occur.

For those unacquainted, Gus and Henry are Unity Floors. Best mates from Sydney, these guys are basically the Marrickville share-house equivalent of Pavement. The kind of music Unity Floors play can best be summarised by the bummed-out, hunched-shoulders riff of their contribution, ‘Hold Music’, with the accompanying line of ‘C…CBF/I couldn’t be fucked/but I’ll do my best’.

From here, ‘Hold Music’ just gets better and better, with buzzing and frantic guitars and lines that prove Unity Floors’ fantastically irreverent lyrics didn’t peak with ‘Nice Fit’. ‘Hold Music’ packages itself nicely as a song to be chucked on between The Replacements and The Go-Betweens on the Sunday BBQ mixtape.

Flip the side, and you’ve got another group that’s severely underrated in the scheme of Australian music – Melbourne band Chook Race. These guys are pure pop with a little bit of scuzz lurking around on the fringes, like a lo-fi version of The Preatures. Their new song ‘Numb’ ranks as one of their finest, and those who have heard ‘Pop Song’ know that Chook Race pack some punches.

Unity Floors and Chook Race are teaming up for the Sydney launch of Cheap Split real soon – and it’s free! Check ’em out on Friday, 12 September at the Standard Bowl.

Unity Floors – Facebook / Bandcamp

Chook Race – Facebook / Bandcamp

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PREMIERE: The Pretty Littles – ‘Dangerman’

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The Pretty Littles

The Pretty Littles are as ramshackle as they come. It’s a bloody good thing their songs are loud, because their new track is one damn fine earworm.

‘Dangerman’ is the latest from the Melbourne rockers. Don’t worry – The Pretty Littles will still clamp their jaws around you and shake you bone dry, but their general songwriting has improved heaps since their first Fairweather EP.

Close your eyes. Envision a sea of festival punters hollering “I can be your dangerman, if you will be my evil woman!” back to the shellshocked foursome. Works for me, anyway.

The Pretty Littles grew up wanting to be the Vasco Era. With a firestarter like ‘Dangerman’, they might just succeed their heroes.

The band are launching the single on September 26th at Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne.

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LISTEN: Step-Panther – ‘It Came From the Heart’

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Step-Panther have just released their latest single, ‘It Came From the Heart’, the second from their upcoming sophomore record Strange But Nice. Welp, for a bunch of Wollongong bros who like to shred, Step-Panther sure did a turn on us.

Although previous single ‘Nowhere’ and earlier tracks like ‘No Fun’ and ‘Maybe Later’ made Step-Panther stand out as snotty, high-octane punks, this new one is about as laid back as the band have ever been.

Don’t let the cruisy pace and note-plucking deceive you though, Step-Panther are still at their juvenile best. They combine lyrics about creatures from the swamp, intergalactic eye pulverisers and heartbreak into one intoxicating tune. Although they’ve turned down their guitars on this one, Step-Panther have lost none of their ability to write excellent songs.

Strange But Nice is out on 19 September through Inertia sub-label HUB.

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LISTEN: The Harpoons – ‘Can We Work This Out’

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Melbourne soul-pop group The Harpoons are back again with brand new single ‘Can We Work This Out’, and to say it tugs on the heartstrings is an understatement. This is what you listen to when all hope is lost and you need a song to bring you just a sliver of comfort. Forget Adele; ‘Can We Work This Out’ is what you need.

Oscar Key Sung collaborator Martin King takes on lead vocals this time, and his light, pattering voice sounds pained – like he can’t even believe the words ‘Have we had our time/tell me is this it/I no longer hear my name coming off your lips’ are coming out of his mouth. Frontwoman Bec Rigby delivers soulful harmonies in a heart-shattering tremolo throughout, and sparse synth jabs punctuate the track like the offending lover ripping out King’s heart, piece by piece.

For all the hopeless romantics out there, The Harpoons are here for you.

The Harpoons will launch ‘Can We Work This Out’ at The Workers Club in Melbourne on Friday 8th August and Saturday 9th of August.

A release date for their debut album, Falling For You, out via Two Bright Lakes / Remote Control, will be announced soon.

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