Magic Dirt – ‘Bring Me The Head Of’

Still angry after all these years, Magic Dirt are back with a seven track EP of furious rock ravages, starting here with Bring Me The Head Of. A heart-racing squealer, it starts out fast and plunges on blindly through the steady stream of Adalita’s thick punk growl, pounding mercilessly with nary a break until the band all collapse on each other at the end. Much better than things have been with Magic Dirt for a long while.

www.myspace.com/magicdirt

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Small Mercies – ‘Innocent’

I’m having one of those moments you sometimes get flying long-haul in economy class. Squished in with all those unwashed bogan freaks for so many hours, it becomes apparent that most people in this world are not like me. Most people in this world think that Sam Newman is pretty hilarious and that Kyle Sandilands in a credible judge of talent. ‘But don’t you see?’ I want to scream, ‘Kyle Sandilands is a no account fat head from commercial radio. He is, by definition, incapable of telling you what good music sounds like.’ But actually, plenty of people think that Kyle is worth listening to. He’s got his finger on the pulse, old frog-face. And he would probably give Small Mercies a hearty thumbs up. Because lord knows it’s time our country produced more bands that sound like they’re secretly Christian.

www.myspace.com/smallmercies

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Macromantics –  ‘Physical’

Recorded with Tony Buchen as a prelude to a tour, Macromantics opens her new track with the warning that she’s gonna get cardio in this shit, missing somehow both irony and comedy (and surely she can’t be serious). From here, she launches into a better brand of battle rap than I’ve heard previously from this Miss, mouthing off about her own excellence in mixed rhythms and bouncing rhymes with the able-bodied Buchman providing flickering low-profile beats behind. She’s sporting a good run of words (in her self-aggrandising way), but its humourless. And the chorus has a slick appeal, but it’s not quite memorable.

www.myspace.com/macromantics

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Kate Miller-Heidke – ‘Words’

Apparently the folks on Sunrise are big fans. They took some time out from their heavy programming schedule to run a little advertising feature on the ex-opera singer from Brisbane and her inevitable forthcoming success. I myself didn’t need to actually hear the manic, warbling Kate Bush-wannabe tremors of this determinedly wacky pop poppet. Koshy’s recommendation was enough for me.

www.myspace.com/katemillerheidke

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The Seabellies – ‘Our Ghosts Don’t Disappear’

Six piece placid pop group The Seabellies begin this track from their Wave Your Fingers EP with a quiet play of boy sweetness and an acoustic guitar, the innocent loveliness of Trent Grenell’s voice slowly drowned in strings and distant drums. Billowing around in fragile gusts, the song takes flight half way through in the classic strike of an early period Elton John piano part before collapsing into the Autumn leaves again, drifting aimlessly with the ghosts of lost love. Eventually it builds up again, into a storm of sounds and strings and sweet, fervent, fragile dreams that crumble away with the end of the song, leaving you transported but melancholy.

www.myspace.com/theseabellies

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Why do these kids, who annoy me so profoundly with their vacuous fashionista posturing, insist on writing these awesome songs? I mean Christ. It’s inconsiderate. That’s the problem with rock and roll, though, you know? Talent blesses the most random assembly of knuckleheads.

www.myspace.com/britishindia

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Sly Hats – ‘Vampire Sips’

Geoff O’Conner of the Crayon Fields steps out solo as the Sly Hats, uniquely cute and unassuming against bongo beats, wooden scrapes and a dreamy choir of sweet girl angels. Bespectacled and mooning over the long kisses of his vampiric love, he sings quietly and bravely with the full conviction of his geek lord stature. Fragile but adorable.

www.myspace.com/slyhatsmusic

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